I find the recycle number hard to find on some plastic containers, also are there clear instructions anywhere regarding which numbers are recyclable. ?

I agree! Good idea about the egg shells. Be careful with the potting mix bags, though. I knew someone who used potting mix haphazardly without taking precautions against the dust from it. They got Legionnaires disease, and were very, very sick, lucky to pull through.

yes very important

It is good to recycle

I think renewable energy and renewable materials is indeed a step in the right direction! I found an awesome poem online about recycling...by Divyesh J Shah. A Simple Plan by Divyesh J. Shah. A simple plan, For man or woman, Paper, plastic and cans, Recycle all, if we can, For neatness and cleanliness, Virtue next to Godliness, No one can refuse, The same can be reuse, Its individual responsibility and duty, To maintain their health and beauty, To stay fresh and green, Keep the place clean, People everywhere, Breathe the same air, Let’s take care, To keep the atmosphere fair, Wonderful land to share, And admire the beauty of nature! Nothing more to say, We have a vital role to play, Economy and environment benefits, Its time to stand, not to sit, We need to set a good example, Reduce, Reuse and Recycle, If we put our heads together, Our Earth will be clean forever!

It's a good idea to reduce plastic use etc, but there needs to be decent and practical alternatives.

Recycle all your plastic bags to the supermarket.

My grandson's school has a no-plastic policy for lunch boxes, a big step in the right direction!

Get as much plastic out of our ecosystem as possible. Hard plastic in the recycle bin, degradable plastic bags in the bin if not take to the supermarket bag bins. One small step for man one giant leap for mankind. Save the earth Save the turtles. It does not take a lot to do your bit. Nike people

Large clear plastic bags you can cut a hole in the bottom large enough to pull over a tomato bush stake and slide it down overnight on cold nights especially frosty ones. I worked for just over 40 years during which I had 3 or 4 solid plastic boxes I used for my lunch 5 days a week. They even went in the freezer a few times with stewed fruit in them when I was on holidays. By that time the lids of them started to split. The lids went in the re-cycle bin, the box part we used as pot plant saucers for several years until they perished before they also went in the re-cycle bin. Some COLES supermarkets have re-cycle bins for shopping bags. I re-use them until they eventually split. We had a line in the laundry which we also put washed plastic bags that had pre-packed fruit and vegetables in them previously. I give my egg shells to a neighbour who dries them and uses them around plants that love them. Firm plastic containers can be put in the re-cycle bin are being rinsed well.

Goodness me. I don't have enough time to go to those lengths. I recycle as much as I can but some of the symbols are quite difficult to see. I wonder why there are so many. I feed the food the cats leave to the neighbourhood fox and birds and I compost all tea bags, egg shells and veggies peelings and garden waste so I feel I pretty well do my bit.

We can do what we can. We needed to adopt Japan ways to cut down plastics and re used them

I have never seen a recycle bin at the Supermarket

Thank you, Joan. I do what I can - sure I’d do more and I’m going to. Wish I’d know where the supermarkets put all the plastic bags though.

Joan B. Are you from NZ

We reuse plastic bags of all kinds, and we also share with others to recycle like the senior center.

I try to avoid plastic bags whenever possible, but I do recycle any film bags. One of my reusable cloth bags is set aside for that purpose and then dump them into the bin at the supermarket each week.

Our council also does it's recycling via our yellow bins and our green waste in green bins. I recycle most of my kitchen food waste back into my mulch boxes in the garden.

Hubby has plastic boxes supplied by council to recycle paper and thin plastic. We go for a trip to the recycle building every fortnight with our collection. I do wish supermarkets would stop placing all vegetables in plastic which puts it back on customers to then recycle it. However we also find all sorts of plastics at the beach which has come from our neighbours further north.

Yes def recycle all I can..worm farm, everthing except plastic can go in..that gies to loc a l supermarket soft recyclable... chooks, they love the scraps..egg shells..into the oven..crumbled and into the garden....in summer we save gray water from washing machine to water our gardens..not that we will need to now evetything is flooded!Edited 16-Oct-22 16:54pm

That's great Joan. I went to a disposal site the other day and couldn't believe the amount of plastic dumped. I recently took down an above ground pool and all the supports and surrounds were a durable plastic but none of it could be recycled. I've tried to recycle plastic drums but no one seems interested in taking them. I'm also told that if there is anything in the recycling that can't be recycled, they tip the whole lot in landfill. It's frustrating the No of plastics that aren't recyclable. Edited 16-Oct-22 16:55pm

great idea to reduce plastic pollution

Good on you Joan, I collect my bread, vege and coffee bags, wash, dry on the line. I was unsure about the potting mix bags, because the brand of potting mix hasn't got the recycling logo on it, have often thought that it must be recycleable. I truly believe that if everyone can do small acts of recycling, reusing and reducing what we buy there is a chance of keeping the earth liveable for our children

We all can make a difference, and it doesn't take much effort. Both major super markets recycle soft plastics, most states have bottle and can return schemes, and most have access to a yellow bin. Start today, to save tomorrow for future generations.

