Waste Reduction Project – Brighton Group

Although the volume and disposal of waste has serious environmental, economic and practical consequences, the results of a recent Adelaide survey showed most respondents did not support councils moving to fortnightly rubbish collections. More than 80 per cent of the 2147 respondents surveyed said the weekly system should be maintained. Read the full survey results here. The concerns expressed and reasons given may surprise you.

Extra-large rubbish bins and weekly waste collection send a strong message. They tell us it is OK to produce large amounts of waste and we can expect someone else to be responsible for its removal and disposal. After all, isn’t that what our council rates are for? But should those of us who have long passed our toilet training days be responsible for the management of our own waste products? Well…we think so.

Following an inspiring presentation by three of our members, our group decided to become more waste-responsible. We have started a Waste Reduction Project and invited neighbours to join in. So far, ten households are participating.

The aim of the project is to reduce methane emissions and soil contamination from landfill. We also aim to reduce noise pollution and carbon emissions from weekly garbage trucks driving down our streets. The goal is to reduce our household waste by 50% over the next 6 months and by another 50% over the following 6 months. Can we do it? Stay tuned and join us if you dare.

Check out Veronique’s blog here!