Welcome to the June edition of the HOW newsletter

In this edition, get inspired to participate in Plastic Free July, learn about what to do with polystyrene and unwanted medicines, find out about the difference between ‘use by’ and ‘best before’ food labels and more.

Plastic Free July

Plastic Free July challenges us to avoid plastic items which are designed to be used once and then thrown away.

You can get involved by choosing to refuse one or more single-use plastic items (e.g. disposable plastic straws, cutlery, bottles of water and produce bags) throughout July (and beyond). You can do this at home, work, school and even at local cafes.

It’s a great way to raise awareness about the amount of single-use plastic in our lives and to find better alternatives, form new habits and be part of the solution.

DIY reusable produce bag

Reusable produce bags for fruit and vegetables are a great way to avoid single-use plastic.

You can buy them online, from some supermarkets and health food shops or make your own.

Food waste can go in your garden waste bin

Do you have a lime green lidded bin for garden waste? These bins can now be used for both food and garden waste.

This means you can use this bin to dispose of unpackaged fruit and vegetable scraps, meat and bones, dairy products, seafood, bread, pasta, cereal, rice and leftovers, as well as your garden waste.

The food and garden waste collected is made into nourishing compost for Victorian farmers.

If you already have a food and garden waste bin, you are eligible for a FREE benchtop kitchen caddy and certified compostable liners. 

To order a food and garden waste bin, please call Council on 1300 322 322.

Return Unwanted Medicines

Do you have unwanted or expired medicines taking up space in your bathroom cabinet?

Unwanted medicines can be dangerous if they get into the wrong hands, with thousands of children ending up in hospital due to medicine poisoning each year. They can also cause serious harm to the environment if tipped down the sink/toilet or tossed out with the garbage.

Return Unwanted Medicines is a free, convenient program which enables you to collect up such medicines and return them to your local pharmacy for safe disposal.

How to dispose of polystyrene

Sometimes polystyrene has a plastic identification code (recycling symbol with a number stamped in it), which prompts people to mistakenly put it in the recycling bin.

However just because something is technically recyclable, doesn’t mean our household recycling system is equipped to accept it or there are the markets available to recycle it.

Polystyrene is not accepted in your recycling bin and must instead be placed in your garbage bin.

Alternatively, there are drop-off options for specific types of polystyrene outside of the Frankston City municipality.

Food labelling – ‘use by’ versus ‘best before’ 

The 'use by' date and 'best before' date on packaged foods are very different, but commonly confused.

Knowing the difference can help you manage the foods you store and reduce food waste.

Food should not be eaten after the ‘use by’ date and cannot legally be sold after this date because it may pose a health or safety risk.

Food can be eaten for a while after the ‘best before’ date as it should still be safe, however it may have lost some quality. Food can still be sold after its best before date, as long as it is still fit for human consumption.

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