Welcome to the February edition of the HOW newsletter

In this edition, find out about the Recycling Victoria Communities Fund, how to get involved in Clean Up Australia Day and about our upcoming cloth nappies session, get tips for recycling, composting and worm farming, ideas for waste-free lunches and more.

Recycling Victoria Communities Fund

The Recycling Victoria Communities Fund provides more than $5.4 million over four years for social enterprises, not for profits and community organisations to collaborate and explore smarter ways of using resources and materials in their local area.

Funded organisations will receive grants of between $25,000 and $250,000 for projects to increase reuse and repair and to share opportunities in their communities, with the goal of minimising litter, illegal dumping and waste to landfill.

Applications close 3pm, 19 March 2021.

Clean Up Australia Activities

Picking up litter is a great way to enjoy your favourite places such as parks, beaches and bushland reserves.

Every piece of rubbish picked up makes a difference. 

To get involved, you can:

1. Join a local Clean Up Australia Day event (free)

When: Sunday 7 March, 2021

Where: Various sites registered across the municipality including:

Ahmadiyya Muslim Community
House of Peace Mosque
(meet at mosque gate entrance,
6 Leisureland Drive, Langwarrin)
10am–1pm

3198 Seaford Beach Patrol
Seaford Pier and Beach
(meet at barbecues near Seaford Pier)
9.30–11am

3199 Frankston Beach Patrol
Frankston Pier and Beach
(meet at Frankston Pier,
5N Pier Promenade)
From 9.15am (sign in)

2. Participate in the Clean Up Australia plog-a-thon ($20 per participant)

Plogging (picking up litter while walking or jogging) is a great way to get some exercise and clean up the environment at the same time.

Conditions apply to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission.

Food waste research

34% of all food waste in Australia is consumer food waste, that is, it is generated by households. A staggering 92% of this ends up in landfill, where it breaks down and releases methane, a potent greenhouse gas (Fight Food Waste Cooperative Research Centre, 2018).

These statistics are very interesting, as while food waste is commonly recognised as an issue, most consumers don’t think they waste food. The research suggests that we waste more food than we think.

Top tips for reducing food waste:

• Plan your meals
• Shop with a list (and stick to it)
• Love your leftovers and eat the remainder of last night’s dinner
• Cook with all the edible parts of vegetables
• Storing food correctly
• Use a home compost or worm farm for your food scraps
• Dispose of food scraps in your garden waste bin (the one with the lime green lid)

Waste-free lunches

School is back and hence so are school lunch preparations. You can reduce packaging waste, save money and encourage healthy eating by packing your kids (and yourself or partner) a waste-free lunch.

Here are some tips to get you started:

• Place sandwiches or leftovers in a reusable container rather than using cling wrap
• Pack a reusable drink bottle which can be refilled throughout the day as needed
• Buy food in bulk where feasible, then decant the desired portion into the lunchbox or food container (e.g. nuts, popcorn, biscuits)
• Consider complementing the lunch with package free snacks such as fruit

Cloth Nappies 101 – Free webinar

Tuesday 2 March, 7.30pm

Join Elana from Cloth Nappy Workshops Melbourne to discover the world of modern cloth nappies. Elana will take you through everything you need to know to get started with cloth nappies and show how they are good for your baby, your budget and the environment. Learn how to wash them, where to buy them and what to look for.

The session covers washing tips, dispels myths, shows the different styles of modern cloth nappies and most importantly gives you an opportunity to ask questions to get you confident with using cloth nappies. Best of all – this is independent, free advice from someone who isn't selling them!

Plastic Free Periods

For most women, the monthly burden of a period results in waste from used pads and tampons. However this waste can be avoided by making the switch to reusable menstrual products.

This has a number of benefits:

• Less waste
• Less cost
• Reusable cloth pads are better for your skin than disposables

Reusable menstrual products include:

• Menstrual cups – bell-shaped devices that sit inside the vaginal canal where they collect blood
• Reusable cloth menstrual pads – to clean, soak in cold water for a few hours or overnight, squeeze out the excess moisture, use stain removing soap if required, then wash by hand or machine wash with other clothes
• Period pants – reusable, washable undies with built in absorbency

While the upfront cost for reusable options is greater than that of disposables, you don’t need to keep buying more each month, so in the long run you save.

These products can be purchased from a range of online stores as well as some health food shops and eco grocery stores. Alternatively, you may like to try making your own reusable menstrual pads, which will save you even more money

Second hand, not second best

According to the War on Waste, 6,000kg of clothing, textiles and leather is thrown out every 10 minutes (ABC, 2021). What a waste!

The good news is, that much of this clothing waste can be kept out of landfill if we opt for pre-loved (second-hand) clothing instead of new, where possible.

Op shopping is a great way to do this. By op shopping, you can create your own unique sense of style. You can look amazing without spending a fortune!

There are also lots of online sites where you can source pre-love clothing and other items.

Frankston City is lucky enough to have several amazing op shops.

Unsubscribe from telephone book deliveries

With the internet more accessible, many of us no longer have a need for a physical telephone directory.

Save paper (and trees) by cancelling further phone book deliveries, if you no longer have a need for them.

Recycling tips

Most of us rate ourselves fairly highly when it comes to recycling. However we often overestimate our recycling knowledge and there are still some common recycling mistakes that get made.

Please ensure you:

• tip the recycling from your inside bin or bag into your recycling wheelie bin (no recycling in plastic bags please)
• make sure your recycling is free from food and liquid (rinsing first is preferred)
• check the Council website for information about what can and can’t go in your bin at home and to find other disposal options

Composting tip

You may have been heard that it’s better to have two compost bins than one. This allows you to use one as a ‘working bin’ that you keep adding food scraps and garden waste to and the other as a ‘digest’ bin. Once full, the contents of your digest bin can be left to break down into compost for use in your garden. While this is great tip, not everyone has the space for two compost bins.  What’s more, you can still create compost for your garden with just one compost bin.

While the top contents of a working compost bin will not be broken down, the nutrient rich compost which forms underneath can still be accessed and be applied to your garden. Simply open the door at the front of your compost bin and scoop the compost out. Alternatively, if your compost bin doesn’t have a door, lift the compost bin off the ground and remove the unbroken down top contents to access the compost underneath. Once you are finished gathering up all the compost you require, return the compost bin and add the unbroken down material back in.

Worm farming

A common question that comes up in Council’s worm farming workshops, is “what kind of worms are suitable for a worm farm”?

There are many different types of worms. Common garden worms are generally not suitable, as they struggle with the intensity of the nutrients in a worm farm environment. Compost worms are best. They live closer to the surface and prefer wetter conditions. The best types of compost worms for your worm farm are Tiger worms, Red Wrigglers and Indian Blues. They can eat up to half their body weight in one day and like to eat food scraps, manures and mulch.

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