A new app is helping Canberra go zero waste.

We're excited to tell you about a new app that has launched in Canberra, called Go Zero Waste. This free app connects you to zero waste businesses around the city, making it easier to reduce the waste from your shopping! The app already has a 30,000 strong community across 35 different countries, and Canberra is the first city in Australia that gets to try it out. Yes Canberra!

The kinds of businesses listed either let you bring your own containers, sell second hand and package-free goods, or are places that you can return an item to once it's reached the end of it's life. There are already 38 businesses listed on the app, but that number will grow as more are registered. You can even help make the app more effective by punching in the details of local zero waste businesses you love that aren't listed yet.

On top of listing awesome businesses to support, the app also includes a range of challenges you can undertake to see where you can cut out waste in different areas of your life. Because of this, it's a great place for beginner zero-wasters to start. If you've got friends, family or colleagues that are interested in zero waste but don't know how to get into it, get them to download Go Zero Waste. It's also awesome for those of us who have already taken the plunge but are looking for new challenges to reduce our waste even further.

One of our favourite things about Go Zero Waste is how simple and straightforward it is. It opens up with a map of Canberra, showing you where businesses are and telling you a bit about them. You can use filters to help you find the exact kind of products or business you're looking for, and adding new businesses to the map is easy. The waste challenges are categorised into different areas like Kitchen, Bathroom, Family and Office, so you can take things on one step at a time.

We're really keen to see Go Zero Waste kick off strongly in Canberra and become a key info resource in our collective zero waste journey. You can download the app for free from Google Play or the Apple App Store. Don't forget to tell all your people about it!

Make zero waste a Christmas tradition

Australian Christmas traditions are pretty unique. Instead of snow angels and cosy Christmas markets, we play tips under the sprinkler and have a rowdy backyard barbeque. But there's a more alarming tradition growing in Australia - our Christmas waste. Australia is already a big producer of waste, and at Christmas time our waste increases by 30%. We get through about 150,000kms of wrapping paper - enough to go from Canberra to Perth 40 times... yikes!

Some of the Zero Waste Revolution team have shared their favourite zero waste Christmas ideas to help get you inspired.

Karen says: "My suggestion is giving presents in jars. It's one of my fave things because the contents are nice, plus jars can be reused for pickling, fermenting or even bulk shopping. An example of a jar gift is this chocolate chip cookie mix by the Zero Waste Chef."

Mia says: "My favourite Zero Waste Christmas gift is to treat close family members to an experience. I am also keen on supporting the arts following the lockdowns, so I’m getting vouchers for local theatre centres for some of my family members.

I also love gifting plants from my garden (grown from cuttings or seeds) or home-made goodies (jam, marmalade and gingerbread). I love gifting home-made, it feels like I’m gifting a little piece of love along with the items."

Building Canberra's sharing economy

This month, a fantastic new initiative launched in our city - the Canberra Community Toolbox. The Community Toolbox is a collection of tools and equipment that you can loan so that you don't have to buy your own. The benefits of the Toolbox are plenty; it saves you from spending loads of money on tools you might only use a few times, empowers people to build their skills and self reliance by doing-it-yourself, and reduces the wastage of unused tools. It's particularly useful for once-off jobs around the house, or if you want to try out a new hobby before investing in it. It's also incredibly valuable for those who don't have the storage space for their own gear at home. All in all, we think it's a really good idea.

The kinds of items you can borrow from the Toolbox include power tools, sewing machines, moving trolleys, baking equipment, safety gear, shovels, kayaks, skateboards, telescopes... Just about any handy thing you can think of, you can borrow it! If you've got any gear like this lying around your house, the Toolbox is keenly accepting donations. Find out how to borrow or donate items here.

Trash Gather back on-the-ground

After a lengthy pause of community rubbish clean ups due to lockdowns, Trash Gather are back in business next weekend. Come along to their clean up of Lake Ginninderra on Sunday 5 December to help care for our local environment, enjoy the warmer weather, and meet like-minded folks. All the info here.

Thank you Green Shed!

We're super excited to be one of the Green Shed's charity partners - they're enabling the Zero Waste Festival 2022 to happen, and helping us to get our zero waste message out to the community with a $10,000 donation. Thank you Sandie and the team at the Green Shed!

Sandie from the Green Shed and Mia from Zero Waste Revolution

Zero Waste Festival 2022 - stay in the loop

The Zero Waste Festival is taking place on Saturday 30 April 2022 at Kambri, ANU, and we'd love to see you there! It's not too early to register for the festival, which will send you reminders to save the date, and keep you in the loop with workshop tickets, speakers and more.

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In solidarity for the planet,

Zero Waste Revolution