Easy & Practical Zero-Waste Tips That Can Really Save You Money
Save your money and the earth at the same time
Credit: ready made/Canva
We've always known that recycling can help us save money, although to our knowledge, that seems like fairly little. Sure enough, making rags and rugs out of old clothes helps – but the zero-waste movement, and how much you can get out of it, is much more than that.
Reality check: The world currently generates 10 times more waste than a century ago, according to the World Bank. With that in mind, many restaurants, stores and organisations have incentivised patrons with rewards for their recycling habits.
Before we delve into that, let us first explore what minimising waste really means:
| Retailers | Rewards | Estimated Savings |
|---|---|---|
| Toastbox | BYO cup for $0.10 discount | $0.10 per cup |
| Common Man Coffee Roasters | BYO cup for 10 per cent off takeaway coffee | $0.60 per cup |
| Starbucks | Bring your own cup for $0.50 off drinks | $0.50 per cup |
| Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf | BYO cup for $0.50 off drinks | $0.50 per cup |
| SaladStop! | BYO container for extra topping | $0.50 to $2.00 (per topping) |
| Pastamania | BYO cup for $0.50 off drinks | $0.50 per cup |
| The Rabbit Hole Salad & Juice | BYO container for 2 salad toppings | $2.00 per salad |
| Aloha Poke | BYO container for additional superfood | $1.00 |
| Mr. Bean | BYO cup or tumbler to get $0.10 off | $0.10 per cup |
| Joe & Dough | BYO cup or tumbler to get $0.10 | $0.10 per cup |
| Café Melba | BYO cup or tumbler to get $0.50 off takeaway coffee | $0.50 per cup |
| The Coffee Academics | BYO cup to get $0.30 | $0.30 per cup |
| Jones the Grocer | BYO cup for $0.50 off coffee / hot drinks | $0.50 per cup |
| Cold Storage | BYO bag for 10 Tap-For-More Passion Card Points | $0.07 |
| Market Place | BYO bag for 10 Tap-For-More Passion Card Points | $0.07 |
| Jasons | BYO bag for 10 Tap-For-More Passion Card Points | $0.07 |
| Retailers | What to Recycle | Estimated Customer Rewards |
|---|---|---|
| Mac Cosmetics | Return 6 MAC primary packaging containers to receive a free lipstick | $33 per lipstick |
| Lush | Return 5 empty Lush black pots to receive a fresh face mask | $31 per face mask |
| Kiehl's | Return empty Kiehl's full-size container to receive one stamp | Receive a travel-sized product after collecting 4th and 7th stamps, tote bag after collecting 10 stamps |
| Innisfree | Return empty Innisfree bottles to receive $1 store credit | $1 per bottle |
| Origins | Drop off empty containers from any cosmetic brands | Free sample sachets of their best-selling skincare products |
| Website | Description |
|---|---|
| Gowns4Rent | Rent or buy dresses, gowns and accessories at 50-80% discount to retail price |
| Runaway Rent | |
| Covetella | |
| Style Lease | |
| Style Theory | Monthly subscription service for unlimited rental |
| Bag Borrow Or Steal | Luxury handbag rentals |