Try not to use plastic bags wherever possible and if we I have to then I reuse them and recycle them. It is a must for my family to recycle and cut down on wasting anything.

Most of my rubbish is recycled and I do the same. Rinse everything, even if it means soaking in dishwashing liquid to make sure everything IS recycled. People have no idea how to recycle properly, because of the lack of information. I educated myself on this object, as I find it very important

I have very little actual garbage these days - don't need to put that bin out every week because of all the recycling I do. I do build up a lot of plastics for the Redcycle woolworths bins (incl. my cat food pouches, ice cream wrappers, chip bags, the plastic bags that my bbq chicken comes in from woolies - that definitely needs a wash to remove the fat etc, +++ - it does build up).. I thought that a number of things are made using the plastics as a component (outdoor furniture, timber that is used for making outdoor patios etc) I would be interested to know what else is being made out of it.

EXCELLENT

We save all our bags for groceries and recycling recycling.

It's SO easy to do, I recycle everything I can.

You're so romantic John b and you're so good at recycling but can I tell you one question do you like collecting recycled

Very good and nice to hear John b

NZ makes fence posts from recycled plastic.

ooh definetly recycle i agree with it

I make an effort to stay on top of my recycling and recycle everything that can be recycled just like most people.

Yes the littering thing..I used to live in Indonesia and a young surfer dropped rubbish on the beach..I knre by accent he was Ozzie, so I said to him you wouldn't do that at home..he was peeved but funny enough he came and apologised and said yes your right..sometimes you just need to stand up and say something....

It is easy to recycle your plastic and reduces the amount going to landfill

Recycle every chance I get. Have never recycled the egg shells.

That is fantastic! Many people just don't care, and they think are planet is always going to be a safe place to life. It already isn't! God appointed us as caretakers for this beautiful creation, and we have destroyed it. I'm willing to recycle all of my plastics, paper, etc. However, in this rural area, we don't have recycling bins. No one wants bothered, I guess. However, what we could contribute to recycling would add up to a lot. Also, please don't litter! I hate that and always have. You wouldn't do that in someone's home, and this planet belongs to all of us! The poor sea life is suffering and so is the wildlife. We need to care for the wonderful planet that God made for us! Get the churches involved if they aren't already!

Eggs Shells are great for roses but the trouble is that the crows here carry the little bits of powder away and dunk it in the bird bath. When we had the dogs they used to lick up the powdered egg shells and eat them which is fine because th worms don't like them one little bit and any calcium was passed through them and got composted. The soft plastics are an issue as I am not sure what actually happens to them when you take them tot he soft plastic disposal at the supermarket but the bottles and cans get collected and the money from them goes to my Favourite charity which owing to my wife's daughter dumped another Great Dane on us 6 days after I had to have my little girl put down because the super dog food we had been recommended killed her. As for compost here we compost all organics and use them in the gardens when needed and to help level the yard which is a slow process and we also shred most paper and cardboard and add tot he compost as well as the grass clippings and dropped leaves. The only real problem plastice we have here is the plastics used to carry chemicals which all go into the land fill bins simply because I can not trust things like Hydrochloric Acid Bottles to be safely disposed or any other way.

We always recycle plastic containers, and return plastic bottles for refund. Also, we use reusable grocery bags. We only use plastic bags to pick up after our dog, and dispose of our trash.

I take my plastic shopping bags, and the paper ones now that Woolworths has introduced, to my local op shop so they can be used to put customers' purchases in. At least they then get reused. Empty bottles and cartons are taken to the recycling depot, and we receive 10c per bottle/carton. It doesn't sound like much, but it adds up soon enough. Larger bottles that don't attract the refund are simply placed in the recycling bin, and some large milk bottles I have kept for storing water in.

I recycle whatever if the council allowed list. It is not difficult but saves the dumps and the nature.

We use all our shopping fruit bags for our bin and we get rid of our rubbish that way. We use glass jars as vases, they can look just as pretty dressed up with some ribbon. We all do what we can and we go to the tip to get rid of all our none burnables like glass, cans etc etc about twice a year. We try very hard not to waste too much.

