As Wendy Jehanara Tremayne writes in her fantastic book 'The Good Life Lab', extending the life of anything is good manners. By sourcing used items to make new things, you help justify the activities and re-sources used in their production, like energy and chemicals, the machines built for their assembly, and the complex systems designed to distribute them. Not to mention the people who participated in the processes, their commutes to work and back again, the children and pets that waited at home, the things they could have done instead, the sunsets missed.

Clothes

To avoid your clothes being sent to landfill, firstly buy sparingly and take care with what you buy. Good quality clothing can last several users and may be worth being repaired. Secondly, natural fibres don't persist for so long in the environment. Finally, ensure your clothes are clean and in good condition before you donate them. 

Glass

Glass is now re-used in Tasmania for road base material, although this is not as good as reusing whole glass bottles or recycling, it is better than being sent to landfill, which is where most of Tasmania's glass waste has gone in the recent past. Thankfully, in recent years Hazel Brothers, a Tasmanian company, has been experimenting with ways to use our old bottles and jars and now accepts most of our glass waste. We are unsure how much of it is used and how much is sent to their inert landfill, but would be interested to know more if anyone finds out. 

Waste hierarchy - Recognise, refuse, rethink, reduce, re-use, rot, recycle, run away from the problem