G'day, fellow eco-warriors! We're back with another insightful blog to help your family on the journey towards a greener, more sustainable lifestyle.
But first: I understand that adding my voice to campaigns and advocating for change can be more impactful than reducing my family's plastic packaging. But that isn't stopping me from thinking we still need to take individual actions (especially in high-income nations like Australia). Every step we take on this journey matters. Want to read more about my reflections on our journey at Mid Green so far and what 'collective action' looks like? Check out the post: A Year of Climate Hope: Reflecting on Our Journey to Net-Zero (midgreenfamily.com).
Today, we're tackling a predicament that plagues many households - single-use packaging. Let's dive into the world of packaging waste and uncover some clever ways to tackle this challenge head-on.
Here's the sum-up before you get started:
WA is banning a whole bunch of plastics in Stage 2 of its plastic plan so you might as well get used to new habits and products before plastic-stemmed cotton buds are gone forever. Jump to the list .
We should get comfortable asking for our bakery goods to be handed straight over, or put into bread bags or lunch boxes. Are you brave enough to ask for no packaging? Jump to it.
Can you still believe people don't use keep cups, even when they coffee every day? Check out the problem.
How about adding your name to petition your council for a FOGO (food and organic waste) collection, to help keep organics out of landfill? Get the lowdown.
The Package Predicament
Single use packaging - what's the problem?
Single-use packaging is an environmental menace, contributing to both fossil fuel consumption and devastating waterway pollution. Did you know that the production of plastic packaging alone consumes 8% of global oil production? According to the World Economic Forum, by 2050, it's estimated that there could be more plastic in the ocean than fish, posing a grave threat to marine life (and to us, through consumption and damage to one of our own food ecosystems).
Picture this: a weekend brunch with warm cinnamon rolls and flaky croissants. Sounds heavenly, right? But here's the twist - those delicious treats often come wrapped in layers of single-use plastic. Or nowadays in paper bags over cardboard trays with a serviette tucked in. It's time to rethink our choices and find better alternatives.
We often enjoy breakfast at the farmers' market on Sundays, but it usually involves disposable packaging. Chatting with peeps about how they avoided packaging at food stalls, cafes or bakeries, I discovered that it was quite normal to ask for food to be handed directly over or placed into provided lunchboxes. I'm not sure this will work everywhere, but I'm determined to be better at just asking, "hey, would you mind just handing that over, we're going to eat it right here" next time we want a cinnamon bun.
I wouldn't go out without a keep cup, so I'm going to challenge us to make this request at markets, cafes, and bakeries to reduce unnecessary waste and normalise the practice. Will let you know how we go at end of month!
Tips to Tackle Packaging Waste:
Choose and Ask for Packaging-Free Options: Seek out local bakeries or food markets that offer packaging-free alternatives. Bring your own cloth bags for bread or containers to carry your treats without a side of guilt.
Embrace Reusable Containers: In the same way you pack a keep cup, bring along reusable containers that can easily accommodate your cafe and bakery hauls. Better yet, eat in and have someone else do the dishes!
Support Sustainable (ideally home compostable) Packaging Brands: Look for brands that prioritise sustainable packaging materials. Some companies are switching to compostable✅ or biodegradable packaging🚮 (read about the different types below as not all biopackaging is that great), for more planet-friendly choices.
Coffee cup crisis
I've been a fan of keep cups for a while now, and I've got three of them. It might seem a bit excessive, but having multiple means there's always a clean one ready for my morning coffee or weekend outings. I even keep one in the shopping bags, ready for when I need it.
It just blows me away how so many peeps are still opting for disposable every day. Its estimated Australians use 1.84 billion single use coffee cups a year. In fact, they may be the second biggest contributor to waste in Aus.
In February this year, the WA Government put in place stage 2 of its plastic ban, banning those plastic lined coffee cups that stop your takeaway getting soggy. It will take twelve months until its fully enforceable, so as the year progresses you should see more cafes and stores switching to compostable cups. SA is the only other state also on this bandwagon.
Great.
Except, not really.
Some of them will say home compostable - these are the best! Tear those babies up and feed them to your worms and soldier flies.
If it doesn't actually say home compostable then you CAN'T HOME COMPOST IT. Most biodegradable products actually need a special process to break them down, so you can't just chuck them in your home setup. The sad bit? Most local councils don't have the facilities or processes in place to separate and recycle plastic-lined paper. In WA you CAN chuck these cups in your light green lid Food Organics & Garden Waste (FOGO) council bins if you live in certain councils doing FOGO recycling, but not all.
