Five tips to begin your sustainability journey!
As author of the ‘Local Impact Sustainability’ blog and a keen volunteer of the Tuggeranong See Change Group, I have always had an interest in sustainability, and have done things throughout my life to reduce my impact on the environment. There is a wealth of great sustainability advice available online, however it is spread out, difficult to navigate and time-consuming to find the answers. To help you embark on your own sustainability journey, or simply to provide new ideas to widen your repertoire, these five tips will help you on your way:
Stop and Think
One of the best ways to make an impact is to avoid buying excessive amounts of stuff. Afterall, all things, whether it be clothes, toys, appliances…anything at all… need resources and energy to make and use. Water is required for growing or manufacturing processes, emissions are produced in manufacturing and transport, packaging can create a lot of waste, and finally the question of what to do with the item when it is no longer needed.
This is not to say you should never buy anything again, but to simply take a moment to think and ask. ‘Do I need this item?’ and if so, ‘Can I perhaps source it second-hand?’.
Many times, the answer will be yes. Afterall, we need food to eat, a table to eat at, and crockery to eat from. However, there are many items in today’s society that are not needed, and I challenge you to try your best to resist, knowing that you have made a good choice for the planet.
2. Buy Second-Hand
A great way to make sustainable purchases is by sourcing items second-hand. This can be anything from clothing, toys, books, gardening equipment, gifts and more. By purchasing second-hand items, you are giving a resource a second chance and preventing it from entering landfill. You are avoiding the packaging waste, water use and emissions associated with making something brand-new. And as a bonus, you will also save money!
I buy everything that I possibly can second-hand on either Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree or at Op Shops. I also occasionally find things that I need on our local Buy Nothing group. For example, my kids’ birthday and Christmas presents are all second-hand. They have received pre-loved bikes, scooters, Hot Wheel tracks, sporting equipment and even a trampoline. The kids know they are second-hand and we talk about how this helps to protect the planet, which they are happy to be a part of.
Give it a go, and you will find some amazing items, all the while knowing that you are making sustainable purchases.
3. Recycle
We all have access to a kerbside recycling bin in Canberra, however there are a limited range of items that can go into the bin. The ACT Recyclopaedia is a fantastic resource to find out what can and can’t go in.
However, there are so many more items that can be recycled. Luckily there are options other than discarding them into your landfill bin. I have written a handy guide to recycling which provides information on where to recycle things from lightbulbs to textiles to sporting shoes. It may seem like more effort to collect these items and drive them to a collection point, but take motivation from knowing that this effort is contributing to a more sustainable community.
We are lucky in Canberra to have collection hubs such as the Tuggeranong Repair Café and Lids 4 Kids. They both offer recycling collection stations for many hard to recycle items.
4. Reduce Food Waste
Food waste rotting in landfills is a massive contributor to methane gas emissions, a potent greenhouse gas which contributes to global warming. A powerful sustainability action you can take is to avoid food waste entering landfill. The easiest way is to limit throwing out food in the first place. This can be achieved by:
Planning meals in advance - only buy what you need for those meals.
Organise your fridge! We put older vegetables on the left side of the crisper and newer on the right. This creates a simple system to prevent produce going off before consumption.
Eat leftovers – Even if there is not enough for a full meal, still keep it to supplement a meal for the next day.
It is not possible to completely avoid food waste. Afterall, banana peels and apple cores are not super appealing to eat! Before you rush to put them into landfill try to compost the scraps. Perhaps you have a home compost or worm farm, or maybe a Bokashi bin. If you don’t, you could ask a neighbour to use their composting system, or check-out Share Waste to find someone who will take your waste for you.
5. Volunteer
If you want to pack a punch into your sustainability journey, volunteering is a great way to do this. Working together with your community will have a much bigger impact than doing things by yourself. You can pool resources, share ideas and work together to make bigger sustainability projects a reality.
Sometimes people are hesitant to volunteer as they are worried about the time commitment. I think the key to this is in the name. Volunteer means you are choosing to give your time. There is no obligation to attend every event or meeting, and if you are on holidays or another commitment arises, you simply pass on your apologies and attend the next time you are free. No matter if you volunteer once off, a few times a year, or become a regular at every event, the time you can personally give is very much appreciated. You never know, you might go once and find you are hooked!
I volunteer with the Tuggeranong See Change group at events such as the monthly repair café, SpringFest, clothing and veggie swaps, harvest festivals and more. These events lead to waste reduction, landfill avoidance, second-hand purchasing, repurposing items and recycling hard to recycle items. As a team, volunteers work together to make these events a reality and provide a service to the Tuggeranong community to make a positive impact on our environment. Volunteering is also a wonderful way to build social connections, meet people with shared values, and have lots of fun. If you are interested in volunteering with our group, we’d love to hear from you! Contact Tuggeranong@seechange.org.au.
There are a multitude of things you can do to live more sustainably. Start off by picking a small number of things to change in your lifestyle, and as you get into a new rhythm, add more as you go. This will make change easier to manage and more likely to last. And importantly, pick things that will work for your family situation. The same thing may not be practical for every family and that is ok. By starting your journey, know that you are making your own Local Impact on the environment.
If you want to get in touch, feel free to email me at localimpactsustainability@gmail.com.