32 caravanworld.com.au
- SHOP
SMARTER
- STAY
COMMITTED
TO RECYCLING
FROM TOP Refusing plastic shopping bags at the checkout is only the first step to living a plastic-
free existence; track down recycling bins, even when visiting remote locationsThere is nothing more beneficial and basic
to protect the environment than refusing
plastic bags — especially the ones you are
allowed to buy at the checkout. But this is
only the first step.
Choosing plastic-free food and groceries
is the next. Items packaged in recyclable
bottles, tins and cardboard cartons and
boxes are infinitely more Earth-friendly than
plastic, which is difficult to recycle and never
biodegradable.
This year, I’ve accepted the challenge
to switch to one better-packaged product
every time I shop, starting with recycled,
unbleached paper products (think toilet
paper and paper towel) and filling my own
mesh drawstring bags with unpackaged
fruits and vegetables that I get to select.Tracking down recycling bins in remote
Aussie destinations is not always easy, but
those great habits you have at home need to
be carried into the outback, too.
Staying committed to recycling means
having to store your tins, glass bottles and
jars, cardboard and newspapers until you hit
town. It’s not only one of the very best things
we can do as travellers, but it also forces us
to take stock of just how much waste we are
responsible for on a daily or weekly basis.
Before you leave on any road trip, remove
and recycle as much excess packaging as you
can from your groceries.
If space is at a premium and you are
headed somewhere remote, consider
switching to crushable aluminum beer cans
and compact wine casks instead of space-
hogging glass bottles — at least while you are
out in the wild.
Dead batteries dumped on the roadside
are an environmental nightmare, and it’s
all too tempting to abandon them when
disposal points are a long drive away. In
Australia, 70,000 car batteries run out of
puff every year, but the good news is that
they are 98 per cent recyclable and if you do,
you’ll be keeping 2L to 3L of toxic sulphuric
acid and lead out of the environment.
Two thirds of worn-out Aussie tyres endup in landfill too, but they are easy to recycle
as well. To find out where you can dispose
of tyres and batteries, visit Planet Ark’s
website (recyclingnearyou.com.au) and
simply punch in your location, or head to the
nearest council rubbish disposal station.
On the subject of recycling batteries,Aldi supermarkets have dedicated bins for
disposing of AA, AAA, C, D and 9V types of
batteries (including both rechargeable and
non-rechargeable).
You can take computer batteries to Battery
World outlets, and any good phone retailer
will accept old mobile phones for recycling.