Garbologist Belinda Chellingworth hasn’t used her red-lid bin in six years and shares how Australians can reduce waste at home

A professional waste expert who hasn’t used her red-lid bin in years shared her top tips on how Aussies can reduce their waste.

Belinda Chellingworth stopped using her general trash six years ago because she wanted to limit the amount of waste she created.

“It varies, but at the moment I throw away just under a kilogram of rubbish every few months,” Ms Chellingworth told Daily Mail Australia.

“It’s been incremental and it’s taken a long time to get to this point — it didn’t happen overnight.”

Ms Chellingworth explained that working in a deli and pub in the early 2000s exposed her to the huge amounts of waste that consumers produce.

That encouraged her to take small steps towards change.

“I worked at a deli at night while I was in college and I saw all the barbecue chickens that were going to be kicked out,” she said.

‘I also worked in a pub, we printed all the gambling horse sheets and there was no recycling for them. So I took them home and wrote my uni notes on them.’

Ms. Chellingworth’s biggest piece of advice to those looking to reduce their waste is to change just one thing at a time.

For her, one of the first things she did was swap out plastic shopping bags for reusable ones.

“The key to that is to choose just one thing,” she said.

“Don’t try to change five or fifteen things at once, because that’s too much to do all at once.

“You choose one thing, turn it down and it becomes a kind of addiction or a game.

‘You can feel it, you can see the change in your own box. Some people keep a photo diary of their rubbish bin to remind them of what they no longer throw away.’

However, Ms Chellingworth said she knows there is no one-size-fits-all solution and instead encouraged people to think about what would be an easy first step for them.

“It has to fit your lifestyle, it’s a very personal thing,” she said.

My advice to anyone starting out is to reduce food waste and the best way to do that is to create a meal plan at the beginning of the week.

‘You only buy what you need and that also reduces your packaging, it’s a flow on effect. You also end up saving some money.’

Another way to reduce household waste is for someone to look at their choice of clothing.

“I love outfits and clothes as much as anyone else so what really helped me was finding colors and clothes that fit me so I’m happier with the things I already own,” said Ms Chellingworth .

“There are great services now where if you go to a fancy event where you need a $300 dress that you only wear once, you can rent that kind of thing.

‘We also exchange a lot of clothes. Otherwise, before you go to the shops, you have a list instead of buying what you see.’

Hundreds of different recycling and donation programs across the country are designed to help Aussies limit their waste – Ms. Chellingworth recommended exploring what’s available locally.

For example, toy and tool libraries are a great way to rent out items that would otherwise be used and thrown away only a few times.

Local stores are also a great place to donate materials, such as bubble wrap for a frame shop or plastic plant pots for a nursery.

Overall, Ms. Chellingworth emphasized that the most important thing is to take the time to find out what works best for you and to avoid being overwhelmed by small mistakes.

“If you feel like it’s all too hard and you’re not getting anything done, anyone can clean up litter,” she said.

“If you want to feel good about waste, that’s always my advice.”