Category Archives: Waste & Recycling

Plastic Free July Launch a Success

Posted on July 4, 2013 by | 2 comments

The Plastic Free July Launch on Wednesday 26th June was a great success, with around 50 interested people coming down to the Old Midland Courthouse to find out more about ways to eliminate single use plastic from their lives!

Plastic Free July Launch - Brigita and Jenny sewing reusable produce bags

Brigita and Jenny sewing reusable produce bags

Transition Town Guildford teamed up with Hills Sustainability Group and City of Swan to present the event. This was a winner co-organising combo, which we hope to repeat in future.

Plastic Free July Launch - Ingredients for making your own muesli

Ingredients for making your own muesli

Eleanor Chaos opened the event with a short talk about the Plastic Free July challenge and her experiences of doing it last year. After this attendees were invited to wander through the two main rooms of the Courthouse which had been set up with a variety of interesting stalls.

Plastic Free July Launch - Raelene makes gift bags from recycled newspaper

Raelene makes gift bags from recycled newspaper

Stay tuned for a screening of the movie ‘Bag It’ on 9th July, and the official Plastic Free July Wind-up event on Wednesday 31st July, 7pm at Old Midland Courthouse.

Plastic Free July Launch - It's fun being plastic free!

It’s fun being plastic free!

2 Comments

Posted in Event, Food, Plastic Free July, Uncategorized, Waste & Recycling

Tagged , , ,

Plastic Free July Launch coming up in Midland

Posted on June 21, 2013 by | Leave a comment

plastic-free-july-logo-banner-lge

Transition Town Guildford, in partnership with Hills Sustainability Group and the City of Swan will host a launch event for Plastic Free July at the Old Midland Courthouse on Wednesday 26 June.

If you’re keen to take the plastic free pledge or would just like to learn new skills and find out more about smart ways to avoid plastic, then come along and bring your friends!

The Challenge
The Plastic Free July challenge is quite simple. Attempt to consume no single-use plastic items during July.

“Single-use plastic” includes plastic shopping bags, plastic cups, straws, plastic packaging … Basically anything that’s intended to be used only once and then sent to landfill.

Good reasons to go Plastic Free

  • Reduce waste – Australians send 1 million tonnes of plastic waste to landfill each year. Plastic is made from fossil fuels which are a valuable, non-renewable resource.
  • Even better than recycling – Recycling is important but it will never be the solution to rapidly expanding consumption. Plastic Free July focuses on refusing, reducing and reusing.
  • Good health – Common additives to plastic include BPA (bisphenol A) and phthalates, both these chemicals can have harmful effects on humans.
  • Protect marine animals – Plastic debris is a major issue for the integrity of marine ecosystems. Impacts to wildlife include entanglement and ingestion.

The Launch
Come to the launch for great tips and suggestions on avoiding plastic in your daily life, and get some take home information to help you see your challenge through.

Free stalls with skills and tips for going plastic free will include:

Plus a slideshow of plastic alternatives.

DATE: Wednesday June 26
TIME: 7pm – 8.30pm
COST: Free
VENUE: Old Midland Courthouse, Helena Street, Midland
FURTHER INFORMATION: City of Swan Sustainable Environment Officer ph: 9267 9282

Download the Plastic Free July Launch flyer.

Visit the Plastic Free July official website.

Leave a comment

Posted in Community, Environment, Event, Plastic Free July, Waste & Recycling

Tagged ,

Backyard chicken keeping course kicks off in the City of Swan

Posted on May 30, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Did you know that one backyard hen can recycle 150 kg of kitchen waste per year AND give you up to 200+ wholesome yummy eggs per year in exchange? Wow!

This is just a taste of what folks in the city of Swan are learning about reviving the art of backyard hen keeping.

Sunny Side Up tours Erica's in Lockridge

Sunny Side Up tours Erica’s in Lockridge

Last week, Transition Town Guildford was very excited to start our pilot training project, ‘Sunny Side Up: Reducing household waste with backyard chooks’ with the support of the WA Waste Authority and Men of the Trees.

25 novice households from the City of Swan are in the process of learning about What Hens Really Want. Our first workshop focused on the welfare aspects of pen space and design, and how to use recycled materials for construction. Participants learned the difference between commercial ‘cage laid’, ‘barn laid’ and ‘free range’ space allowances, and how this translated into options for welfare-friendly backyard enclosures. Last weekend, we toured the backyards of 4 generous locals with a range of housing types all constructed simply and inexpensively from recycled parts. Everyone is now busy building their own hen houses and pens ready to receive their clutch of 3 project hens next month.

Our next workshop in June will focus on feeding, health and husbandry. In the meanwhile, we have a growing brood of hens and pullets agisting and adjusting at Peter’s place awaiting rehoming with our course participants. Each household will receive a retired ex-battery hen (plenty of life and future egg-laying yet to be enjoyed), a young commercial pullet about to begin laying eggs for the first time, and a heritage breed hen. Course participants are sure to enjoy getting to know the personalities and foibles of their new pets in due course. Stay tuned for more updates from Sunny Side Up in the City of Swan

Retired commercial cage laying hens getting used to the outdoor life at Peter's

Retired commercial cage laying hens getting used to the outdoor life at Peter’s

Leave a comment

Posted in Food, Take Action, Waste & Recycling

Tagged , , , ,