75 minutes to get through this
This week we’re covering:
- The 5 R’s – your toolkit for circular thinking
- How businesses are going circular
- Real Tasmanian case studies – what works down here
- Which strategies matter most for YOUR life
- Finding the circular businesses YOU can support
The 5 R’s: Your Toolkit
You don’t have to understand all the theory. You just need to know the 5 R’s. They’re your toolkit for making circular choices every single day.
They’re in order of priority. Start with Reduce. Then Reuse. Then Repair. Then Recycle. Finally Regenerate.
🎯 1. Reduce
Buy less. Use less. Want less. Sounds simple because it is. This is the most powerful strategy – less consumption means less waste.
Real examples: Buy clothes less often, share tools instead of owning, borrow before buying, unsubscribe from stuff you don’t need.
🔄 2. Reuse
Use the same product again. Same purpose or different. A glass jar becomes storage. Hand-me-downs. Secondhand. The product stays in use, stays valuable.
Real examples: Charity shops, sharing economy, Facebook Buy/Swap/Sell groups, hand-me-downs.
🔧 3. Repair
Fix what’s broken instead of throwing it away. Extend the life of products. Costs less than replacing and keeps stuff out of landfill.
Real examples: Repair Cafes, shoe repair, dressmaking alterations, DIY fixes, local repair services.
♻️ 4. Recycle
Process used materials into new products. It uses energy, so it’s lower priority than the others. But still better than landfill.
Real examples: Your kerbside recycling bin, resource recovery centres, metal scrap yards, textile recyclers.
🌱 5. Regenerate
Return materials safely to nature. Compost food waste. Natural fabrics that biodegrade. Materials that become soil, not pollution.
Real examples: Composting, organic textile disposal, mulching, regenerative agriculture.
Remember: Each R is a choice. You don’t have to be perfect. Start where you are. Pick one or two that fit YOUR life. Build from there.
The Tasmanian Government’s Rethink Waste website has practical guides for each of the R’s — specific to Tasmania, covering every council area.
“Waste is a design flaw.”
—Kate Krebs, Closed Loop Partners
Circular Business Models
Businesses are figuring out how to make money while being circular. Here are 6 models that are working – and you can support them:
🚗 1. Sharing Economy
Many people share one. Car sharing, bike sharing, tool libraries. Reduces consumption, costs less, builds community.
💡 2. Product-as-Service
Pay for what you use, not the product. Rent tools, subscribe to services. Business keeps ownership, maintains quality, incentivizes durability.
🔧 3. Repair & Refurbish
Take used products, repair them, sell them again. Keeps products in use, creates jobs, cheaper than new.
♻️ 4. Advanced Recycling
Process materials back into new products efficiently. Textile recycling, metal recovery, plastic upcycling into new goods.
🌱 5. Regenerative Production
Grow/make products in ways that restore nature. Regenerative agriculture, organic production, soil-building farming.
🏪 6. Local & Direct
Direct from producer to you. Farmers markets, farm box subscriptions, local makers. Less transport, fresher products, money stays local.
Running a business? Explore the ReCFIT Business Resource Efficiency Program for Tasmanian-specific support. Interested in the bigger picture? The Tasmanian Government’s circular economy pathway maps out where the opportunities lie.
“Small actions, multiplied by millions, become transformation“
Circular Strategies in Action
Buying secondhand is the simplest circular strategy — you keep a product in use, save money, and divert something from landfill. Tasmania has a thriving secondhand culture.
In 2023-24, Tasmanians saved an estimated $147 million by buying and selling secondhand goods, with 13.9 million items rehomed through charity shops, secondhand stores and tip shops — diverting 11,000 tonnes from landfill.
Where to shop secondhand in Tasmania:
- Hobart City Mission — op shops across Hobart, 100% of profits back into community programs
- Vinnies & Lifeline Tasmania — stores statewide
- Tip Shops — your local tip shop is circular economy in action — someone else’s waste, your treasure
- Facebook Marketplace & Gumtree — buy and sell locally online
Every secondhand purchase is a vote for a circular economy.
Repairing something costs less than replacing it, keeps products in use longer, and builds skills. It’s one of the most powerful circular strategies available to everyone.
