Hi Landcarers

Ok, we are now on the home straight for 25 December. Summer has ‘officially’ begun and many of us are attending the obligatory end of year functions, celebrating achievements and for some, harvest is full steam ahead.

Are you one of those people who has to tell everyone how busy you are and oh, it’s so exhausting attending so many end of year functions etc etc and don’t even get me started on the recycling because it’s just another thing I have to do on top of everything else and I don’t have time to wash out that extra milk carton and sort it all out. Stop!

Stop and think about how fortunate we are. Stop complaining about being too busy to sort out the recycling for the bins and having to sort your waste. It is a privilege! It is a privilege to use these products that produce so much waste. If you don’t want to recycle, don’t use the waste.

We produce so much waste and we are fortunate to live in areas where our Council has taken on the initiative to do something about it so that our future generations don’t have to pay for our lack of foresight.

At this time of the year, take some time to be thankful for the ‘stuff’ we have, the security we have, the first world ‘problems’ that we have and just get on with it.

While I am on the recycling bandwagon…..do you know what goes in your bins? Do you still throw your recycling in the bin in a plastic bag? Don’t! Think of the systems down the line that have to sort all of our rubbish out. If for no other reason, as a ratepayer, just consider the extra money you will have to pay to have it sorted because you couldn’t be bothered using the right bin.

Do you know what the recycling logo looks like? Did you know that local supermarkets also recycle bags and soft plastics that you can’t recycle at home. If you are like me and sometimes forget those recyclable shopping bags when you do weekly shop. Have them ready for your next shop to return to the store. If nothing else, having them lying around will drive you crazy and remind you not to forget your reusable bags next time.

If you are mocked for having a higher appreciation for recycling than other around you….suck it up and set an example. You are the one leading the way!

Because there are many plastics that don’t break down, they need to be turned into other products. Plastics packaging like bread bags, biscuit packets, confectionery packets, cereal box liners, newspaper wrap, plastic shopping bags and old green bags can be made into new products.

Of course, there are many other recycling programs for other items including phones and accessories, which you can drop into our box at Central West Lachlan Landcare, printer cartridges which you can drop into Australia Post.

So, the thing that started all of this recycling rant off was my desire to do a little festive decorating at our Landcare office and so went looking for decorations that were recycled or that I could recycle. I would love to see your festive decorations via facebook if you have some great ideas. I will be popping some links on our facebook page leading up to Christmas, so go on and have a look.

As usual, links to items in this article are available on facebook or on our website at http://www.centralwestlachlanlandcare.org including details of our Native Seed Collection workshop on Monday, 5 December.

Until next week, happy Landcaring!