Page 17 - TNE WORKBOOK

Today’s session is on reducing waste and the role we can play as ethical consumers.
If you haven’t had a chance to yet, take a few minutes to individually read through this module (and why not
have a snack or a drink while you do it).

The connection between shopping and waste

Although the ACT has the highest amount of household waste per capita, ACT residents have one of the
highest recycling rates in Australia.8 About 70% of our region’s waste is either reused and recycled according
to the ACT government. This is a very encouraging statistic! For the other 30% of waste in the ACT, this is
generally what happens:

All garbage in your ...Is picked up and driven by a ...where it is compressed and
wheelie bin... truck to Mugga Lane landfill... buried...

CH =
4
25 x CO2

...and then degrades... ...to produce methane, toxins Methane is 25x more potent
and hydrocarbons... than carbon dioxide.

ACT 2025 1.1mn 310,000
resource tonnes tonnes
recovery (amount of waste
target made by ACT (amount of ACT
waste added to
= 100% residents per landfill per year).
year)9

If you enjoy the retail therapy of shopping for new purchases, then based on an Australia Institute analysis
of Roy Morgan research polling, it’s likely you’re creating unnecessary waste in the form of lots of plastic
packaging and non-essential consumer products that haven’t been fully utilised before they’re chucked out
(or perhaps they stay tucked up in the attic for years, cluttering up your space). Luckily, there are lots of easy
ways we can curb our waste and shopping habits, and there are a bunch of health and wellbeing benefits
when we do.

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