Reduce your plastic footprint
Never before have we had such an awareness of our impact on our planet, and never before have we had so much power to change this.
Simply taking responsibility for our everyday choices, it is these choices that add up to make real change.
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Reduce
The simplest and most direct steps are to avoid single-use plastics where possible. This include plastic bags, water bottles, coffee cups and lids, and produce bags at supermarkets.
Support local plastic-free businesses. Find out more at Plastic Free Cairns:
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Reuse
Carry reusable plastic alternatives with you, from reusable coffee cups, bottles and bags.
The average use time of a plastic bag is only 12 minutes.
Switch to eco-friendly alternatives where possible. For example, swap out cling wrap for bees wax wraps or swap out your plastic toothbrush for a bamboo one.
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Recycle
Recycling helps keep plastic out of the ocean and reduces the amount of virgin plastic produced. At present, 91% of the world’s plastic is not recycled.
What to put in your at home recycling bin:
Hard plastics (plastic bottles and containers
Paper and cardboard
Steel and aluminium cans
Glass bottles and jars
Make sure to keep your recyclables clean before binning them.
Don’t put recyclables in bags or boxes, just put them straight in your recycling bin.
Anything smaller than a credit card may get caught in the recycling machines. To recycle small plastic items (such as lids, caps and bread tags), put them in a larger plastic bottle before putting them in the recycling bin.
Soft plastics (such as plastic bags, cling wrap and bread bags) can’t be recycled at home. As long as it’s reasonably clean, you can take to REDcycle bins in participating supermarkets to be recycled properly. Find your nearest REDcycle bin here.