Breaking the plastic addiction

It’s hard to believe that plastics bags have only been with us for about 50 years.

They seem to be such an essential part of life these days, we’ve forgotten how we managed to survive without them. But are they really as great an invention as they’re cracked up to be? Used for a few minutes each, most plastics bags will go on to sit in a landfill for between 20 and 1000 years.

Many end up on our streets and waterways, where they’re eaten by wildlife. It’s estimated that by 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in our oceans. Mmm - fish for dinner anyone?

But there are other options. Many people are going back to using their own reusable cloth bags to carry their shopping in. My family leaves a stash of bags by the front door and in the car so we’re never caught short.

Despite our best efforts though, we still find plastic bags and other kinds of soft plastic coming into our household. An easy way to stop this going to landfill is to collect it together and take it to one of the soft plastic recycling bins at Pak ‘n Save, The Warehouse or New World.

Any kind of soft plastic that can be scrunched into a ball can go in these bins, including chip packets, biscuit wrappers, bread bags, cling film and bubble wrap. These are turned into park benches, fence posts and fitness circuits for playgrounds.

Some people in our community are also using plastic bags as a resource for creating handcrafted products. I recently visited Otahuhu Kindergarten and saw the lovely basket (pictured) crocheted with plastics bags by one of the centre nanas.

Let’s all be mindful of what happens to our rubbish once we’ve finished with it, and reduce the need for plastics bags in our world!

Top Talking Rubbish Tips: 1. Collect all your soft plastics together and take them to a recycling bin at Pak ‘N Save, The Warehouse or New World 2. Take reusable cloth bags with you when shopping and say ‘‘no’’ to plastic bags.

For waste minimisation support in Mangere/Otahuhu, please contact Talking Rubbish, justine@mefsc.org.nz.

For more tips on reducing your waste visit Auckland Council’s makethemostofwaste.co.nz. This site includes awesome recipes on turning left-overs into tasty treats and helpful tips on how to re-use items we commonly throw away, plus info on events where you can learn more about living sustainably.