Reduce, Reuse, Recycle at a Whole New Level!

Since I have been in Australia, I have noticed that Australians live a much more conservative lifestyle, conservative in respect to energy use and waste management. For example, when you use the toilet, you do not just simply flush, instead you have two options, to half flush or fully flush (you can probably guess which is used for what).

Furthermore, when I was looking for the laundry machine, I only found a washer, no dryer. When I asked my Australian flatmate about drying clothes, he said that you hang them to dry. I asked if there were dryers and he said, “Dryers are such a waste of energy and they ruin your clothes.” He seemed so shocked that I would even ask such a question. Who needs a dryer anyway? Instead, in the backyard is a rotating hanger that looks like a canopy without the fabric for shade. However, I did find out that the Darlington House next to the terraced houses where I live has dryers. Nevertheless, there are only two in the whole building and they are not on every floor. Laundry is expensive, each washing and drying cycle costs $2.00.

When you go to restaurants in Sydney they will ask “Eat in or take away?” If you opt for take away, you won’t be given your food in a Styrofoam box, instead, they give you microwave safe plastic containers that resemble Glad-ware. You can wash them and re-use them if you have leftovers or if you make lunch and take it to school. Very environmentally friendly and convenient!

Also, public transport is common and used regularly by individuals from every walk of life: from students to the elderly, businessmen and women on their way to work, or mom’s and kids on their way home from the grocery store. Public transportation does not have a negative stigma and it is employed by everyone and is very easy to use! You can take a train or a bus to pretty much any destination!

Additionally, plastic bags are almost obsolete. Many people regularly bring their canvas shopping bags and many stores charge 5 to 20 cents per bag to reduce waste! I have also noticed that there is not a recycling place where you can take your cans and bottles to get your CRV back, at least not in Sydney. Instead, people recycle and separate their cans and bottles and put them in the designated bin, just for the sake of recycling. They do not need a motivational mechanism to recycle; instead, it is just an inherent and automatic civic duty. There are bins throughout the city that are designated for trash, bottles, and cans.

Overall, I am impressed by the environmental awareness that I have witnessed while I have been living in Sydney. Maybe the US should consider utilizing some of the environmentally friendly strategies that Australia employs!