Refuse   Reduce   Reuse   Repair   Recycle

It may seem more convenient for you to chuck everything into one bin, but is it really convenient for the environment?

There are many ways to recycle items at home and once you know how, it becomes easy and like second nature, trust me. Before you buy a brand new item ask yourself, “do I NEED this?”. There are many items that we buy or accumulate that we usually don’t need. If you’re looking for a jumper, why not check out an op shop? There are many around the place and we are lucky in Gawler… we have 7 op shops! Buying second-hand is a great way to reuse items that someone else is finished with. Almost everything you could want can be found second-hand, you just need to be patient and keep looking! Buy, Swap, Sell pages are a great place to look for items and also sell your own.

Buying less packaging

It is becoming easier to purchase food and other items without packaging which is a great way reduce the amount of items you need to worry about recycling.

Some things to remember when you go shopping:

  • Take your reusable bags – both the larger canvas type and smaller ones for putting your fruit and veg in
  • Leave fruit and veg loose in the trolley
  • Use paper mushroom bags for fruit and veg if you forget your reusable ones
  • Choose products that come in glass/metal packaging rather than ones that come in plastic

There are places in Gawler where you can buy package-free products, including:

Farmers’ Markets – bread, dairy, poultry, meat and seasonal vegetables and fruit can be purchased no packaging
Barossa Farmers’ Market
Mt Pleasant Farmers’ Market
Adelaide Farmers’ Market

Mega Health Gawler – the people here are super helpful and there a range of things that be purchased in bulk but sometimes they are hidden so it’s good to ask or click here for a full list of the products available. They offer herbs, spices, teas, pulses, nuts, body building powders, green powders, oils, spreads, snacks, hair, body, cosmetic and health care products and cleaning products. You can also bring your own containers and they will fill them up for you.

Bakers Delight – offers brown paper bags with their bread or you can ask for no bag and use your own.

She’s Apples – have bulk bins for nuts, seeds, flours etc that you can help yourself too. They only offer plastic bags but you can bring your own bags.

Supermarkets – have bulk bins for nuts, dried fruit, seeds etc.