Circular Tasmania

A third of the food we buy ends up in landfill. In landfill it rots, creating methane — a greenhouse gas far more potent than CO2. But food waste is actually one of the easiest material flows to fix.

FOGO — Food Organics and Garden Organics FOGO kerbside collection is rolling out across Tasmania right now — a green-lidded bin for food scraps and garden waste that gets turned into compost instead of rotting in landfill.

Where FOGO is available in Tasmania:

• North West — Devonport, Burnie, Central Coast, Latrobe, Kentish, Waratah-Wynyard councils. Serviced by a brand new $32 million composting facility in Latrobe capable of processing 50,000 tonnes per year
• Brighton, Sorell — FOGO rolling out now
• Check your council — rethinkwaste.com.au has a full list of what’s available in your area

Don’t have FOGO yet?

• Start a home compost or worm farm — kitchen scraps become garden gold
• Check if your council has a community composting program
• Reduce food waste at the source — buy less, plan meals, use what you have

Food waste is a solvable problem. Tasmania is solving it.

Single-use plastic is one of Tasmania’s biggest material flow problems — most of it ends up in landfill or the environment. But Tasmania just launched a major new scheme to change that.

Recycle Rewards — Tasmania’s Container Deposit Scheme Launched 1 May 2025 — Tasmania was the last Australian state to get a container deposit scheme, completing a national network. Now every eligible drink container is worth 10 cents back.

How it works:

• Return eligible drink containers — cans, plastic bottles, glass bottles, cartons
• Get 10 cents back per container at any of 49 refund points across Tasmania with over 100 reverse vending machines
• Or donate your refund to a community group or charity

Find your nearest refund point: 🔗 nre.tas.gov.au/environment/recycle-rewards

Beyond containers — reducing plastic overall:

• Bring your own bags, containers and cups
• Choose products with less packaging
• Visit zero waste shops like Eumarrah or Scoop Wholefoods for package-free shopping
• Use Rethink Waste A-Z guide for what to do with specific plastic items

Tasmania completed Australia’s national container deposit network in 2025 — a big step forward for plastic flows.

Australians are the second largest consumers of textiles in the world. Most donated clothing ends up in landfill — there’s simply too much of it to be effectively reused. The solution starts with buying less and keeping what you have in use longer.

What you can do in Tasmania:

Repair & Mend

• Sustainable Living Tasmania runs clothes swap and repair events with sewing machines, fabric scraps, yarn and skilled people to help you mend your clothes. slt.org.au
• Repair Cafes across Hobart and Launceston can help with clothing repairs

Swap & Buy Secondhand

• Clothing swaps — swap with friends or find community swap events through Sustainable Living Tasmania and local Facebook groups
• Op shops statewide — Vinnies, Lifeline, Hobart City Mission, Salvos
• Facebook Buy/Swap/Sell groups — dozens of local Tasmanian groups

Recycle What Can’t Be Worn

• Charity bins at op shops accept worn or damaged clothing for textile recycling
• H&M and other retailers have in-store textile take-back programs
• The Tasmanian Government is actively working on improving textile waste solutions — watch rethinkwaste.com.au for updates

The most sustainable garment is the one already in your wardrobe.

Tasmania’s timber industry demonstrates genuine circular economy principles in how it processes wood — using every part of the tree, generating near-zero waste at the mill. But the full picture is more complicated.

Where it works well:

• Sawdust → biofuel and energy generation
• Bark → mulch for gardens and landscaping
• Wood scraps → composite materials and particle board
• Offcuts → smaller timber products and craft materials

Where it doesn’t: The circular economy requires that materials are sourced regeneratively — not extracted faster than nature can replace them. Community groups across Tasmania have condemned Sustainable Timber Tasmania for clearfell practices that devastate maturing forest habitats, increase fire risks, and pollute critical waterways. Old growth logging in Tasmania doesn’t look like ending any time soon, despite these forests storing huge amounts of carbon and providing critical habitat. Sustainable Timber Tasmania has also twice failed to achieve Forest Stewardship Council certification. CirculareconomytasmaniaLibraries Tasmania

Exporting timber as woodchips and packaging material — low-value products that could be made from plantation timber — is widely criticised as an inefficient and environmentally unjustifiable use of native forest.

The circular economy lens: Processing timber waste efficiently is circular economy thinking. Logging old growth forests to make woodchips is not. These are two different things happening under the same roof — and it’s worth understanding the difference.

What you can do:

• Choose plantation timber or reclaimed timber for building and renovation projects
• Ask where timber products come from before you buy
• Support businesses using certified sustainable timber

🔗 Bob Brown Foundation — for the conservation perspective 🔗 Sustainable Timber Tasmania — for the industry perspective 🔗 Rethink Waste — for practical timber recycling and reuse options

Tasmania’s forests are extraordinary. How we treat them is a reflection of our values.