Reduce, Reuse, Recyle

In line with the global move to mitigate humankind's impact on the environment, lifestyle changes are encouraged. An example is Australia's Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts' promotion of the principles of the "5Rs": Rethink, Reduce, Reuse, Repair and Recycle.

Rethink - the use of all resources. Is there a more environmentally friendly way of doing things, or do you really need to do it? Each time you purchase you create a demand. Think before you buy! For example, walk, join a car pool or catch a bus instead of taking the car, take a shopping bag instead of using plastic bags.

Reduce - the use of all resources, especially non-renewable ones. If you must do it use the alternatives that technology makes available. For example, send and read information electronically instead of printing it on paper, use renewable energy sources such as solar power.

Reuse - where possible reuse resources. For example, use newspaper for garden mulch and milk cartons for tree guards.

Repair - rather than throwing things away
For example, try to buy repairable equipment, sell/give broken whitegoods to repairers rather than sending it to landfills.

Recycle - waste items wherever possible. For example, sort your garbage and recycle all cans, bottles, paper and glass, set up a compost heap for food scraps.

Certainly in keeping with the city's reputation as one of most livable destinations in the world (ranking 6th, 2006), is the access of residents to services and infrastructure. Among the services Adelaide City Council provides is the Hard Refuse collection for domestic premises. Four times a year, the pedestrian paths in residential neighbourhoods will have an orderly pile of discarded household items for council's collection. These could range from furniture, bathroom fittings, to old white goods.

In the last council collection, this was a pile I saw from a house a number of blocks from the apartment building:













The Guggenheim Collection 1991 promotional poster of the Art Gallery of New South Wales now hangs on my hallway wall.













Oh well ... someone's trash is somebody's treasure.