RECYCLED & REUSE

Recycle & Reuse. That's what we are all about these days right? What if we don't know where to start? Restaurants, cafes, bars and even at home... I have been around people either working or living with them who simply do not know what we can recycle. In fact, up until a couple of years ago, I was completely nieve to it as well. I'm still not claiming to know it all, there is so much to learn when it comes to figuring out what goes in which bin. I am on a mission to educate myself and others on what we can recycle and how we can reuse as much as possible. Therefore cut down the supply and demand chain. Which is where all the issues start.

Education for Sustainability

Now I don't know about you, but I don't ever remember being taught what we should and shouldn't recycle at school. I was never taught what happens to plastic when we throw it in the bin. I was never taught what would happen to the oceans if we kept producing materials that never disintegrate, or in actual fact what would happen to us humans.

I went to two very good private schools when I was growing up and was extremely lucky to get a great education from both, unfortunately, in my opinion, I wasn't educated on the stuff that matters. Where were my lessons on how to pay tax? Or how to cut down my global warming impact? Instead, I learnt how to form chemical bonds and do Pythagoras' theory. Both of which I now have no idea how to do... So yes they were extremely helpful… (NOT!)

At every turn, we go for the easy and most convenient option. It simply is not human nature to choose a more difficult road

Start it young

As children we are like sponges, we soak up so much information and although it may seem like all we care about is friendships (which is slightly true). We also gain so much knowledge from those days, without even realising it. It only makes sense that we should be taught more about the impacts we are having on the world through living such fast-paced lives.

At every turn, we go for the easy and most convenient option. It simply is not human nature to choose a more difficult road. If we are offered a cup or a bag or a straw we can just throw away and forget about, more often than not we will take it. Which is why we either need to take that option away or educate from a young age the importance of taking the more difficult road. This applies to so many things in life, not just went it comes to waste.

Teach me

#1 - #2 Hard Plastics - Can be recycled at home/school/work

#3 - #7 Hard Plastics - Most can be recycled but it is not a 100% accurate as the #number simply just tells you the type of plastic, not if it can be recycled in your local area. (location dependent)

Compostable Plastic - Can NOT be recycled in your home recycling. If it is commercially compostable then it needs to be sent off to a site and will not compost at home. (If you have a hot pile, you can try)

Soft Plastic - Must be recycled at your supermarkets soft plastic waste section. This includes pretty much all plastic that is not a food container and will bend. Think clingfilm, bubble wrap, straws, plastic bags. Let's call it moving plastic.

To be recycled all materials must be clean and free of residue.

You are in danger of contaminating the whole truckload which will then end up in a landfill.

This is so Important!

Go Plastic Free + Reuse

Recycling can be really confusing at times and doesn't always happen. As I mentioned above, if any of it is contaminated by food then it can result in the whole truck being dumped in a landfill. Which is why it is so important for us to simply focus on reusing. Focus on searching in antique shops for old jars, charity shops for clothes or swap with friends. I get it every now and then we all want something new. So why not choose companies that use recycled plastic fabric or companies that aim to produce reusable products. At least that way there is a demand for recycled plastic which can help keep the system going.

Shop Responsibly Ethically So.

We are on a mission to support as many small, local New Zealand businesses as possible. Help us succeed by focusing on Kind Consumption not Over Consumption

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Annie xxx

@ethicallyso

*Blog post originally written for Rocket & Honey*