Welcome to the November edition of the HOW newsletter

Hello everyone,

In this edition, find out about our upcoming preserving session and how to get involved in Clean Up Australia Day, what to do with items that can't go in your recycling bin and get tips for recycling and reducing waste over the holiday period.

Preserving basics webinar

Wednesday 9 December, 7 - 9pm

Learn how to make delicious preserves with seasonal produce.

Maria from My Green Garden will give you the know-how and confidence to use age old techniques to transform fruits and vegetables into pickles, jams, sauces and chutneys.

Use these skills to make delicious gifts in time for Christmas and the holiday season.

These simple methods for preserving foods can also help to reduce food waste, so it's a win-win!

Clean Up Australia Day – register a site now

Participating in a local Clean Up Australia Day event is a great opportunity to enjoy your favourite park, beach or bushland reserve and to get to know your community.

Every piece of rubbish picked up makes a difference. 

Government restrictions to reduce the spread of COVID-19 apply.

When: Sunday 7 March, 2021

Where: Various locations around Frankston City

Registration:
To register a site or join an existing site visit: cleanup.org.au or call: 1800 CUA DAY (282 329)

Register early for a free post-event collection (selected sites only).

Council may also be able to assist you in promoting your community clean up event. For further information, please contact Joanna Drennan, Waste Minimisation Officer: 1300 322 322 or email: Joanna.Drennan@frankston.vic.gov.au by Sunday 31 January 2021. 

Low waste gift ideas

Unwanted presents, packaging and wrapping paper mean that gift giving can produce a lot of waste. This can be avoided by:

• Giving the gift of an experience or donation to charity
• Buying quality pre-loved (second-hand) gifts
• Buying a gift made from recycled materials
• Avoiding overly packaged gifts
• Baking or making gifts
• Gifting your time, skills or knowledge, in the form of much loved recipes or a voucher for your time to assist with babysitting, walking the dog or gardening
• Wrapping gifts with items you already have, such as children's paintings, tea towels or pre-used wrapping paper saved from previous years
• Using last year's gift cards, tags and Christmas tree decorations to create new ones, or using cardboard from packaging, toilet rolls or pre-used wrapping paper and calendars
• Checking with the person (or someone they are close with) if the gift you have in mind will be suitable
• Organising a Kris Kringle to reduce the number of gifts you need to make, bake or purchase

Avoiding waste on holidays

Avoiding waste may be not always be top priority on holidays, however with a bit of forward thinking, this can be done quite effortlessly.

Here are some tips for avoiding/reducing waste outside of the home:

• Bring a refillable water bottle and use the Choose Tap app to find locations across Australia where you can refill
• Choose to dine in the cafe or restaurant where possible, rather than opting for takeaway
• Consider a reusable coffee cup for hot drinks (see Contactless Coffee)
• Use your own cutlery for takeaway
• Opt for a packed lunch when unpackaged meals and snacks aren't an option
• Pack reusable shopping and produce bags for shopping away from home 
• Give preference to accommodation options with a food waste collection and/or other waste saving initiatives

Recycling tips for the festive season and beyond

Christmas and the festive season can be a busy time of year but it is still important to continue sorting your waste and recycling correctly.

Below are some resources to assist you to do just that.

Council also recently ran a waste and recycling webinar with industry experts from Cleanaway and Solo Resource Recovery. This webinar can be viewed here.

Beyond the bin – specialty recycling options

Just because something is technically recyclable, doesn’t mean it can go in your yellow-lidded recycling bin at home. Fortunately there are other recycling options, many of which are listed on our A – Z Waste and Recycling Directory:

• Clothing in good condition can be donated or dropped off to the clothing retailer if they have a take-back scheme
• Food waste can go in your garden waste bin at home (the one with the lime green lid, if you have one) or be home composted 
• E-waste and light globes can be dropped off to the Frankston Regional Recycling and Recovery Centre (FRRRC)
• Household batteries can be dropped off at ALDI or FRRRC
• Mobile phones can be recycled via FRRRC, MobileMuster or Zoos Victoria
• Soft scrunchable plastics such as plastic bags, bread bags, frozen food bags and cereal box liners can be dropped off to a soft-plastics collection bin at most major supermarkets
• Unwanted / expired medicines can be returned to any pharmacy in Australia

Where to buy recycled products

Our recycling system is market dependent, which means in order for items to be recycled, there needs to be a sufficient demand for products made from recycled materials. You can help create this demand by buying products made from recycled materials.

There are two directories to help you find products made from recycled materials.

Click on the links below to view these.

Composting and worm farming during the holiday season

If you are planning a holiday this summer, there are a few things to consider so your compost or worm farm survives without you.

Compost bins:

Composts can survive on their own for some time. Your food scraps and garden waste will continue to decompose when you are gone. However the decomposition may slow down without regular turning or if it dries out. To address this, consider asking a friend or neighbour to pop around and turn your compost every one or two weeks and to add water if the compost is too dry. Regular turning also prevents rodents from nesting in your compost.

Worm farms:

Worms perform best in temperatures between 18 and 24 degrees Celsius and can die if they overheat too much. When you go on holidays, ensure your worms are in a cool spot where they cannot overheat or organise a worm sitter. Also remember to give them some uncut food scraps when you go, as this will take them longer to get through. If the worms run out of food scraps, they will eat their excrement, however they prefer food scraps so you may like to ask a friend, neighbour or your worm sitter to top them up from time to time, depending on how long you are gone.

Container deposit scheme for Victoria – public consultation opportunity

A Container Deposit Scheme (CDS) operates by providing a refund for empty drink containers that are returned to an approved refund collection point, providing an incentive for people to recycle their beverage containers.

The Victorian Government is currently seeking feedback on the proposed design for Victoria’s container deposit scheme and how it should operate, including how the deposit should be received, types of eligible containers and options for refund collection infrastructure.

The consultation closes Monday 30 November 2020.

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