The shift to thrift in North Sydney

By Hannah Wilcox

With sustainability listed as one of its eight core values, North Sydney has a range of initiatives in place to promote green living.

North Sydney Council currently has a range of volunteer programs running within the area including Bushcare, Adopt-a-Plot, Wildlife Watch, Native Havens, Streets Alive, community gardens and Harbourcare. In saying that, practicing sustainable habits or introducing lifestyle changes can be difficult to maintain in the midst of the current cost-of-living crisis. Below, the Sun has compiled a list of services and organisations available in the North Sydney area that can help you reduce, reuse and recycle.

Recycle

Firstly, the Northern Sydney Community Recycling Centre (NSCRC) is a North Sydney Council operated collection point for household waste and other unusable goods.

Opened in 2017, NSCRC aims to keep potentially hazardous waste out of landfill, help improve recycling rates and contribute to saving water, energy, and other valuable natural resources.

Currently, the centre collects the following free of charge: Paint, gas bottles, fire extinguishers, motor and other oils, fluorescent, halogen and LED globes and tubes, electronic waste, household batteries, lead acid batteries, smoke detectors, mobile phones, X-ray films and printer cartridges. Household quantities and maximum limits of each product can be found on their website.

It is open Monday, Tuesday and Friday, 8am – 2pm and Saturday and Sunday, 8am – 4pm at 8 Waltham Road Artarmon.

Similarly, the Bower Reuse & Repair Centre offers free collection for residents looking to get rid of unwanted household items in the North Sydney Council area.

They accept household furniture, bikes, some electronic appliances and building materials, bric-a-brac, kitchenware and books and can also advise other charities and organisations who will accept other goods such as large and bulky items, mattresses, bulky whitegoods, clothing and textiles.

Items are then either resold back to the community at a low cost, with funds going back into the centre, or donated to people in need via Bower’s House to Home program.

The centre itself is located out-ofarea in the Addison Road Community Centre in Marrickville.

Reuse

Why buy when you can borrow? The Sydney Library of Things (TSLoT) is a not-for-profit service that provides the local community with access to a collection of common items available for short-term loan from the Coal Loader Centre for Sustainability in Waverton.

Open every Saturday from 9am12pm, TSLoT aims to reduce waste and build a more connected and sustainable community by making common items more accessible to borrowsaving money, saving resources and saving space in homes.

“We’re like a normal library but with things instead of books”, their website reads, “we hope that by encouraging people to borrow instead of buying or throwing away their unwanted items, together we can create a better connected, more sustainable and stronger community”.

The library currently has over 250 items that can be borrowed for a period of two weeks, TSLoT Co-Founder and President Dr Carol Skyring told the Sun.

“These range from kitchen items such as a bread maker and a food dehydrator, to household tools such as high pressure water washers and power tools, through to camping gear, party items and a sewing machine.”

“Borrowing seldom used items saves households money and contributes to the circular economy by reducing the demand for newly manufactured items”, she said, as “accepting donated items from householders reduces waste by ensuring that items that are no longer needed don’t end up in landfill.”

As it is membership based, anyone over 18 interested in joining only pays for their membership not for borrowing individual items.

Members can borrow up to 5 items, for a loan period of 2 weeks and items can be renewed for a further two weeks if they haven't been reserved by others.

The prices start from $30 for a quarterly membership, $50 sixmonthly and $85 for the year with discounted concession rates available also.

All membership fees go to maintaining the library, tools, insurance and building the collection.

The idea for the library was born after local resident and Lane Cove Councillor Bridget Kennedy noticed everyone in her street owned various household items, many of which were only used a few times a year.

“She researched and visited several tool libraries and wanted to expand this notion into a library that lent many and varied objects. Bridget reached out to the local community to see if there was interest and put a proposal together to North Sydney Council which was very supportive”, Dr Skyring said.

Kennedy then co-opted Carol Skyring & Jacky Barker to work with her to establish TSLoT at the Coal Loader Centre for Sustainability.

After calling for donations of items, and volunteers to take on the various roles needed to run the Library, it opened on 27 November 2022.”

Dr Skyring said along with becoming a member of TSLoT, and borrowing instead of buying, the library is just one of many evolving sustainable initiatives.

“A broad definition of sustainability is using the Earth’s resources to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs”, she said.

For those who love to shop, there are plenty of second-hand clothing options available to save both the planet and money. In Neutral Bay, the Precious Finds Preloved Fashion offers a collection of good-quality preloved and new clothing. VENLA Resell + Relove in Mosman provides a sustainable way to shop for secondhand designer clothes and accessories, whilst Studio61 in North Sydney is a preloved designer boutique which sources and sells unique fashion pieces.

Reduce

‘Toss it? No way!’ is the motto of the Sydney North Repair Cafe which opened in 2016. Located on Longueville Road in Lane Cove, the cafe is a group of local volunteers passionate about breaking the cycle of buy, use, toss it out.

Open 2-4pm every first and second Sunday of the month items such as jewellery, ceramics, shoes, toys, clothes, zips, bags, umbrellas, small woodwork repairs, and household battery-operated and electrical items can be brought in and repaired.

