I have always had a big picture model in mind of working with the whole community on education and awareness with Dungog Shire Council, the business community, schools and households.

The aim is All of us working together for best practice Recycling, Reuse and Reduce waste management!

Boomerang Bags Dungog’s this year had much to celebrate:

• Over 2000 Boomerang Bags made by our Team and distributed in our community so far.

• Boomerang Bags Dungog was awarded the first ever community grant for innovative waste reduction from Dungog Council and JR Richards.

• Our partnering with the IGA for Plastic Free July. The community has overwhelmingly supported Plastic Free July and the plan to go plastic bag free. Dungog IGA has agreed to move away from plastic and promote alternatives in its four stores. We look forward to new developments.

• Our BB Dungog Team are now making a “Bought to Support” range of

boomerang bags, produce bags and BEERAPT bees wax wraps (from donated fabrics and bag offcuts) for the community to support.

With Dungog leading the way in our region, Boomerang Bags communities are now underway in Gloucester, Clarence Town, Hawks Nest (with boomerang bags supported at all of the 4 IGA’s) and over 500 Boomerang Bags communities underway around the state, country and world.

I am continuing to work at the community and regional level for awareness and proactive solutions to the issues that the natural world is facing today.

Thirty years ago there were no plastic bags. Single use disposable plastic bags, bottles, containers, take away coffee cups and straws are a massive growing global problem for our landfill sites, oceans and waterways.

Over 100,000 animals are killed by plastic bags each year. A single plastic bottle can break up into more than 10,000 pieces of toxic microplastic.

Last year over 9 million tonnes of plastic waste entered the world’s oceans. Scientists predict there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish by 2050. People with an average seafood diet are ingesting some 11,000 plastic particles annually.

We don’t need to use a plastic bag for a bin liner. It’s a habit. If we recycle all we can there really isn’t that much left to go into the rubbish bin. You can compost your fruit and vegetable scraps for garden or farm needs. Keep a bread bag or container in the freezer for any meat and dairy scraps or bones that can’t be fed to the animals. Use newspaper or a paper bag as a bin liner for anything else that can’t be recycled. Throw rubbish straight into the garbage bin, it doesn’t have to be in a bag at all and it’s easy enough to hose our bins if need be. It’s about choosing to change our habits - why wouldn’t we all want to do that for our children’s and the planet’s interconnected future?

Dungog Waste Management Facility and Plastic Police have installed a baler at the tip/landfill facility for soft plastics recycling.

Let’s all remember to keep aside our clean soft plastics (if it’s scrunchable it’s soft plastic) and if it’s not it can go in the yellow lid bin with all your other hard plastics, bottles, steel and aluminium cans.

There are now Council drop off points for your soft plastics at the Library and Council or when you have saved a whole bunch just take it up to landfill for recycling.

Please don’t throw your recyclables in the rubbish bin.

The journey from land, down stormwater drains, to waterways and out to sea is a relatively short one for our rubbish to make. 80% of what ends up in the oceans has come from land ; overflowing bins, our littering and landfill sites.

We produced our short film “Launching Boomerang Bags in Dungog” to celebrate, educate and promote “Reduce ReUse Recycle”. The film has screened widely in the community and the region, at special events and online as an education tool for awareness on the plastic pollution problem.

Thank you to Dungog Shire Council, Lovey’s IGA, Local Living Dungog, Dungog Community Centre, CWA (sponsors of our sewing bee venue) and all the businesses, community groups and individuals in the community who have embraced and supported us and the need for change.

Bringing communities together with the environment - there really is nothing more healing than feeling a belonging and a connection, working together for and with Nature.

Merry Christmas everyone and a Happy “ Reduce ReUse Recycle ” New Year.