We’ve always believed that small changes can create a big impact, so here are our top 7 tips to live more sustainably:

1. DON’T FORGET YOUR REUSABLE BAGS 

If you’re forgetful like us, make sure you place a few reusable bags on the front door and in your car, so you always have a few handy when you’re at the shops. Single-use plastic bags are devastating to the environment and according to Cleanup.org, ‘more than 100,000 marine animals and 1,000,000 sea birds lose their life to plastic each year’ globally. 

If you must, opt for a paper bag option instead and don’t forget to recycle your soft plastics at a REDcycle collection bin (now a common presence at the major supermarkets).

2. BYO REUSABLE COFFEE CUP

Did you know Aussies throw out 2.7 million single-use or disposable coffee cups every single day? This adds up to an astounding 1 billion coffee cups thrown out every year! Not only do they litter our streets, they choke up our waterways and also contribute to global warming, as the paper cups end up in landfill and subsequently release methane. With so many great (and stylish) options like Luxey Cup, Frank Green, Made By Fressko and KeepCup, there’s really no excuse not to bring your reusable coffee cup with you at all times. 

3. WIPE WITH RECYCLED TOILET PAPER 

Good for the planet, good for people and good for your bum – what’s not to love about Aussie legends, Who Gives a Crap (WGAC). It’s crazy to think that every single day, 27,000 trees are cut down just to make regular toilet paper, an absolute waste if you ask us. On the contrary, WGAC rolls are made using 100% recycled materials like office paper, which is sourced locally from schools and office buildings. They also donate 50% off their profits to help build toilets and improve sanitation in the developing world – yep, it’s a win-win-win situation. 

4. SAY NO TO PLASTIC WATER BOTTLES

According to Sustainability Victoria, Aussies buy almost 15 billion plastic bottles every year and Australia recycles only 36% of PET plastic drink bottles. This means approximately 373 million plastic water bottles end up as waste each year, finding its way into landfills and waterways, causing environmental damage and killing our marine life.

And get this, it takes up to 1000 years (we repeat, 1000 YEARS!) for one plastic bottle to break down, so next time you’re feeling thirsty, fill up your reusable bottle or find a local hydration station. It’s easy to make the switch with great options from Go For Zero, Ever Eco and Seed & Sprout. 

5. WEAR WHAT YOU HAVE, THRIFT AND DONATE 

There’s nothing fun about fast fashion and it’s sad to read that Australia is the second highest consumer of textiles per person in the world, after the United States. According to the Australian Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, each Aussie consumes an average of 27 kilograms of new clothing per year and disposes an average 23 kilograms of clothing to landfill each year. 

The most sustainable thing you can do when it comes to fashion is to wear what’s in your wardrobe – look after the clothes you have, alter and repair, and mix-and-match. If you need to freshen up your threads, shop pre-loved or swap with family and friends. And if it’s time to give your clothes a new home, donate, sell or recycle your unwanted textiles to Upparel, who will upcycle your textiles into quality, useful products and support organisations and charities on their journey to sustainability and circularity.

6. PLAN YOUR MEALS 

Food waste is a huge problem in Australia, with FIAL reporting that we waste a whopping 7.6 million tonnes of food each year, even though 70% of this is perfectly edible. With the majority of food waste in Australia coming from our homes (2.5 million tonnes), we’ve got a few easy solutions: plan your meals, buy what you need, use what you have, store it properly and diversify your cooking. Not only will you save money, but you’ll also enjoy your meals that much more, knowing that you’ve prevented your leftovers from going to landfill and contributing to greenhouse gas emissions.

7. MAKE THE SWITCH TO MYLK BASES

We started Ulu Hye in 2017 because we were on our way to living a waste-free lifestyle but struggled with how many milk cartons we were using each week. Shocked at the amount of rubbish we were disposing of, we dug deeper into the recycling process around UHT cartons and what we found was very disappointing – only a very small amount of these cartons were able to be recycled, with the majority ending up as landfill. This was the catalyst for us to introduce a more environmentally friendly and waste-free solution to plant-based milks. And 5 years on, we’re proud to share that we’ve prevented over 700,000 cartons from ending up in landfill! Ready to make the switch? Start with our Mini Mylk Bundles here. 

