Waste challenge outcomes For the months of July and August, the Sustainability Team challenged themselves to look at common waste items around the office and how to replace them. Here’s what we found so far…. Varu
Will So, you forgot your reusable cup but bought a takeaway coffee anyway and now you’re standing at the bins wondering which bits of your BioPak coffee cup go where. Sound familiar? BioPak is an Aussie company focused working to make single-use packaging more sustainability. BioPak coffee cups are paper-based, sourced from managed plantations, and coated with ‘Ingeo’ – a bioplastic made from plants, not fossil fuels. The cups are printed with non-toxic, environmentally friendly water or soy-based inks. BioPak lids are made from PLA (Polylactic Item Bin
Acid) – a bioplastic made from plants instead of fossil fuels. PLA lids are intended to be commercially composted as part of the circular economy. It’s important to understand what the cups and lids are made from to help guide us through the disposal process.
I picked a sweet-tooth problem, and no I’m not talking about visits to the dentists, but instead plastic packaged snacks and individually wrapped chocolates, lollies and toffee’s around the office. To reduce chocolate wrapper waste, swap out individually wrapped chocolates for a chocolate bar. If you’d like to go the extra mile, source chocolates that are Fairtrade or Rainforest certified, just look for the logo on the packaging. Bulk wholefood stores in your local area would also sell unpackaged chocolate chunks (yum) which you can fill your container up to your hearts content. You might be thinking, hey what about the mints and chocolates at meetings? They must be wrapped to keep them fresh for longer. Alter Eco is a commercially compostable individually wrapped chocolate brand, available at wholefood stores. The wrappers can be thrown into the UTAS GREEN organics bin or FOGO bin if provided by your council. They cannot be composted in a home compost or thrown in the YELLOW recycling bin. However, it is slightly more expensive than buying a packet of Mentos. Another option is to encourage BYO nibbles or swap the lolly bowl with a fruit bowl, it’s better for you in the long run too.
What’s the difference between biodegradable and compostable? Click here
FYI
UTAS GREEN organics bin or FOGO bin if provided by your local council. Otherwise RED waste/ landfill bin. UTAS GREEN organics bin or FOGO bin if provided by your local council. Otherwise RED waste/ landfill bin.
BioPak cannot be composted in your home garden compost bin. “Bio” doesn’t equal recyclable; takeaway coffee cups do not go in the YELLOW recycling bin.
BioPak coffee cups
PLA means made from plants not fossil fuels so your lid will be labelled ‘compostable’.
Biopak PLA lid
Biopak PS lid, blank lid or only a recycling logo
BioPak cups fit universal lid sizes, your local coffee shop may source their lids from elsewhere. This means no mater which colour the lid is, check the label as the lid may not be compostable.
YELLOW recycling bin
If this all seems too complicated for a simple cup of coffee, then consider investing in a reusable cup (they are supported by most cafes again after COVID-19 concerns about safety have been addressed – just like always, make sure they are clean!), or taking a 10-minute break to dine in. Coffee tastes better out of a real cup anyway!
Carmen
Catherine Recently our team took part in a pilot trial for the student led Waste Diary Project this semester. We recorded the waste we collected over 7 days. Collecting waste helped us to identify common items we are sending to landfill and question where they are coming from. As we were working from home these related to home rather than office materials, for example single-use packaging for pasta and snacks. The motivation to investigate materials at home was spurred on by our screening of the Story of Plastic, which is available for staff and students to watch online until August 30.
cabinet or you can leave them in the Newnham TUU re-use centre, or a copy room) rather than throwing them away. Some final thoughts: do not take/accept free pens if you don’t need them. Use your pen until the end of its life and dispose of them appropriately by putting them in the recycling walls at UTAS. At the end of their life drop your pens at your nearest recycling wall. Contact will. plaister@utas.edu.au if you’d like to install a recycling wall in your campus building or UTAS accommodation building.
Despite living in a digital world, pens are still an everyday item and you have probably gone through a few in your life already (I know I have!). If you are looking for more sustainable options, here are some thoughts:
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Consider investing in a good-quality (e.g., metal) refillable pen – it can last a lifetime. Certain brands of ballpoint pens are manufactured so that you can remove the cartridge when the ink runs out and replace it with a new one. Look for cardboard pens. Our Marketing team has them on offer for University events and promotions. Buy pens made from recycled plastic; there are several options in the market. The University’s main provider (COS) offers this option. Tip: when searching for pens (or any other item!) in the COS catalogue online, filter by ‘symbol’ and select ‘eco-conscious’. If you have pens that work but you don’t need/like, consider offering them for free to your friends/colleagues or someone else (e.g., put them back in the stationery
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Bring your own containers or avoid single-use plastics through shopping at bulk food stores. Remember you don’t have to buy new to reduce your waste to landfill, find out what you have at home that can be repurposed as a container for bulk food shopping.
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Sustainability Bulletin • Issue 15 July/August 2020
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