Lessons Learned from Life Down Under

by Jan Baxter-Jones

Earlier this year my family (my husband and I, our daughter aged 12 and sons aged 9 and 7) spent four months on sabbatical in Australia.

For the majority of our stay, we lived in the small town of Burleigh, in Queensland, in an apartment overlooking the beach. We enrolled the children in the local elementary school and settled into life Down Under in the wonderful Land of Oz.

Although we were living in a community with many of the amenities that we were used to, several differences soon emerged. Australia is undergoing one of the worst droughts in its history and water conservation is paramount. All the toilets are low flush, and we were encouraged to only flush the solid waste and to let the ‘yellow mellow’. At school, hand washing was strictly supervised to ensure that taps were not left running, and the children had to bring water from home as there were no water fountains.

Toward the end of our stay, the community imposed water restrictions: We were to shower for only 2 to 3 minutes a day and avoid baths. Next, the showers at the beach, so essential for rinsing off surfboards, were turned off. Heavy fines were charged for exceeding domestic water consumption limits. The papers featured lively debates about the (unrestricted) tourist water consumption and accusations of leaky pipes maintained by the same government that was enforcing the restrictions.

Another difference was our grocery bill. For ecological and other reasons, Australia tries to be self sufficient in food production and the drought caused shortages. Fresh fruit and vegetables were at least 3 to 4 times more expensive than here, bringing home the realization that everything is connected.

The biggest long-term effect on our family’s habits was the Eco-bag. Australia is attempting to phase out the plastic shopping bag for good. Every tourist spot and store sells its own attractive cloth Eco-bag which is roomy, durable and, with its wide shoulder straps, easy to carry. Our daughter decided to collect Eco-bags as souvenirs of our trip. Back in Canada, she researched a school project into the effect of the production and use of plastic bags on the environment. We have set ourselves the challenge – no more plastic shopping bags. Our daughter hangs her carefully chosen souvenirs at the back door as a reminder to take them out shopping with us. When we forget, or are making a smaller purchase, we request ‘no bags please’, and make sure that our receipts are very visible.

We were so privileged to travel from this remarkable country to another one where the people have had to become so urgently aware of managing limited resources in a fragile environment.

[Jan Baxter-Jones is originally from Ireland. Her husband is from England and her children were all born in Scotland. She and her family have lived in Saskatoon since 2000. She provided this article for the November 2007 Waste Watch]

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