coolbrisbane.org

Article by Cool Australia

Each year, the average Australian generates approximately 2,080 kilograms of waste per person (1). If you are among those who compost and buy pre-loved items, your number may be much lower, but this is an area in which all of us can stand to improve. The best thing is, is that it's quite simple. Without drastically changing your life or your habits, you may find that consuming and leaving behind less leaves you feeling, well...lighter!

We can do better than this!

(1) Australian Bureau of Statistics

Buy Nothing New Month...make it year-round!

You hopefully have heard of Buy Nothing New Month, when for the month of October, if you need to buy something, you make sure that item has been pre-loved.

Extend by making this commitment one week or even weekend a month. You will be amazed by what you find and even more amazed by the impact on your wallet. If you have children, this is a good opportunity to teach them about the life cycle of goods: what goes into making them and what happens to them once we feel we don't need them anymore.

Try sites like Blue Caravan or Etsy for upcycled and recycled items.

Vintage 1960s bangles - Etsy

Oh, baby!

Expecting a little one or know of someone who is? Here's a great tip when decorating his or her nursery: shop online! Many people completely re-outfit their nurseries when their next child comes along, leaving behind a great selection of barely used cribs, strollers, and numerous other items.

These pre-loved items are often re-sold on Ebay or Gumtree, and even a cursory look will impress you with the vast amount of stock you will find. You can afford to be choosy, and by looking at the seller rating (on Ebay), you can be relatively confident that what you find will be up to your standards.

You will find a lot of items originally purchased from places such as Baby Bunting and Mothercare, that cost hundreds of dollars for much, much less.

Boori Classic Cot:Ebay: $100	Boori Classic Cot: Baby Bunting: $545

Out with the old, and in with the flat screen!

You may have noticed at your latest neighbourhood bulk pickup, the vast amounts of old television sets and even computers on the nature strips. What used to be of value, is now thrown out as trash, with few people aware of whether or not their local council recycles these relics.

Before sending it off, consider if you can use your old tv in a spare or guest room. Alternatively, think if there is anyone you know who may not mind the old technology and would be grateful for the gift.

For televisions and computers, the Product Stewardship Bill was passed by Parliament in March of 2011. This bill dictates that the recycling of tvs and computers will now be mandated on a national basis. Until this goes into full effect, you will need to research companies in your area that accept tvs for recycling. Check out this website: http://tv.mmgn.com/Articles/How-to-Dispose-Recycle-your-Ol to see if your local council offers tv recycling or if there is a local company that will provide this service.

Computers seem fairly easier to recycle. For residents of Victoria, thankfully, there is now byteback, a free service open to residents of Victoria that accepts computer equipment: once collected, the equipment is transported to a specialised electronic recycling and recovery centre. Equipment is disassembled into its parts (plastic, precious metals, batteries, cathode ray tubes, printed circuit boards, insulated wiring) and sent off to various parts of Australia and the world for recovery and recycling.

Planet Ark's Recycling Near You website lists similar programs in other states.

Remember, everything old becomes new again, and it very well may be that the next generation of hipsters will find our old box tvs and computers the cat's meow. If you have the room, it may be worth your while to store one for a rainy day. These heirlooms may eventually be worth something!