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Sustainable Resource Use
Saturday: Recycling awareness day

Waste is one of the few environmental problems we can do something about. Here are some ideas for minimising the impact of waste on the environment:

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20 reuse and recycle actions
1. Reduce - Make less waste in the first place!
Activity: Investigate Your Waste
www.ollierecycles.com.au/aus/html/reduce_waste.html

2. Give gifts that encourage others to use less stuff, like a book about making crafts from reusable items, cookbook for leftovers, reusable tote bags.

 

3. When buying a gift, think of items that don’t have to be wrapped at all - tickets to concerts, museums, or sporting events, gift certificates, house plants, or even gifts of your own time.

 
4. Buy in bulk. Activity: Rate Your Lunch Box
5. When appropriate, rent or borrow what you need. Activity: www.abc.net.au/juniors/pages/food/package/activity.htm
www.ollierecycles.com.au/aus/html/reduce_package.html
6. Buy things that last longer and have little or no packaging. Buy the big bag of chips and take your servings in reusable containers Buy rechargeable alkaline batteries for your toys, TV control, and boom box. They are less hazardous for the environment, make less waste, and their higher cost is offset by their longer life. Activity: http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/caer/ce/eek
/earth/recycle/wastsrch.htm
7. Work with your school principal to assist in developing school goals about double-sided photocopying and printing, paper use and reuse/re-ink cartridges. Activity: Cutting the Paper Waste
8. Digital photography is good, but if you are still using film you will reduce waste by 67% and save about $4, or 40% in cost, by purchasing rolls of 36 instead of 12 exposures.
9. Reuse: Give items a second, third or fourth life! Many items you normally throw away can be used again and some items are made to be used over and over. An old tyre becomes a swing. A cool lunch box replaces bags that are thrown away. Toys, video games, books, and clothes you've outgrown can be sold at garage sales or given to charities.  
10. Repair items whenever possible, rather than throwing them away.  
11. Share magazine subscriptions with friends or neighbours.  
12. Recycle: Ensure enough bins are placed around your school and set up recycling bins for cans, glass, plastics and paper and label these bins clearly and create a ‘Litter Monster,’ a rubbish bin character, to encourage younger students to put litter in the bin.
Activity: www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/caer/ce/eek/earth/
recycle/notgarbage.htm

www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/caer/ce/eek/earth/ recycle/recyquiz.htm
www.ollierecycles.com.au/aus/html/recycle.html

13. You are already separating bottles, jars, cans, and paper products for recycling, and your community is collecting, processing, and selling them. However, are you "closing the recycling loop" by looking for and buying items made from recycled materials?

Most glass and metal containers are made with some recyclables but for paper or plastic products, look for the recycling symbol and the words "Made with post-consumer recycled content" on their labels

Activity: www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/caer/ce/eek/earth/recycle/slide1.htm
www.ollierecycles.com.au/aus/html/recycle.html

14. Compost around the school grounds and collect food scraps and set up a worm farm for recycling organic waste. This will decrease the amount of rubbish your school discards every day. Activity: House of Worms
15. Use shredded waste paper for packaging rather than purchased packing material. Activity: www.ollierecycles.com.au/aus/html/reduce_package.html
16. Form a hand me down chain in your neighbourhood or organization.  
17. Start a compost bin at home and recycle washing water for your gardens etc. Activity: House of Worms
Bottle Composting
/www.ollierecycles.com.au/aus/html/reuse.html
18. Buy second hand when ever possible, for example, clothes and computers.  
19. Work with your school principal to assist in developing school goals about double-sided photocopying and printing, paper use and reuse/re-ink cartridges. Activity: What are the consequences?
Cutting the Paper Waste
20. Use second hand tyres as garden boarders or fence structures.  

Check out these Waste Wise programs in your state:

Find out about programs run by the Keep Australia Beautiful Council in your state: www.kab.org.au

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