Tips to reduce waste
You can take action at a personal level to avoid waste by changing your behaviour, particularly your shopping habits.
Choose to refuse, reduce and reuse
- Avoid single-use, disposable packaging e.g. plastic bags and wrap, and polystyrene. Use reusable food containers, lunch boxes, water/drink bottles, straws and beeswax wraps. BYO reusable shopping and produce bags. Shop at retailers that accept reusable containers provided by customers and/or provide free compostable bags for produce.
- Avoid individually wrapped or packaged food items or items with excess packaging. Purchase items in bulk.
- Avoid packaging. When purchasing large appliances or bulky items, ask the retailer to take away the packaging from the new item. Retailers generally have bulk recycling bins for packaging.
- Avoid takeaway coffee cups and bottled water. Use BYO coffee cups and refillable drink bottles. Find your local Responsible Café and take your own refillable cup. Some outlets offer a discount on BYO cups.
- Avoid junk mail. Place a 'No advertising material' or 'No junk mail' label on your letterbox.
- Avoid disposable coffee pods or capsules. Use refillable coffee capsules that you can continue to fill with your favourite coffee blends.
- Avoid food waste. Store perishable foods (fruit and vegetables) in modified atmosphere produce bags that slow the rate of spoilage. Use the Foodwise Recipe Finder to help you use up food that you already have in your kitchen and fridge. Resist the temptation to buy two food items for the price of one unless it can be frozen or has a long shelf-life.
- Donate unwanted clothing and other goods in reasonable condition to non-profit organisations and shop at charity stores and salvage centres.
- Use modern cloth nappies: reusable, washable nappies made from modern fabrics which are shaped to fit like disposable nappies.
- Wrap gifts in used wrapping paper.
- Avoid low quality, non-durable items.
- Use rechargeable batteries.
- Become a 'green cleaner' and make your own environmentally-friendly household cleaning products e.g. all-purpose cleaner, clothes and dishwashing liquids.
- Place unwanted items on your property with a sign offering them for free. Note: placing the items outside your property without a hard waste booking is illegal and may incur a fine.
- Avoid booking a hard waste collection for a single item. Share a booking with a neighbour.
- Contact the Freecycle network, a non-profit movement involved in reuse of items to avoid landfill. You can donate and request items from members and membership is free.
- Contact ShareWaste, a non-profit network, which connects those who wish to recycle food scraps with neighbours who are in need of food scraps for their compost bin, worm farm or chickens.
The list of tips is not intended to be exhaustive.
Donate in West Torrens
| Op Shop |
Address |
Contact Details |
Times |
| Camden Community Hall (at rear) |
Corner Carlisle and Carlton Streets, Camden Park |
|
Mon, Wed, Fri 10am-2pm |
| Lions Club of Richmond Inc. |
57 Penong Ave, Camden Park |
|
Sales: Every Wed. Also 1st and 3rd Sat 9am-noon
Donations: Tues 9am-3pm
|
| MOSH Australia Inc. |
86 George St, Thebarton |
|
Mon-Sat 10:30am-4:30pm |
| Salvos Store, Fulham |
6/505 Henley Beach Rd, Fulham |
|
Mon-Fri 9:30am-5:30pm,
Sat 9am-5pm
|
| Salvos Store, Hilton |
154 Sir Donald Bradman Dr, Hilton |
|
|
| Vinnies Torrensville |
186 Henley Beach Rd, Torrensville |
|
Mon - Fri 9:30am - 4pm,
Sat 9:30am-12.30pm
|
Recycle for reprocessing
Recycle items that can no longer be re-used so that they can be processed into new products e.g. metals, car batteries, light bulbs and tubes, soft plastics, electrical and electronic items e.g. mobile phones, TVs.
When purchasing large appliances or bulky items, ask the retailer to take away the old appliance for recycling.
See the A-Z Guide to Waste and Recycling for recycling and reuse options for a range of items.
Recycle food waste
Find out how we support residents to recycle food waste at home for their own use.
If you wish to donate your food waste to neighbours who have a compost bin, worm farm or chickens, Contact ShareWaste, which connects those who wish to donate food scraps with those who need them. Membership is free.