Many years ago now South Australia re-introduced a Container deposit Scheme on bottles, cans etc. At the time it was claimed as a "World's First" but it was no such thing as where we came from, Northern Ireland, we had had such a scheme - though at the time it was only on Glass bottles - there were no plastic, no steel, no aluminium drink containers. Here in SA it has worked like a charm. No empty cans, bottles etc. littering our parks, footpaths and roads. We collect these and take them to the recycling Depot and get money for them - ours goes to support a very small charity - There is talk, but typically for our politicians it always only chatter, of extending this scheme to other containers such a Wine bottles - you can buy Wine in Cans and there is a deposit on those, so why not bottles? Yes, our local supermarkets take back Soft Plastic - according to the man who started this if you can easily squash a plastic item in your hand it is classed as Soft Plastic - and don't forget those Pet Food Pouches for they are also made from Plastic, wash them out, return them and they will also be recycled.

Do they actually get recycled though?

WE RECYCLE EVERYTHING WE CAN. WE LIVE IN A RETIREMENT VILLAGE THAT MAKES REYCYCLING EASY. WE EVEN HAVE A RECYCLING BIN FOR BATTERYS WHICH MY WIFE AND I COLLECT WHEN REQIRED AND TAKE TO THE LOCAL COLLECTION POINT. SOFT PLASTICS WE TAKE TO OUR LOCAL SUPERMARKET. RECYCLE RECYCLE RECYCLE!!!!!

I save all our cans,plastic water bottles to retu4n for the 10c. They don’t take certain glass unless beer bottles. I saw in paper/ news the government are making it possible now for wine and other glass. I heard on ABC 702 Sydney afternoon a chap said he can see that in maybe 2 years ALL plastic bottles,shampoo detergent and some others will be included. Stupid thing is you can return poppa drink containers ( Tetra types) but they won’t take milk cartons when made by the same manufacturers. The government should make it a law that all plastic makers have in place the process to reverse it to what was used to make it.

I recycle all the plastic I can.

I have always recycled. I get so cross when this young generation blame the baby boomers for the issues we have. They think they invented recycling. We recycled clothes by handing down, we used our own bags for shopping, we used food scraps to fertilize the garden. We shared so no food was wasted.We got our milk in glass bottles so they could be reused. The next generation comes along and says oh plastic is so good, we should use plastic bags to wrap our food, bring our shopping home. We should get rid of the paper bags in shops and make things that don't last so we can throw them away. Now they are telling me it's my generations fault that plastic is causing an issue!!

i recycle every thing nothing gose in to land fill if i can help it

I recycle pretty much everything.

I am a rycclet I recycle computers

Plastic one of mankinds biggest mistakes

How about not putting anything into plastic in the first place - use glass

we try and repurpose everything, it's a great way for the kids to learn crafts and keep busy, we have a guy who sells some of our stuff and gives the money to the homeless, old jars and bottles become great vases, lamps, jars become pen holders, small change holders, we also grab things from street, old tables, cupboards, sand and paint them, turn them into one of a kind art pieces, I sold a table for 500 dollars last month, it took 2 months to fix an hour or to at night cost me 100 roughly but the family entertainment in creating it was invaluable, and the fact we could donate such a nice amount of cash was extra rewarding

Try recycling milk bottles. You can cut them in half, punch holes in the bottom and use them for potting plants. Also use the top half as a funnel. Punch holes in the lid - from the inside - fill with water - replace lid and you have a gentle watering can for indoor plants.

I recycle pop cans. There are hundreds in our recycle bins. I get the money and they still get recycled. Win-win.

I take my own reusable sturdy cloth bags and when they get dirty I wash them. If I ever get plastic bags, and it's not often, I use them for bathroom and other small trash containers. Instead of buying more plastic garbage bag liners. Edited 16-Oct-22 08:16am

Cool

I recycle everything I love doing it

Good

Terrific idea with the eggshells will do that in my garden. I recycle everything I possibly can. I now look at packaging when I purchase items to make sure they can be recycled and if not I will look for an alternative brand etc.

Joan B you have some brilliant ideas for recycling. thankyou for your imput

Do you wish you could eat more eggs

Great idea with the eggshells!

Wish something could be done with used paper coffee cups. I live near a Macca's and there's cups thrown everywhere near there.

