Zero Waste Festival Postponed to Early 2022
Due to the ongoing COVID outbreak and lockdown in Canberra, we have had to make the unfortunate decision to postpone the Zero Waste Festival. The festival, which was originally set to be held on Saturday 11 September, will now be held on Saturday 30 April 2022. The festival will still take place at Kambri, ANU, and feature the same great lineup of speakers, including our awesome headliner, Solli Raphael.
While the pushing back of the festival was a tough (and quite sad) call to make, the Zero Waste Revolution team are still determined to continue our work towards a zero waste Canberra. While lockdowns can be extremely challenging and can leave you feeling deflated to say the least, they have also proven to be a time for some people to throw themselves into new interests and hobbies (sourdough anyone?). If you're feeling the need to take your mind off the news cycle and delve into something new at home, perhaps you could try giving yourself a waste-reducing challenge.
This article by The RiotACT gives you a peek into Mia's (the founder of Zero Waste Revolution) family's buy-nothing challenge. Give the article a read for a refreshing dose of inspiration and positive thinking.
Mia with a week's worth of her family's rubbish. Wow!
Check out last year's festival recordings
Last year we took the Zero Waste Festival online. Each session was recorded, and they are all available to view on our website. The festival featured fantastic speakers, from community leaders to industry experts. Headlining the festival was much-loved Australian author, Jackie French. Though her children's books will be recognised by most, there are many things you may not know about Jackie. As well as an author, she is also an ecologist, historian and passionate sustainability advocate. In the recording below, Jackie shares her zero waste journey over the past 50 years.
Click the image to watch Jackie speak about her sustainability journey.
Tip of the month!
Waste news
Right now in Australia, less than 12% of plastic waste is recycled, and about 85% ends up in landfill. Since new plastic waste export rules have come into place, it's more important than ever for Australia to invest in more advanced technology to deal with our growing waste problem.
The CSIRO have released a new report on advanced recycling technology that could manage hard-to-recycle plastics, like multi-layer, flexible or contaminated plastics, and turn them into a high-quality, usable resource. The report is part of the CSIRO's Ending Plastic Waste Mission, which aims to achieve an 80 per cent reduction of plastic pollution entering the Australian environment by 2030. A huge goal, but an essential one.
Learn more about emerging technologies and what needs to happen to make them a reality by reading the report.
What can we do to help in lockdown?
Trash Gather are a Canberra-based community group that meet once a month in different locations around the city. Obviously lockdown has thrown a spanner into the works of their usual routine, but that hasn't stopped them. Members of Trash Gather have been using their one hour of exercise to clean up rubbish in their neighbourhoods, an activity that can be beneficial to both your local environment, and your mental health. In this article by The RiotACT, Trash Gather volunteer, Jess, talks about the benefits of picking up rubbish and how to do it safely.