Where to get things fixed in Tasmania:
- Hobart — Repair Café Hobart, Kickstart Arts, New Town. Third Saturday each month. Facebook | Book via Humanitix
- Hobart East — Eastside Repair Cafe, Warrane. Facebook
- Launceston — City of Launceston Repair Cafe, third Saturday monthly, 34 Paterson St. Facebook | Register your item
Can’t get to a Repair Cafe?
- Local shoe repair, dressmaker, or electronics repair shops
- DIY repair guides at iFixit.com — free step-by-step guides for fixing almost anything
Before you replace it — can it be fixed?
Why own something you use twice a year? The sharing economy means more people get access to things they need, at lower cost, with less stuff being manufactured and discarded.
Sharing economy options in Tasmania:
- Libraries Tasmania — 46 public libraries across the state lending books, DVDs, magazines and more. Free. libraries.tas.gov.au
- Facebook Buy/Swap/Sell groups — dozens of local Tasmanian groups for swapping and selling locally. Search your town or region.
- Tasmanian Bike Collective — donate or adopt a pre-loved bike, repaired and ready to ride. Search “Tasmanian Bike Collective” for current details.
- Tool sharing — before buying a tool you’ll use once, ask a neighbour, check your local community group, or look for a local tool library in your area.
Coming soon to Tasmania: Tool libraries are growing across Australia — Launceston Council has been in discussions about establishing one. Watch this space.
The most circular product is one that never needs to be made — because someone else already has one you can borrow.
Buying direct from local producers cuts transport waste, keeps money in the Tasmanian economy, supports farmers, and means fresher food with less packaging. It’s circular economy and community resilience in one.
Where to buy local in Tasmania:
- Hobart — Farm Gate Market — every Sunday, Bathurst St, CBD. Local producers selling directly. [Search “Farm Gate Market Hobart” for current details]
- Launceston — Harvest Farmers Market — every Saturday 8:30am–12:30pm. Around 60 stalls of northern Tasmanian produce. harvestmarket.org.au
- Huon Valley — Willie Smith’s Artisan & Produce Market — every Saturday 10am–2pm, Willie Smith’s Apple Shed, Grove. williesmiths.com.au
- Cygnet — Cygnet Market — 1st and 3rd Sunday of the month. cygnetmarket.com.au
- Farm box subscriptions — many Tasmanian farms offer weekly vegetable boxes delivered direct to your door. Search “Tasmanian farm box” for options near you.
Buying local is one of the most powerful circular strategies available to every Tasmanian, every week.
📖 CEH Sustainable Consumer Guide
Want to find sustainable businesses near you? The Circular Economy Huon Sustainable Consumer Guide is a searchable directory of local businesses and services operating circular economy principles across the Huon Valley and beyond.
Click the image to open the interactive guide →
⚡ Try This in the Next Week
Find 3 circular businesses or initiatives YOU can support. They could be nearby, online, or places you already shop.
Look for:
- A sharing economy service (car share, tool library, etc)
- A zero waste or low-packaging shop
- A local repair service or Repair Cafe
- A secondhand/charity shop
- A local food producer (farmers market, farm box)
- Anything else that fits the 5 R’s
Write them down. Try one this week. See how it feels to support circular businesses instead of linear ones.
💭 Have a Think
Take 5 minutes. Think about this:
- Which of the 5 R’s could YOU do today?
- Which business model appeals to you most? Why?
- What’s ONE circular business you could try this week?
Your choices matter. Every time you support a circular business, you’re voting for the kind of economy you want.
💬 Questions or Feedback?
Got a question about this week’s content? Something that didn’t make sense, or something that sparked an idea? We’d love to hear from you — this course gets better every time someone tells us what’s working and what isn’t.
📖 Key Terms This Week
- The 5 R’s — Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Recycle — a hierarchy for reducing your impact
- Sharing Economy — a system where products are shared or rented rather than owned individually
- Product as a Service — paying for the use of something rather than owning it outright
- Upcycling — transforming waste materials into something of higher value
- Zero Waste — a goal to send nothing to landfill by redesigning how we consume
Week 2 done! 🎉Next: Week 3 (Material Flows) →