Waxing Away Plastic

COUNCIL is holding a workshop on Tuesday to help people learn to kick their plastic habit, reduce waste and learn how to make wax wraps.

Melinda Hale, sustainability and environment manager for Upper Hunter Shire Council, said there is an enoromous amount of plastic waste in Upper Hunter landfills.

“A whopping 91 per cent of plastic used in the community is not recycled,” said Ms Hale.  

“The best way to reduce the amount of plastic in our environment is to refuse it in the first place,” she said.

“Plastics have been mass produced for the past six decades and have gone from being mostly durable, reusable items, to widespread use as disposable single-use plastic items that mostly end up in landfill or as litter,” she said.

“They are mostly made from non-renewable fossil fuels and often produced a long way from use.

“Plastics eventually break up into smaller pieces that can remain in the environment for hundreds of years with serious impacts on animal and human health.  

“It is estimated that the average person consumes 70,000 microplastics every year,” she said.

“We learned to take our own bags shopping,” she said. 

“The next simple step is reducing single-use plastics such as food and beverage containers and packaging,” Melinda Hales said.

• WHAT: Kicking the Habit and Was Wraps.
• WHEN: 5pm, Tuesday, July 23.
• WHERE: Council Administration Building, Liverpool Street, Scone.
• COST: $10 includes supper and refreshments.
• BOOKING: TryBooking.