Byron Shire Council is urging people to put their cards (or phones) in their pockets this month and make a pledge to Buy Nothing New in October.
Buy Nothing New month aims to get people to think about their spending habits and encourage them to consider repairing an item, borrowing it, or buying something second hand instead of throwing it out and buying something new.
Council’s Resource Recovery Education and Compliance Officer, Zoe White, said Buy Nothing New Month is about getting people to make a decision to send less waste to landfill.
‘Things like bicycles, electrical items and clothes are so cheap that the concept, and art, of repairing things is really being lost’
People don’t think twice
‘People don’t think twice about throwing something out and buying a new replacement so over the next few weeks we are going to have a red-hot crack at trying to change this trend by running some mending and repair workshops.’
A Bike Repair Workshop is being held at Council’s Re-Market Tip Shop at the Byron Resource Recovery Centre on Sunday from 9.30am to 11am.
‘Textile waste is a huge problem with Australians disposing of 6,000 kilograms of fashion and textile waste every 10 minutes,’ said Ms White.
Learn how to do simple fixes
‘By learning how to do simple fixes to our clothes we can help to reduce this.’
There will also be a ‘Sashiko’ workshop at the Re-Market Tip Shop to teach people how to turn holes in old clothes into beautiful Japanese embroidery so they can live another day on Friday October 20 from 11am to 12pm.
More information about Buy Nothing New Month and how to register for the repair workshops is on Council’s website.
People can also find businesses and organisations that repair broken items via the online Reuse and Repair Trail, an initiative of regional waste education coordinators, North East Waste.
To find out more about other things you can do to Buy Nothing New visit the orrifial website.
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