Similarly, an initiative to reduce waste was launched by North Sydney Council’s Better Business Partnership (BBP) mid-last year following the news that 2.7 million disposable cups are being discarded across Australia every day.

Partnered with Green Caffeen, customers who use the app to purchase a takeaway coffee are eligible to receive a free coffee.

It was launched at the Foliage Cafe in North Sydney, with the offer available at other cafes in the area such as the Best Bagel Co in Cremorne and The Coal Loader Cafe in Waverton.

Independent candidate clarifies her timing

Thanks for the coverage of my campaign in your February issue.

Here is some info from the Electoral Commission website that should settle rumours whirling about, that I registered to take on Ms Conway, or cruel her chances, not so.

Dates North Shore candidates registered to stand for March 25 election:

* Felicity Wilson on 4 October 2022

* Victoria Walker on 18 November

2022

* Godfrey Santer on 25 November

2022

* Helen Conway on 13 December 2022

* James Mullan on 10 January 2023

Victoria Walker, McMahons Pt

The Milsons Pt bike ramp saga continues

People are amazed at the lineal ramp proposal when shown.

I can assure you Cr Mutton and virtually all of the local residents are NOT anti-cyclists. Cyclists have been using the bridge in ever-decreasing numbers for many years and are no problem to locals and other traffic. .

The statement that TfNSW has diligently consulted with all interested members of the community first is absolute rubbish. I don’t know of anyone in the community that has been consulted by TfNSW.

Geoff Pritchard Milsons Point

Firstly I wonder how many cyclists have actually written to complain about the stairs up to the bridge. If fitness is their aim, then pushing a bike up a ramp should simply offer a challenge rather then impediment. I think if you asked them, they would prefer to keep the status quo than introduce assorted other users, who will slow their current, rocket trajectories. I would love to see a poll of actual current cyclists regarding these changes.

I see the cycle-way will be encouraging disability vehicles, learnerriders, children on bikes, etc. As a witness to the generally impatient behaviour of the current cyclists (who appear to me to have decreased no- ticeably) and who has had the ‘bird’ flipped at me regularly as a motorist, agree with Alex Van Gent that it will create a dangerous situation for all involved. I certainly would not allow my child to cycle among the intimidating, manic speedsters that fly through Milsons Point, particularly in peak hour.

Why not install an elevator, such as we mere mortals have been given on the pedestrian side of the bridge; or is cyclist time more important than ours?

Or why not just let them roll the bikes up/ down the centre concrete ramp as they do all over Europe, since it appears we are trying to emulate those cycle-loving countries.

As a footnote, I have been complaining for years about no longer being able to walk along the western side of the bridge. It would create a better, circular, tourist route and is a much better option in the mornings when the eastern side is unbearably hot, with no protection. Perhaps the western side can be opened during offpeak hours with a lane for the cyclists, as they do in Europe cities on almost every footpath. We already share paths with cyclists – so why not share one, or even both, sides of the bridge?

Mara Scotton Milsons Point

Praise for High Line

Congratulations and kudos to Cr Ian Mutton, Sydney Harbour High Line Association and North Sydney Council for their success in enabling Premier Dom Perrottet and Member for North Shore Ms Felicity Wilson MP, to announce plans to bring the splendid Lavender Bay High Line project to fruition.

As with its iconic inspiration in Paris, the 4.5km La Promenade Plantée high line, our Lavender Bay High Line will be another perfect option for cyclists and pedestrians to share their enjoyment of Sydney.

Fergus Maclagan, Milsons Point

Praise for Helen Conway

We could not wish for a more experienced, competent, hardworking representative of our community than Helen Conway for North Shore. She is the only one that has the skills and knowledge to actually make the transition to renewables.

Kate Evers via Facebook

Bus troubles

Privatise and destroy a service then run around looking for bandaids that cost taxpayers more. Maybe keep public services in public hands. Run those services properly. It what a government is meant to do.

Nicole Antonini, via Facebook

Wordstep

Complete the list by changing one letter at a time to create a new word at each step.

Spots

Quick Crossword

Chewy

There may be more than one possible answer.

WORD FIND No. 025

Very

9-LETTER WORD

025

ACT ADELAIDE BASS BRADMAN CANBERRA CAPE YORK COASTAL DARWIN DESERT INDIAN OCEAN MATILDAS NSW PERTH QUEENSLAND SYDNEY TASMAN VICTORIA YARRA

ACROSS 1 Lead 5 US state 6 On a single occasion 7 Impoverished DOWN 1 Henhouse 2 “This isn’t good” (2,2) 3 Peurto — 4 Person who gets stuff done HA PP EN ED SP RI NG Y A E M R N A PH I LA BO RI OU SL Y N N O E G T OF F PE DE ST RI AN T U O Y O A L A IS LA M CR UM BL ED S E U T M V EM ER GI NG IN TR O D A R R W N S C OR GA NI SI NG US A L N P T N T EL IZ AB ET HA N AL G E T E A M N OB RI EN DR AG GI NG

4 Which 1969 novel has the subtitle The Children’s Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death?

5 Dean Moriarty and Carlo Marx are characters from which classic 1957 novel?

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