Sustainable consumption
Sustainable consumption involves consuming products that have minimum use of natural resources, toxic materials and generate low emissions and waste. This ensures minimum environmental impact and better prospects for our future generations.
Simple ideas to help consume sustainably include:
- Shop local - this supports local jobs and reduces your food miles
- Buy seasonal produce. Farmers' markets are a great source of fresh seasonal produce
- Buy organic and Fairtrade where cost allows
- Grow your own food
- Try to avoid purchasing goods with excess packaging - Reduce, reuse and recycle
- Try composting or starting a worm farm to minimise what goes in the bin.
See our Sustainable Consumption Fact Sheet
Green Pages
Green Pages is a quarterly magazine and online green directory. Their website directory contains a listing of over 7,000 sustainable listings of products, services and Australian green news.
Visit the Green Pages website.
Eco-Buy
ECO-Buy is an online shopping directory which also lists green products and services in Australia. ECO-Buy works with businesses and governments to help them make environmentally sound purchases.
ECO-Buy is funded by Sustainability Victoria and the Department of Sustainability and Environment, with the purpose of boosting demand and usage of green purchases. Their philosophy of green purchasing is choosing products and services that are the least damaging to the environment and human health.
Local governments and organisations in Victoria have a membership with ECO-buy which provides practical advice, as well as policy and strategy development and the full range of ECO-Buy services. Without a membership individuals are also able to peruse the ECO-Buy database, which gives a comprehensive list of independently assessed 'green products and services.'
For more information visit the ECO-Buy Website.
The Freecycle Network is a website, but it's also a global community of sharing. The sites ultimate purpose is to prevent unwanted household goods going to landfill, by providing a forum for people to give away or trade items.
So perhaps instead of putting your unwanted kid's bed or old TV out on the kerb, you should put it on Freecycle first. You never know who might want it, and who knows, you might just find something useful to trade in return.
There are many local branches in Australia, simply enter your region, join up and see what's up for grabs!
Visit the Freecycle website and find a group near you.
The sight of wild daisies, cornflowers and nasturtiums can only mean one thing— spring is in the air.
This is nature’s season of new beginnings, and it is a great time to plant your vegie garden.
Planting a garden has many benefits. Importantly it can provide you with the freshest inseason vegetables and reduce food bills. And there is real pleasure in watching it grow.
If you have never tried it before, you’ll be surprised how easy it can be. There are short courses and workshops available to improve your knowledge, and many are free to attend.
Even if you live in an apartment, you can grow herbs and greens in pots. Alternatively, find a community garden in your area where you can rent a plot.
For excess food, organise a food swap at work or in your street or neighbourhood.
There are large-scale food swaps in the area.
As the word suggests, rubbish is just that - a wasted resource that has used up energy, water and materials to be produced, only to be thrown away.
Waste makes up 3.4 per cent of Victoria’s greenhouse gas pollution.
Packaging is a major source of landfill waste. Many products are individually wrapped when they don’t need to be. Nature often provides us with all the packaging that’s needed by way of fruit or vegie skins. You can help start a low-packaging revolution by buying only unpackaged veggies and fruits.
A large proportion of our household waste is from leftover food. If leftovers are composted, or fed to a worm farm instead of a garbage bin, they break down without creating methane emissions.
You can use compost, worm castings and ‘worm juice’ - the nutrient-rich by-product from worm farms - in your garden instead of expensive soil nutrients and pesticides.
Joining one of Moreland’s community gardens is a great way to learn more about composting and worm farming.
The correct disposal of electronic gadgets such as mobile phones, computers and batteries is an important issue. Mobile Muster (mobilemuster.com.au), the official recycling program of the mobile phone industry, lets you drop-off old phones at over 3500 points across Australia.
Batteryback is a free service for householders to drop off old, flat and unwanted single-use and rechargeable batteries for recycling. Byteback lets you recycle computers and accessories. For details on these two programs go to resourcesmart.vic.gov.au.
Green Guru’s quick tip: If you don’t wear it, swap it! swapstyle.com, founded by Aussie fashion designer Emily Chesher, is a great website for people who want to stay stylish without creating more waste by throwing out old clothes.
Green Guru appears every three weeks in the Moreland Leader.
Reusable nappies have come a long way since terry-towel squares and safety pins. They are easy to use and can be washed at home.
For details, go to the Australian Nappy Network website.
Save money by borrowing toys from a toy library.
This is also great for the environment, since toys get reused instead of ending up in a landfill. The Moreland Toy Shed on Jolley St in West Brunswick is the nearest toy library for Moreland residents.
Use the sun’s heat in winter and cool breezes in summer as much as possible to keep your child comfortable while saving on heating and cooling bills.
Merlyston residents Shane French, Christine and baby Elsie have chosen cloth nappies.Identify rooms that are comfortable at different times of the year and, if practical, use these rooms more.
Draught-proofing your home can reduce heat loss in winter and shading can keep you cool in summer.
Sustainability Advice is a service of the Moreland Solar City project, part of the Australian Government's Solar Cities initiative, led by the Moreland Energy Foundation, in partnership with Moreland City Council, the Brotherhood of St Laurence and Sustainability Victoria.
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