By Carol Fung

Having launched in our Crunch rewards store late last year, Go For Zero aims to help all Australians reduce the amount of waste and chemicals in their home, whether that be through offering low-waste and toxin-free swaps for everyday products or educating them on sustainable actions they can make (e.g. how to recycle properly).

LOW-WASTE EVERYDAY SWAPS

Breaking down recycling and the case for low-waste beauty swaps.

Globally, the beauty industry produces around 120 billion units of packaging annually, with estimates putting the amount recycled at a measly 9 per cent. The rest goes to landfill.

You would think recycling would be simple, but in beauty’s instance it’s a minefield. In Australia, 10,000 tonnes of beauty industry waste goes to landfill every year. Why? Beauty and personal care packaging units aren’t generally accepted in kerbside recycling. Australia’s Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment notes “the vast majority of cosmetic waste ends up in landfill.” That’s because they are too small to be sorted at a regular facility and often contain complex and mixed materials, as well as remnant product, which makes the tricky to recycle alongside regular glass and plastics.

What about refillables as a solution? Refillable often doesn’t work, thanks to the challenge of keeping ingredients in highly active formulas and avoiding the risk of developing bacteria.

Before more robust recycling programs are developed, what can you do? Research director at UTS’s institute for sustainable futures, Dr Nick Florin, advises to look for “naked” products with minimal packaging. We can also do simple swaps like using bars of soap over liquid hand and body washes.

Let’s talk recycling, evolution in the sustainability space and must-have swaps on Go For Zero.

In this chat with Ellie, the founder of Go For Zero, we talk about how she became so passionate about recycling, how she incorporates social responsibility in her business’ operating model and why we should give low-waste, toxin-free swaps a go (which include a range of “naked” products).

Go For Zero is rewarding our Crunch members for being a part of our recycling community. Crunch members get 10% discount to shop online. Join us for free.

“Google your council name and ‘recycling’. Print it out and stick it on your fridge.”
– Ellie Degraeve

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By Carol Fung