Step up and make a difference

Each of us can Step Up and make a difference in our everyday lives. Here are five small ways to make a big impact.

1.      Avoid single-use plastics

Our latest National Rubbish Report revealed that plastics accounted for almost 2/3 of the rubbish items removed from the environment by our volunteers in 2022,  a 17% increase from the previous year.  Which is not surprising given Australia generates the most single-use plastic waste in the world per capita, with the equivalent of 60kgs of waste for every Australian per year!  Make a habit to remember your reusable shopping bags, buy fruit and vegetables that aren't pre-wapped in plastic, invest in a resusable water bottle and coffee cup and opt for bars of soap instead of body wash.

2.      Reuse, repair, or buy second-hand and recycled.

Remember your reusable bags when you go shopping, and keep your reusable coffee cup by the front door. Have your phone, laptop, washing machine or fridge repaired instead of buying a new one. Look on second-hand sites such as Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree and eBay for used appliances, clothes and homewares, rather than automatically buying new every single time. Track down a local cobbler and tailor, so you can have your shoes resoled and clothes mended.  When you do buy something new, see if it can be made out of recycled materials, and  buy recycled.

Why you should do it: If we all did this for one year, imagine the amount of coffee cups, plastic bags, e-waste and household rubbish would be kept out of landfill. And buying products made out of recycled content helps to create a demand for the materials they are made of, from cat litter made from recycled paper to activewear made from recycled plastic and other waste. Take a look at our Buy Recycled collections.

3.      Buy less stuff.

With just the click of a mouse or a few taps on your phone, you can buy basically anything and have it shipped to you in a matter of days, if not hours - but do you really need it? Australians buy on average 56 new items of clothing, every year, a new report has found, making Australia the second highest consumer of textiles per person in the world, after the USA. Each Australian disposes an average 23 kilograms of clothing to landfill each year, but only wears 40% of their clothes.

 
Why you should do it: As the late Vivienne Westwood said, “Buy less, choose well, make it last.” Overconsumption is costing us the Earth. Everything we buy has a cost not just in money but in resources used, carbon emissions, waste in packaging and its eventual disposal. Before you hit the ADD TO CART button, think about whether you really need that purchase, or if you could do without it – especially when it comes to fast fashion.

4.      Start composting.

Food waste makes up half of the rubbish in the average household’s bin. A lot of that can be turned into compost for your garden – use it for growing your own herbs and veggies. Herbs such as basil, parsley and coriander grow easily in pots (and don’t come wrapped in plastic). If you don’t have room for a compost bin or live in an apartment, try an Urban Composter or worm farm that can fit on a kitchen bench or balcony.

Why you should do it: Food waste contributes 5 million tonnes of waste to landfill each year and globally 8% of greenhouse gases come from food waste. Composting is simple and fun, and the difference you make is measurable and immediate. And news flash! You don't need a backyard - you can buy a tiny little unit to sit on a bench or under your sink - no mess, no odours, no fuss!

5.      Recycle right, mate!

Recycling can be confusing! And to make matters worse, just because an item is recyclable somewhere, does not mean it necessarily belongs in your kerbside bin. How to get it right can be tricky. Recycling rules vary from council to council because they have access to different recycling facilities, and each facility has unique equipment and capabilities and is able to process a different set of items.

But good news! A new app removes the recycling guesswork. The free Recycle Mate app helps you recycle anywhere in Australia – whether at home, at a friend's house or when you're on holidays. Just take a photo or type the name of an item you would like to know more about and Recycle Mate will give you disposal advice specific to your location

Why you should do it: We need to keep as much out of landfill as we possibly can. We can now recycle tennis balls, thongs, blisterpacks, coffee cups, plant pots, computer keyboards and seedling trays - but none of these things can go in your kerbside bin. And while recycling opportunities keep evolving, it's important that we move away from ‘set and forget’ recycling behaviours to actively seeking new information. Recycle Mate covers all areas of Australia and provides information for every council kerbside recycling system.

Show us what you're doing! Take a pic and tag @CleanUpAustralia or email it to us so we can include it in our community gallery...