Although I DO recycle and I want to make this clear from the start, I absolutely believe that the whole philosophy of recycling is merely another way to encourage compliance in the population and cause us to believe that we can actually make a difference in our environment by doing so. Australia sends a lot of the used products which we the public faithfully clean and carry back to the supermarket, and here I'm referring to soft plastics, or to the recycling stands where you take your bottles and cans and can claim 10 cents per bottle at the supermarket when you take your voucher in, but ultimately the bulk of our endeavours goes on a LONG trip over the ocean to a place in the 3rd world and then another trip to a huge factory where it sits with all the other recycling materials from ours and other 1st world nations. I don't think people realise just how little recyclable material is ACTUALLY recycled! The electricity used to run the huge machines, the cost of transporting it to these other nations and the chemicals which then dissipate into the lungs of the poorly paid employees or out into the atmosphere causing sickness to nearby residents is a real consequence which few consider! We here in the West do not SEE the tonnes and tonnes of materials, of which I concede in a VERY small way are to be turned into handbags from tyres or park benches, are only the result of other labour intensive activities which do nothing in the grand scheme of things to change the fact that we STILL create a LOT of garbage whether we recycle or not. I saw a documentary a few months back showing some of the boat loads of Chinese made goods transported to Australia to be sold, unsold and then stuffed into shipping containers and removed to the African mainland and I think it was Ghana where at least SOME of these unwanted clothing items ended up at an outdoor market bazaar. For anyone interested in a "net zero carbon" analysis of these long passages over air and water just tomake a few park benches etc, well it DOES add up! We might feel that our chests should be puffed out because "Hey, I recycle" but we are NOT looking at HOW and WHERE it goes and the cost of such travel to a 3rd world destination! I cannot recall the actual term used to describe the vast deposit in the ocean where huge amounts of garbage and recyclable material is simply dumped and I know that this area is already somewhat larger than some small countries. WOW! I appreciate that I can go to my sons home and collect all his bottles and cans and for a small effort I get a voucher which I usually use to buy cat food with, but I don't go there thinking of how much of a difference I'm making to society by doing so! Many of these large recycling factories will shut up shop completely in the near future due to massive increases in electricity and gas prices and so that material will need to be dumped somewhere else, probably out in the ocean somewhere where it's "out of sight and out of mind" until we hear another story about microplastics in the fish and in humans. We are fortunate TO have options other than plastic to use while grocery shopping and for those of us with a garden to be able to compost our peels and organic food products to help grow more food very cheaply, but the fallacy that we "make a difference" by trudging to the supermarket with our plastics is just untrue. Thanks for reading and I look forward to responding to any comments made on this opinion.

Good but most of the recyle plastc are put in containers and shipped overseas where they have an overabundance of it so now it is being burnt over there creating more of a problem for local people that are living close to where these large huge burning piles of plastic with all the chemicals coming out of them it's really sad why can't the governing provinces and more States recycle their own Plastics here and reuse them for making more plastic. Or use it for building materials. It's really sad.

I recycle and return bottle/cans.

I DO MY PART IN RECLYING...........AS MUCH AS I COULD........

I take my plastics to the redcycle bin at the supermarket, we save bottles and cans for recycling (via a friend who uses the money back for her grandkids swimming lessons and fees) I recycle small containers in the garden for establishing plants for open day at the community garden. edited to add: our food scraps are saved for the chooks at the Community Garden.Edited 16-Oct-22 09:46am

I use the plastic bread bags when shopping to give extra protection to things like bags of sugar and flour so don't have to worry about them getting holes and spilling out during transportation. Eggs shells used to toss in the chook's yard when was younger, guess that's why had lots of DOUBLE YOKE eggs .. calcium for the chooks. Another good thing if you have wood stove etc, when the ashes cool down throw that in the chooks yard as well, they "bathe" in it and stops them getting fleas etc, not tried it on human hair, suppose the same principle would apply and could be safer than chemicals??!!

we recycle all that we can, batteries, light bulbs, food stuffs clothes, old solvents. Does anyone use water to flush out recycle to place in bin together like pop bottles jiuce pks.

I recycle all plastic. I go to the supermarket to drop off soft plastic. Scraps in the green bins also. I have observed others not recycling properly in appropriate bins. So much is being made from waste. Why not contribute. India is making expensive shoes from soft plastic. A business is profitable employing many.

I don't recycle any plastic things.

I recycle all I can

we recycle/reuse almost everything ;-))

maybe we should stop using plastic bags all together.

at now 10cents a plastic bag, it is wiser to re use the bags you already have. Also, if they all change to paper, what does that do to our forestry.? Think about it, we have old T- shirts we can easily turn into bags.

It is better to reuse and recycle with every single day

Reduse, Reuse, and Recycle. I do this everyday!

I take my own cloth bags to the market. I recycle everything I can.

I have not used plastic bags at the supermarket for a couple of years now. I try not to put veges in plastic bags either. Recycling sounds OK but it is still ending up in the environment and oceans. Only way to help is to stop using it. I use glass containers instead of plastic also. I think if everyone did this then it would make a difference. Recycling is allowing businesses to use cheap material and still charge more as it says "recycled" instead of using another product that is environmentally friendly like the old days of glass and paper.