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MAY 2022

Hello! Welcome to our May edition of the Word on Waste, a monthly newsletter about reducing waste and recycling right from the Western Metropolitan Regional Council. This month, read about about how you participated in the circular economy, how Claremont residents become more mindful, how we won a couple of GREAT Awards, a job opportunity and much more. Grab a cuppa and enjoy the read.

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We won!

Winners were grinners at this year’s Waste Sorted WA Awards Night on Thursday 19 May. Together, WMRC and Resource Recovery Group won the 2022 Local Government Award for our GREAT Games & School Waste Education Day. This Award rewards the long hours working together to develop and focus test a suite of age-appropriate waste reduction activities that complement curriculum in primary and high school settings. The games are also GREAT at community events, like this one. Proof that we all win when we work together to tackle waste.

And the E-waste Recycling Award goes to…

YOU! The West Metro Recycling Centre was listed in the top 5 E-Waste recyclers in Perth for 2021 by Total Green Recycling. Together, we diverting 63 tonnes of E-Waste from landfill in our Member and Participating Councils. That’s equivalent to 1.3kg per person! Thank you for recycling right. We can't wait to see what we can achieve next...

Cottesloe, you’re Good to FOGO

The transition’s begun. Your lime green-lidded Garden Organics (GO) bin in Cottesloe will now be a FOGO bin (Food Organics Garden Organics). To aid this process, Cottesloe residents will have FOGO stickers applied to their lime green-lidded bins and will receive kitchen caddies with compostable liners and a new Waste and Recycling Guide. More info here https://www.cottesloe.wa.gov.au/fogo or https://www.wmrc.wa.gov.au/recycling-disposal/fogo

If your caddy has not been delivered - please call the Town on 9285 5000

We are hiring

Do you like helping people and have a head for numbers? Love Excel, Microsoft Office and Xero? Then consider joining our great team dedicated to reducing waste in the western suburbs. Applications close 6 June.

Paying it forward with ParaQuad Tour

It was a hive of circular economy activity at our 5th May ParaQuad Tour.

Residents were wowed by how this social enterprise sorts, sells and recycles quality clothing and bric-a-brac donations, creating valuable employment for people with disabilities while keeping useable items out of landfill. Residents were less impressed with the high number of torn, broken and soiled items that were donated and cost ParaQuad to dispose of. As the saying goes, “if you wouldn’t give it to a mate, don’t donate.”

Residents also learnt how to pay it forward by making their eligible empties count. Those not wanting refunds for themselves discovered they could easily donate their containers in specially marked ParaQuad bins at Return-it Shenton Park or do a bag drop at any refund point, labelled with ParaQuad’s Scheme ID: C10241730.

Want to catch the next ParaQuad Tour? Follow us on socials and be the first to find out when it’s on.

Mindfully reducing waste in Claremont

Town of Claremont’s Mindful May was a hit! WMRC’s Rosie and Laura ran two workshops about how being mindful in the home leads to less waste. Mindful in the Kitchen taught residents how to reduce food waste and store it properly without plastic wrap. Mindful Beauty & Cleaning showed residents how easy it is to make beauty and cleaning products from household ingredients that were cheaper, better for your health and created less waste. Residents loved the opportunity to troubleshoot and problem solve waste issues together and were especially grateful for Laura’s tried and true systems to make low-waste habits easier.

Do you want to learn how to be more mindful in your home? Keep an eye on our socials for our next event like this.

Join us in EcoTown

Want to make sustainable choices for your home and cut your waste? Find out how in EcoTown. Perth Home Show - 17-19 June 2022. Not only will you learn how to make your home eco-friendly, you can also play the award-winning GREAT games, giving you tips on how to reduce your waste.

The GREAT Games will be available all weekend. WMRC will staff the stall on Saturday 18 June and Resource Recovery Group will be there Friday 17 June & Sunday 19 June. See you there!

SOS Mattress Drive

Got a spare single bed mattress? Starting Over Support SOS is desperately seeking clean, unstained SINGLE bed mattresses for families, particularly children, escaping domestic crises. Free collection for suitable mattresses. To check if yours is suitable, email pics of your mattresses to sos.donations@peoplewhocare.org.au.

Small electrical appliances like kettles, radios, lamps and hairdryers are always high demand too. Visit Starting Over Support to find out more.

Plastic Free July Beach Clean Up

Save the date. Tuesday 28 June at North Cottesloe Surf Live Saving Club. 8.30AM - 11.30AM. Details to follow…

What do you want to know?

It’s a wild world of waste out there! What waste issues would you like to hear more about in this newsletter? Tell us here and we will do our best to accommodate.

More local waste wise events April/May

• 29 May - Adult Wardrobe Refresh, Cambridge

• 11 June - Charity Drop Off Day, Cambridge

• 25 June - Pool Cover & Plastics Drop Off Day