Packaging is sometimes necessary to protect an item from damage in transportation. But there are many ways you can minimise packaging waste and increase the chances of waste being recycled. If you don’t need the packaging, refuse it! Go without an extra plastic bag for fruit and vegies or replace it with a reusable alternative. This reduces your personal environmental impact and sends a message to businesses that you want products without excessive packaging.

Look for the Australasian Recycling Label on packaging. This tells you where to put each component of the packaging to dispose of it properly. It removes confusion, saves you time and reduces waste going to landfill.

The recyclability of packaging varies, from glass (100%), metal (96%), paper and cardboard (92%) to plastic (54%). With plastics, recyclability depends on the type of plastic, and whether it is just one type, or layers of different materials. Check if it has an ARL label and which components can be recycled. Try to avoid expanded polystyrene. This is the white foam often used as packaging material, the foam take-away cups or the black foam meat trays. It is generally not accepted by kerbside recycling. And if left in the environment it can disintegrate into tiny pieces which cause untold damage.

Too many of us “Wish Cycle” - we want to do the right thing and feel that the more we can recycle, the better. We think it should be recycled, so we put it in our kerbside bin. Cos really, the less we send to landfill in those red bins, the better right? Wrong! The irony is that, in order to recycle more, sometimes we have to recycle less.

Even if everyone recycles perfectly, our packaging will still go to landfill if no one buys items made from recycled materials. By purchasing products and packaging made from recycled content, we are extending the life of resources we have already used and reducing the need to extract new ones from our precious planet.

We're calling on you to Step Up and make a pledge towards reducing your waste contribution. Could you Step Up by buying recycled or refusing to purchase fruit and vegetables pre-wrapped in plastic?  Thousands of small steps make a big difference and together, we can all be part of the solution.