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Reduce household and business waste

Waverley residents and businesses can contribute towards a zero-waste future.

Residential waste

The National Waste Report 2022 found 18% of Australia’s waste comes from households and local government across the country. Residents can reduce waste in four steps:

1. Avoid single use items, even if they are recyclable. When you consider what is inside your bins, a lot of it will be items that you recently purchased e.g. packaging from fresh food, takeaway containers, coffee cups, online shopping wrapping. Aside from bringing your own shopping bags, favour fresh food favour retailers that offer BYO container options or paper wrapping. For long-life food favour recyclable containers such as glass and aluminium and use reusable cups for coffee and water.
2. Recycle what you can. The Australasian Recycling Label system makes it easy to know which items are recyclable. Ensure you don’t contaminate recycling by using the wrong bin or putting in dirty items e.g. food packaging with food still inside.
3. Use a compost. Take advantage of Council’s subsidised program Compost Revolution.
4. Be familiar with the other recycling options available. Use Council’s A-Z Waste & Recycling Directory for item-by-item advice for everything that cannot go in your household bins, e.g. printer cartridges and coffee pods. And if you’re buying something not on the list, ask your retailer what options for recycling they are supporting.

Commercial waste

The National Waste Report 2022 found 43% of Australia’s waste is from the commercial and industrial sectors. Furthermore, businesses have a direct impact on household waste particularly through the way products are packaged.

Research shows Australian consumers are making purchasing decisions based on the sustainability practices of businesses, so responsible waste management can not only help the environment but earn customer attention.

In Waverley, the hospitality (accommodation and food service) and retail sectors are the dominant commercial operations. At a local level, businesses can make a significant contribution to waste reduction in six steps:

1. Use a commercial recycling service. Council offers a three-bin commercial waste, recycling and garden clipping service, and there are also private alternatives available in the area. Recycling is also typically cheaper than sending waste to landfill. It’s crucial to ensure recycling bins are not contaminated with food waste.
2. Adhere to water pre-treatment requirements. Waste must not be allowed to go into the sewer system, and even small businesses have in-sink/in-floor trap requirements in addition to grease traps required for food service. Review the requirements at Sydney Water.
3. Adhere to single-use plastic bans. From 1 November 2022 a large amount of single-use plastic items including bags, straws, stirrers, cutlery, polystyrene and cotton buds were banned in NSW. These bans will be extended to include plastic-lined paper plates and bowls from 1 November 2024.
4. Provide customers with plastic alternatives. Reward customers who bring their own containers, coffee cups and bags. Consider taking part in circular packaging schemes such as Replated and Returnr, plus sustainable packaging options.
5. Provide on-site recycling for customers. Mirror your recycling services with side-by-side bins for customers to use. Consider extra recycling bins relevant to your business.
6. Reduce packaging. Audit anything that the customer will immediately throw out such as tags, plastic wraps and trays. Ideally remove them, or switch to a recyclable material.