Check out whether your local council is on the Food Organics & Garden Waste (FOGO) bandwagon here at Australian Councils Composting. You'll have to check individually to see if they accept commercially compostable items like coffee cups.
As of February this year, the state government's Department of Water and Environment Regulation was still working with composters and local governments to work out how commercially compostable materials can be recovered through the FOGO collection systems. For now, follow the labels below - the 'compost bin' label on the right for home compostable and the 'seed' label on the left for commercially compostable that needs to go in certain FOGO bins or else unfortunately just in your red, general waste bin until the processes catch up. Note: these cannot go in your yellow bin!
What the FOGO
FOGO takes your green bin from Garden scraps 🥀🍂🌿only, and means you can also chuck in -
Food scraps 🍇🍌🍑even scraps you wouldn't normally compost like dairy, meat, raw bones, seafood, and
Fibre based compostables (those cardboard takeaway containers, bamboo utensils, paper towel, serviettes & tissues) and
Dog poo and kitty litter.
However, what won't go in your FOGO bin is biodegradable plastics (except compostable bin liners). Biodegradable plastics and products like BioCups are made with a bioplastic sourced from rapidly-renewable plant resources, like corn – not finite fossil fuels. PLA (polylactic acid) requires much (around 50%) less energy to produce and has a carbon footprint way (72%) lower compared to regular plastic. Great for bringing down the footprint of creating a single use item but.....
They're designed for the circular economy to biodegrade into nutrient-rich compost in an industrial compost facility. Unfortunately, its not commercially viable yet in most of Australia, and because there are many different types of bioplastics without a clear labelling and separation system - they all go to landfill (unless they are deposited at a private collection point).
If you'd like your Council to provide Food Organics & Garden Waste (FOGO) recycling then sign a petition here (it takes literally one minute of your time).
WA Plan for Plastics Stage 2 - check out the official stuff here.
Banned from 1 July 2022:
all plastic shopping bags with handles
disposable plastic utensils - straws, stirrers and cutlery
disposable plastic foodware without lids - plates, bowls and food containers
expanded polystyrene food containers and trays
balloon releases are banned from 1 July 2022; however, balloons are not banned.
Banned from 1 October 2022:
disposable plastic cups for cold drinks
From 1 September 2023:
loose- fill expanded plastic
degradable plastics
expanded plastic cups and trays for raw meat and seafood
microbeads
cotton buds
From 1 March 2024:
produce bags for loose fresh fruit and vegetables
disposable food trays
cups for hot drinks
lids for hot and cold cups
From 1 September 2024:
lids for disposable foodware - bowls, trays, containers and plates
From 1 July 2025:
moulded expanded plastic packaging
I don't know if you saw anything surprising on that list, but I have - will meat trays disappear this month? I also feel like some of these items are still circulating, at retailers big and small and I look forward to these bans becoming a reality. Maybe we have to wait for existing stock to be sold down? Its a good reminder to start weaning ourselves off plastic anyway and encourage retailers to get on board.
Key takeaways and action plan
So greenies, time to get on the packaging reduction bandwagon when out and about, and get used to it before the packaging ban hits hard. Here are a few key takeaways from Mid Green:
Avoid single use anything - plastic, cardboard or bioplastic as much as possible. Unless its going in your compost bin, we may not have the processes and facilities to recycle it yet - despite labels like 'bio' and 'eco' being thrown around. Remember: A 'bio' cup can't go in your green or yellow bin.
Say yes, to asking to be package free More than saying no to single-use, try asking for your food to be handed straight over (for something easy, like a croissant or bread) or straight into your own takeaway container. This includes TAKING YOUR KEEP CUP. C'mon peeps, you can remember it - just has to be a new habit.
Too awkward to ask for no packaging? Dine in as much as possible.
Sign up - If you'd like your Council to provide Food Organics & Garden Waste (FOGO) recycling then sign a petition here (it takes literally one minute of your time).
Save the rubbish - If you can't avoid it and end up with cardboard and recycled paper bag packaging when eating out and about - bring it home and add it your compost! Those brown paper bags are easy to tear up and provide good 'brown' sources for your composting. Composting can significantly reduce our waste and create nutrient-rich soil for our gardens. It's a win-win for us and the planet!
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