Pittwater Life July 2017 Issue

Take the plastic-free pledge this month
and swap items such as disposable
coffee cups, shopping bags and straws
for reusable alternatives… you might be
surprised where it will take you.
Plastic-free living is about eliminating
single-use and semi-disposable plastic
items from your life, with many people
who become committed also weeding
out other plastic items over time, such as
choosing natural materials over polyester
fabric.
In time for July, Northern Beaches
Council has launched a multifaceted
campaign to wipe out single-use plastics
on the Northern Beaches and provide more
support for local businesses and the community
to change behaviours.
Northern Beaches Council Administrator
Dick Persson is also lobbying State and Federal
governments and major supermarkets
to bring about sustainable change, such as
a total ban on plastic bags.
Council plans to implement two new
policies that will change the way the organisation,
employees, agents, lessees and
contractors consume SUPs.
A Single Use Plastics Policy will drastically
reduce the procurement of plastics
and help the community to live without
them. Anyone planning to hold an event on
Council land will need to procure sustainable
alternatives to plastics too as they will
be banned under the Event Management
Policy.
Council’s 1800 staff will also make the
switch to reusable cups for their morning
coffees.
Also, Council has a great line-up of
plastic-free events including pop-up info
sessions with theatre performers at the
Beaches Market at Pittwater Park on Fridays
June 30 and July 21.
Take the lead from local Sarah Tait who
decided to live without plastic for a year
and share her experience on a blog (wanderlightly.com)
after being confronted with
sea pollution in Tonga.
Almost three years on the habit has
stuck, with Sarah reporting her “lighter”
approach to life has transformed her.
It has also influenced others, such as members
of the northern beaches-based youth
environmental conservation organisation
The Green Team who regularly join forces
with other like-minded groups to clean
beaches, host sustainability events, workshops
and screenings targeting younger
community folk.
The Green Team also shares its youthful
enthusiasm with the ladies behind Avalon
Boomerang Bags, regularly joining the
workshops at Sew Craft Cook, helping to
create the reusable bags for distribution
(check out Avalon Map on page 49 to see
where you can find – and importantly –
return Boomerang Bags).
Avalon Boomerang Bags recently
celebrated its first anniversary, reporting
more than 7,000 hand-made and donated
bags have been borrowed in Avalon alone,
Council says: ‘Ban the bag!’
saving almost half a million plastic bags
from going into landfill.
They say almost 75 per cent of Avalon
retailers are single use plastic bag-free.
Already many local businesses throughout
Pittwater are increasingly doing their
bit to reduce plastic, with many baristas
happy to fill 'keep cups', cafes shunning
plastic straws and retailers making an effort
to reduce packaging.
Russell Lamb, founder of Northern
beaches born business ecodownunder,
is always looking at ways the company
can further minimise its environmental
footprint.
Russell and the team have been trialling
various ways to reduce plastic use and utilise
eco-friendly packaging since launching
his first earth-friendly bed and bath shop
in Mona Vale in 2003.
He said the Plastic Free July campaign
nudged them to review their efforts to date.
“The plastic-free journey is not easy,”
Russell said.
Especially when you are part of a manufacturing
and supply chain that requires
products to be protected against the elements.
Nevertheless, ecodownunder has taken
several positive steps in-store to reduce
plastic.
“People don’t seem to mind buying their
towels unwrapped, however it’s a completely
different story when it comes to sheets,”
Russell explained.
So, after a few trials and errors, some
products now come protected in an ‘alternative
plastic’ packaging.
“Customers are also offered the opportunity
to unwrap products in store so we can
recycle packaging and we offer free cotton
shopping bags,” Russell said.
– Lisa Offord
News
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JULY 2017 21