Four part challenge to keep Australia beautiful
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Muster up an old mobile phone, change a couple of light bulbs and you've completed two of the four challenges set for the upcoming Keep Australia Beautiful Week.
Keep Australia Beautiful Council chair Mel Hay is calling on WA residents to complete at least one challenge during KAB Week which kicks off on Monday 27 August.
"If we can all make a small change at home, at our workplace or at school, we can make a big difference to our environment," Mr Hay said.
"We've focused on four activities for KAB Week this year - people can muster up their mobiles, take part in the cartridge recycle or refill, change a light for a brighter future or take on the litter-free challenge.
"The Mobile Muster is a relatively easy activity as just about everyone has a mobile phone tucked away in a drawer or cupboard that they are no longer using."
Mr Hay said there were an estimated 16 million unused mobile phones across Australia and many contained materials that were harmful to the environment if they reached landfill.
"It's also important to remember that 90 per cent of the plastic and metal in mobile phones can be recovered and recycled," he said.
Mr Hay said households, schools and offices were also being urged to replace two standard globes with two compact fluorescent light bulbs.
"If every household in Australia replaces just two lights, it's the equivalent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of taking more than 200,000 vehicles off the road each year. This also saves enough energy to power at least 100,000 homes for an entire year," he said.
Empty toner cartridges were also a problem with about 1500 tonnes of toner cartridges sent to landfill in Australia each year.
"If schools and offices set up recycling programs or take their empty cartridges to Cartridge World Stores for refilling, they will help to prevent them reaching landfill," he said.
"Cartridges can take up to 450 years to break down, so the recycling and refilling activities will make a big difference for the future of our environment."
The final challenge for KAB Week is the Litter-free Challenge.
Schools and workplaces are being urged to organise a litter clean-up day, have zero waste lunches or spend the week buying products with minimal or no packaging, including refusing plastic carry bags.
For further details about Keep Australia Beautiful Week or to register for the activities, go to www.startathome.com.au
Keep Australia Beautiful in WA is supported by the Department of Environment and Conservation.