With many of us suddenly confined to our homes for some time into the future, our household waste and recycling bins could fill quickly. Think food scraps, plastics and packaging. Here are some easy ways to keep household waste under control in these challenging times.

Savage Garden, Plant Life and D.I.G aren’t just musical acts: they’re also the names given to some of the edible gardens in the eastern suburbs as part of an urban farming movement in our backyards and on our balconies.

Keen to try surfing but don’t own a board? Need to drill a hole in a wall or trim a hedge but don’t own the necessary power tools?

Imagine being able to borrow these items for tasks you only do now and then, rather than splash some cash to get them. Community-run tool and other sharing ‘libraries’ help save you money, and kick goals for the planet.

What does a local mum, writer and high school student-come-plastics campaigner have in common? They are ordinary yet extraordinary women making it their mission to rid the world of single-use plastics.

With Plastic Free July just around the corner, we talked to these female change-makers about their paths in inspiring others to make plastic-free living second nature.

Did you know over 24,000 of your neighbours in the Eastern Suburbs are recycling their food scraps at home?

These local everyday heroes are kicking some serious goals in the ‘war on waste’. They’ve kept well over 3 million kilograms of food waste out of the tip (think 18 million bananas), plus almost 6 kilotons of carbon emissions out of the atmosphere. Nice one!

So why is everyone composting?

Dumped rubbish on our streets is an ongoing issue for us in Bondi and surrounds. Aside from fining offenders, how else can we tackle this issue head-on? 

Read below for how Waverley Council has been working to address this in a few ways, by building community pride in our neighbourhoods and beautifying spaces. 

Waverley Council has partnered with Wayside Chapel to trial temporary street gardens to reduce illegal dumping near the Warners Avenue Op Shop. The verge site on Niblick Street and Warners was chosen after persistent dumping had been reported to Council by members of the public and documented by our waste enforcement staff.

Christmas is just around the corner, a time for cheer and gift giving.

Unfortunately, between the wrapping and the packaging, more often than not this gift giving can leave us with mountains of waste. And that's rubbish (literally!). 

It’s official, folks! Single use plastic bags are on the way out from your local supermarket. Coles and Woolworths, amongst others - in a progressive move to prevent these bags making their way into landfill, or worse, into our environment - have voluntarily removed those grey plastic bags from their shelves all across Australia.

Kicking the plastic habit is not only giving our planet a break, it’s making good business sense. To celebrate Plastic Free July, meet the entrepreneurs and business folk who are innovating, designing and educating in our local patch to help create a plastic-free world for us all.

Heroes don’t always wear capes. They are usually amongst us, doing their bit to make this world a better place. You’re probably one of them…!