Not Wasted

Find new ways to reduce, reuse and recycle waste - and live more sustainably.

Howdy humans 👋

What do our oceans, deserts, drains, beaches and waterways have in common? Unfortunately they are filled with our trash, and piles of it! We have floating islands of plastic in the sea, and mountains of landfill around the world — so our third newsletter edition is a call to arms around waste. We all create it, however a lot can be avoided when individuals, businesses and governments are making conscious decisions.

Whether it is reconsidering how we dispose of what we already have when it is no longer of use, what we buy in the first place (and whether we need to buy anything at all!), or how we can influence big brands to do better - we can all have an impact on the amount of waste produced each year and left in the environment.

Keep reading to find a few creative ways to reduce waste, to meet Mia — an expert on all things plastic recycling, and to browse upcoming jobs and events. And lastly if you run a business, make sure to consider signing this open letter to call on our future government to make sustainability and climate action the new normal.

---

Small actions, big impact

These are just a few of our favourite ways to reduce, reuse and recycle your waste, and live more sustainably all year round:

⚽️ Give a new life to your pre-loved sporting goods
👗 Sell, rent and buy clothes (and much more) via an ethical marketplace
🗑 Recycle more items by scheduling a pickup
💻 Donate your old tech so that it can help others
🥗 Switch to a compostable food wrap
🍸 Grab a cocktail made from surplus produce
👧🏽 Inspire 3-7 year olds to learn about sustainability
🥐 Treat yourself with some discounted baked goods and reduce landfill
👟 Drop off your old joggers and have the rubber used to create recycled matts
🥤 Choose a reusable lid for your mugs and reduce your reliance on single use items
🛁 Remove single use plastics from your bathroom, kitchen and laundry
👩🏽‍🍳 Support Australia’s largest food waste initiative
☕️ Grab coffee from a cafe with zero waste in their front of house operations
🎽 Transform old uniforms into great Australian made products
🛏️ Recycle your old mattress and create jobs while reducing your waste

---

Humans doing good things

From a corporate job, to recycling plastic in India and working with brands who want to become more sustainable: meet Mia. Read the full story to find out why plastic matters, how it is currently - and should be - recycled, and Mia’s advice for those hoping to reduce their use of this valuable resource.

“The core things that you can do as a consumer is to reduce plastic when you grocery shop, have a grandma mindset, and try reusables. These are great places to start…I think it’s very important for us to change our behaviours as a practice of respect for the earth and to be a better human.

Being sustainable is almost like being polite - it’s a part of being a good person. But where this all gets really effective is with the businesses who produce the plastic. I think that the best and coolest change is when people get together and say wtf - I’ve been using your shampoo for eight years and you’re not doing anything about the turtles? Be a Karen, a keyboard warrior, and someone who tells brands that they’re not doing good enough. They listen.

I’ve seen brands who were absolute polluters do a complete 360 and switch to recycled, Fairtrade plastic and change their supply chains. This is because they want that social proof and know their consumers care about the environment. I’ve also sat in boardrooms with businesses who don’t know what to do as people are trolling them online. Their audience is like what the hell are you doing about climate change?

At the end of the day, the customer is always right. In the same way that Hubspot will remove a feature if their users aren’t happy with it, it’s not that unimaginable for every brand in the world to use recycled plastic. It’s possible, and we need to get on their case about it! Brands created their products for us. So if their customers complain about something enough, they have to change.”

---

What’s coming up?

Keep an eye out for the following events & opportunities:

19 May - 23 June: HATCH: Idea Generation Program 2022 (Online) - a free six-week online program to help you explore key conservation challenges and develop relevant solutions.
26 May: Sustainable Pitch Party (Torquay) - celebrate emerging sustainable startups in the Surf Coast, Geelong and Bellarine regions.
28 May: Have a Ball for Beyond Blue (Sydney) - Generous Degenerates is hosting a party with a cause. Raise funds for mental health by joining them for a night of DJs, food and beachfront views.
28 - 29 September: Social Enterprise World Forum (Brisbane / Online) - this flagship event for the global social enterprise community is heading to Australia! Bursaries available here.

More waste-related events can be found on Humanitix ♻️

---

Jobs we love

Work with purpose in the below roles:

✈️ Growth Associate, Content Writer & more with Swoop Aero (Melbourne/hybrid)
♻️ Senior Marketing Associate with Terracycle (Sydney/hybrid)
🩲 Social Impact Executive at ModiBodi (Sydney/hybrid)
🧡 Head of Partnerships & Growth at Wayside Chapel
👩‍🍳 Program Chef at TwoGood Co (Sydney)
🌧️ Communications Specialist with Minderoo Foundation (Sydney/hybrid)
💬 Social and Content Specialist, Product Design Lead & more with Lived (remote)
🎒 DevOps Engineer and FrontEnd Engineer with Canopy Study
🏠 Social Enterprise Operations Manager & Ethical Business Consultant with The Freedom Hub

---

Pay it forward

A few asks from the community, for the community:

• Sign this open letter on behalf of your business to let our future government know that we need to take climate change seriously, and take action toward renewable energy now

• Julie and Laura are raising awareness for heart health and funds for research. To contribute to their fundraiser, follow the link!

• Help Fiona hit her stretch target and bring a sensory garden to life, where children and adults can learn about the native botanicals in Chocolate On Purpose

---

Food for thought

“It's surely our responsibility to do everything within our power to create a planet that provides a home not just for us, but for all life on Earth.” — Sir David Attenborough, Conservationist

“Fast fashion is not free. Someone somewhere is paying” — Lucy Siegle, Journalist

“If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.” — J.R.R. Tolkien, Author

---

Thanks for reading and sharing!

Keep in touch:
🌟 Sign up for the waitlist for our community of diverse humans with a shared desire to have a positive social & environmental impact

Spread the good:
👀 Check out our database
📥 Contribute great actions, jobs and events to the website or next newsletter here
🤝 Join our lending team on Kiva to provide a loan and a hand up to women, entrepreneurs, students and refugees around the world

See you next time!
— Humans For Good