Australia Post announced this week a national recycling program for used plastic mail satchels that will hopefully reduce the amount of satchels reaching landfill.
The national postal service provider says the free program will see used satchels sent on to waste solutions company TerraCycle for processing into items like esky liners and plastic garden furniture.
Now the program is underway, consumers can box up old satchels, download a label from the
TerraCycle website, and drop them into any Australia Post outlet
The meteoric rise of online commerce and its profound effect on Australia Post’s fortunes are usually couched in terms around the rapid decline of paper mail and corresponding revenue.
But internet shopping and its reliance on single-use waterproof plastic satchels to post millions of parcels have created a new dilemma – how does a thriving parcel business cope with the environmental challenge of keeping packaging out of landfill and on a sustainable footing?
Nestled within the market for consumer plastics is an ever-growing industry for bioplastics -- plastics made from plant biomass, such as corn. In an increasingly sustainability-driven world populated by more conscious consumers and green-minded individuals than ever before, this growing focus on plant-derived plastics should come as no surprise.
Like to earn some cash for your school by recycling some unusual items? Terracycle Australia has programs covering toothpaste tubes and toothbrushes, Nespresso coffee capsules, cleaning product packaging and more. The collected waste is either up-cycled into new products like shopping bags and pencil cases, or recycled. Even better, schools can be paid for each item collected. Check out the Terracycle Australia website to see how your school can get involved.
You can now recycle your unwanted goods and support the work of Conservation Volunteers all at the same time! TerraCycle’s goal is to eliminate the idea of waste by engaging consumers in the collection of non- recyclable product and packaging waste. For every piece of waste collected you can donate two cents to Conservation Volunteers. In addition to diverting waste from landfills and engaging consumers, the waste is either recycled or upcycled in to new products. These products include garden beds, park benches or walkways, all of which can be used in Conservation Volunteer projects across the country.
School students have been told the value of up-cycling as part of national recycling week featuring Terracycle.
The Mudgee Post Shop was identified in the Top 5 Australia Post recycling locations in NSW and Australia Post encouraged local Mudgee residents to continue their positive recycling habits during National Recycling Week November 9-15.
It's fair to say that in most personal relationships the decision to move for one partner's career doesn't always pan out for the both parties. Luckily, that wasn't the case for Anna Minns. The former criminal lawyer had already switched to working on environmentally focused projects by the time her first child was born. Then, her focus was the Daily Lime website, a project Minns founded (and won awards for) to provide readers with green tips including from high profile contributors such as Kevin Rudd and Tim Flannery.
Brisbane has been announced as Queensland's Cleaner Cities awards winner for the second year running by the NGO environmental movement; Keep Queensland Beautiful.