And there you go, our Top 7 Tips to Live More Sustainably – small but simple switches that you can make to help planet earth be a more beautiful place to live.

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Back in the day, we thought long-life cartons were a-okay because they were made out of paper, but what we didn’t know about were the extra layers which make them extremely difficult to recycle. What happens when liquid touches paper? Paper goes soggy. And what do companies do to combat this? They line the paper cartons with a layer of plastic and a layer of aluminium to protect the contents from seeping into the paper carton. Most cartons will also have a little plastic lid.

When you throw your long-life carton into your recycling bin, its carbon footprint undergoes a long and arduous journey from your recycling bin to a recycling facility, and unfortunately, the majority do not make it.

There are several different recycling facilities, so once the recycling from your bin is sorted into different categories; plastics are sent to one facility, glass to another, etc. These cartons have to go to a special facility where they are broken down and the layers are separated through a water mulching process. These layers are then sent off to their respective recycling facility – sadly, only a very small percent are actually successfully recycled. The NSW Government has even taken long-life cartons off the recycling list, so these bad boys are going straight to landfill. But it’s not all bad news…

We’ve always believed that small changes can create a big impact, and with your support since 2017, we’ve prevented over 700,000 containers and cartons from entering landfill. When one reusable and recyclable Mylk Base jar can create 10 litres of milk, why would you choose anything else? Make the switch today on Global Recycling Day (March 18) and help us make a positive difference.

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This has really got me thinking about what else we are doing that is a win? As a society, we tend to solely focus on the negatives; what we are doing wrong or what we aren’t doing enough of. But what are we actually doing that is beneficial to our environment and reducing our carbon footprint? I started investigating and found some really interesting information…

In the period of 1996-2015 the population grew by 28%, however our waste generation rose by 170%! That means that waste is growing at a growth rate of 7.8% per year. In 2015 we each individually produced 2.7 tonnes of waste. These figures are rather shocking, however, there is a plus side to this: recycling is growing at an even faster rate. Better still, since 2005 we’ve actually seen a decline in tonnages of waste sent to landfill. We now recycle 58% of all generated waste which means that 42% of our waste ends up in landfill.

Whilst it is so great to see improvements like these, we are still quite a way off. The total number of active landfill sites in Australia is actually unknown. The commonwealth government estimate there are 600 mid to large sites, yet there could be as many as 2,000 unregistered landfill sites. The mere fact that that we are needing to illegally dump our waste is a huge cause for concern.

I felt really shocked by the number of unregistered dumping in Australia, I was ignorant that this was even a thing. Whilst it is so great that we are gradually becoming more aware of recycling correctly, and the statistics support this, I can’t help but feel we need to take a step back and consider this; what the hell are we buying so much of that is ending up in our trash?

Australia produces enough food each year to feed 60 million people – that’s over twice our population. The average bin contains 40% food waste and the average Australian family throws out over $3,500 worth of food every year (about a tonne). This is so much waste and I had no idea that when food rots in landfill it lets off methane which is 25 times more potent than the CO2 produced by cars. If 1% of the population composted food scraps instead of binning them, it would save 45 million kgs of CO2. Imagine the impact we would have if we collectively composted?

Now, I am no angel. My journey towards zero waste (or as close to as possible) is still going and I am still so far off! I was the biggest culprit of food waste. Not sure if it’s the Greek in me, but I had no idea how to cook small portions. My shopping every week was ginormous. I over shopped. I was recycling everything accordingly, shopping at my local bulk whole foods store with my glass jars, but I was still buying way too much food that would inevitably go to waste. I’m now so conscious of this. I plan my meals better and I account for eating out 1-2 nights per week so I buy less groceries. Not only has my weekly shopping bill significantly reduced, but so has the amount of food going straight in the bin. And guess what? I haven’t starved!

We are all doing our bit for the environment and it’s amazing. But it’s become apparent that here are so many more layers to being more sustainable than we might have realised. Our motto at Ulu Hye is Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. Reduce not only plastics and packaging but also what you’re actually buying for your pantry.

I eat pretty simply now. The food I create is still AMAZING but it’s simple and of a correct serving size. A handy tip is to plan ahead; assess what’s in your pantry first and then make a shopping list. I would often make the mistake of shopping without a plan and that’s when the shopping bill would climb.

For those partaking in ‘plastic-free July’, good luck!

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