Each year Australians waste around 7.3 million tonnes of food equivalent to about 300kg per person or one in five bags of groceries, at a cost of about $20 billion! Australian Government

If we get better at buying only what we actually need to use, and avoid single-use and non-recyclable materials, we can limit the amount of energy needed in their production Explore the checklist to find out more.

Roadmap-To-Zero logo Waste Checklist
    We know that some of these actions may be difficult with the current COVID-19 restrictions, see * for impacted actions
  • Take a re-useable water bottle with you whenever you go out
  • Say “no” to single-use plastics (carrier bags, straws, cutlery, water bottles, coffee cups, etc)
  • Buy re-useable glass/plastic containers for lunch and storage to reduce packaging
  • Keep re-useable shopping bags in the car and remember to use them when shopping
  • Buy the odd-shaped fruit and vegetables
  • Switch from disposable batteries to re-chargeable
  • Re-use wrapping paper or use a sustainable alternative like fabric (eg Furoshiki)
  • Choose gifts that have minimal/no plastic packaging
  • Recycle coffee pods and use loose-leaf tea in a diffuser rather than tea bags
  • Avoid buying products with unnecessary or excessive packaging
  • Mend & repair things if you can, or buy second hand rather than new
    • Learn more
  • Understand the environmental impact of different clothing fabrics
  • Use brown paper bags or greaseproof paper to wrap sandwiches rather than clingfilm
  • Before you buy something new, including clothes, ask yourself “Do I really need it?”
  • Borrow or rent items that you only use occasionally, even if you can afford to buy
  • Use a hairdresser that is part of Sustainable Salons Australia
    • Learn more
  • Compost your food scraps or start a worm farm
    • Learn more
  • Avoid buying things that cannot be recycled