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Switch Your Thinking

Plastic Free July is here!!!

Plastic Free July is an annual month long challenge to rethink your relationship with single use plastic. 

Get involved:

  • Pledge to ditch the big five single use plastics: takeaway coffee cups, plastic straws, shopping bags, water bottles and plastic wrapped fruit and veg

  • Make a pledge to try one new waste-free activity for the whole month! Make breakfast or cook a meal a week without using any ingredients wrapped in plastic, or make your own pledge

  • Start collecting soft plastic recycling at home, in your workplace or school and take it to the REDcycle bin at Coles and Woolworths

Take a look at the What's on section below for workshops and events to help you on your plastic free journey. 
 

Powerbank - Community battery systems

Western Power have been busy over the last year expanding their community battery systems which allows the community to store excess energy from their home solar panels in a large, shared battery. With 13 network-connected batteries now installed in Western Australia, the systems are now presenting as a cheaper and smarter solution for network modification, compared to traditional augmentation like more transformers and bigger substations.
 
Community batteries store excess solar energy during the day allowing participating households to withdraw the energy at night while the solar panels are not producing energy. This approach is providing greater grid security and clean power efficiently, plus the opportunity to share the benefits of energy storage without the upfront cost of purchasing your own battery.

Find out more about the community battery trial here. Image: Western Power

Containers for change

On 1 October 2020, Containers for Change will launch in Western Australia! 

Containers for Change is our new state-wide container deposit scheme that lets you cash in eligible containers for 10-cents each.

In WA, we use more than 1.3 billion eligible drink containers each year; enough drink containers to line a path from Perth to Broome.

When it comes to recycling, Western Australians will soon have the chance to make real change and earn cash while we do it!

Containers for Change aims to

  • reduce litter and landfill
  • increase recycling
  • create jobs
  • provide opportunities for social enterprise and benefits for community organisations

Hundreds of container Refund Points are planned, with many to be operated by local community groups and social enterprises. The job of setting up the network has begun, keep an eye out for collection points over the coming months.

Young Re-inventor of the Year ideas

Switch your thinking's annual waste reduction competition for children is now open.

The 2020 Young Re-inventor of the Year theme is Future Food! 

The food we eat has many environmental impacts, from the greenhouse gas emissions associated with farming and shipping, to plastic packaging and wasting uneaten food. How we grow, eat and dispose of food waste will need to be very different in the future if we are going to look after our environment and conserve this precious resource.

Perhaps you need some inspiration?

One of our favourite re-inventions is turning newspaper into pots for growing healthy vegetable seedlings.All you need is newspaper, a cardboard tube from a toilet roll, some potting mix and your favourite vegetable  seeds. 
Watch this webinar presentation we recently presented to inspire children to become young re-inventors and help improve food sustainability.

We have also compiled some project ideas and home school resources here

For more details or to register, visit our website.
 

What's on

Modern Cloth Nappy online workshop


Friday 17th July
11.30am - 12.30pm

Online 
Cost: Free

Join us for this free, relaxed, family-friendly workshop, and learn about modern cloth nappies from birth to toilet training.

Presented by Kam Andrews - “The Nappy Guru” - this workshop will demonstrate different cloth nappies available and explain the benefits of each.

Find out more

Plastic Free July 2020 - Chat and wrap-up


Wednesday 22nd July
12:00am - 12:45pm
Online
Cost:
Free

If you have been participating in the Plastic Free July challenge or want to know more about reducing plastic in everyday living, join us to share your thoughts, challenges and tips.

Find out more

DIY beeswax wraps and party bunting


Saturday 25th July
9:00am - 10:30am

Ethel Warren Community Centre, Bullsbrook
Cost: Free


An introductory presentation on how to reduce plastic in everyday living followed by a demonstration of how easy it is to make your own beeswax wraps and reusable party bunting. 

Find out more

DIY beeswax wraps and party bunting


Saturday 18th July
9:00am - 10:30am

Beechboro Community Hub, Beechboro
Cost: Free 

An introductory presentation on how to reduce plastic in everyday living followed by a demonstration of how easy it is to make your own beeswax wraps and reusable party bunting.

Find out more 

Biodiversity awareness and actions in early years settings

Thursday 23rd July
4:00pm - 6:30pm

Canning Vale Pre-Kindy, Canning Vale 
Cost: Free

Early Years Educators will learn how to embed biodiversity awareness into the day to day of your education and care setting.

Find out more

How I live a plastic free life

 

Thursday 30th July
6:00pm - 7:00pm

Forster Park Main Hall, Cloverdale
Cost: Free

Learn about how to reduce plastic consumption with choices we can make. You'll learn where to start and practical actionable tips for anyone starting out on a plastic-free journey.

Find out more

Reducing waste together in early year settings

 

Monday 10th August
2:00pm - 4:00pm
Gooseberry Hill Primary School, Gooseberry Hill
Cost: Free

Update your waste reduction tool box of skills and resources through this fun, interactive workshop for Early Years Educators.

Find out more
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