The average Australian household wastes over 1000 dollars per year purchasing items they never use. So use what you buy, buy less and save...

A 2005 paper by The Australia Institute (Wasteful Consumption in Australia) found that Australians waste over 10.5 billion dollars annually on goods  and services that are "never or hardly ever used". The majority of this is food purchased and thrown out (over 5 billion per annum). If you consider the resources (water, energy and money) we are simply tossing out, it's staggering and a more than a little tragic. So we need to lift our game and become frugal, humble and respectful consumers of natures plenty… and we can pick up that extra thousand as we pass go, every year…

How to do it now!

Some simple ideas to get your creative processes rolling:

• Eat all the fresh and take away food you purchase

• buy a lunchbox for leftovers and take it to work

• have a couple of "clear out the fridge" meals prior to the next big shop

• Get better at only buying what you'll use.

• Pause every time you go to buy clothes, shoes, etc… and ask yourself if you have used up the gear you have and if you really need another.

• Pay off all high-interest charging credit cards and accounts to save on credit interest

• Go and visit an old relative and ask them how they avoid wasting things (they are better at it than the young)

Why is this action important?

At the core of the environmental issues facing the world today are affluent consumers and their lack of respect for the environmental costs of the things they consume. This "magic pudding" concept of the environment is flawed, self-indulgent and grossly insensitive to those people (and living systems) that are suffering from a lack of food, water and natural resources (Malawi, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Kenya, etc..).