Sustainability in Melbourne

By Ezmee Wyatt, University of Melbourne, Australia

As an Eco Ambassador, I thought I would share some of my top tips for sustainability in Melbourne. As a whole, I would say that Australia has a much greater focus on sustainability and environmental stewardship than the UK – many of the people here seem to really care about their country and want to preserve it. Because of this, making sustainable choices is easy and here are a few of the easiest!

1. Visiting markets is an easy way to buy local produce and reduce the carbon emissions associated with food imports. Much of this food is also organic – this is important as chemicals like pesticides can damage complex food webs and interfere with ecosystem processes. Shopping at markets also reduces plastic waste, as the fresh food here is not bagged. Queen Victoria Market in Melbourne CBD is definitely my recommendation – it is huge (you could do your weekly shop here) and also hosts summer and winter night markets (on Wednesdays) where you can buy cooked food from cuisines all over the world. 

2. If you don’t fancy visiting the markets, there are also lots of sustainable shops around – these are more common in the suburbs than in the CBD. I live in Brunswick and there are loads of great options here. Cheaper Buy Miles is a shop on Sydney Road that buys food which is close to or at its best before date from other stores which won’t sell it (even though the food is perfectly fine). This means that the customer gets a bargain whilst also reducing the huge amount of food that gets wasted each year. There are also organic shops like Terra Madre and Wholefoods Brunswick – Wholefoods also has dispensers for dried food like nuts or pastas which you bring your own containers for, helping to reduce plastic waste. There are also lots of vegetarian/vegan places around all of Melbourne – and nearly every restaurant will have some meat-free options. In terms of clothes, Melbourne is big on Op Shops (this is what they call charity shops in Australia – short for opportunity shops) where you can also pick up a bargain and avoid contributing to fast fashion businesses – Brunswick and Fitzroy have loads of these. 

3. Transport is also an easy way in which you can make a positive impact. I bought a second-hand bike when I arrived and it has been great! Melbourne is a very flat city so it’s super easy to get around by bike and there are cycle lanes everywhere – my cycle to uni is around 20 minutes and it’s all flat! However, if cycling isn’t for you, the public transport in Melbourne is also great – there are trams that cover a wide radius of the city and the suburbs. In the CBD they are free, but to go further out you need to use a Myki card (these are like Oyster cards in London) that you can top up on your phone – exchange students can apply for student discount so the trams are a really cheap way to get around. There are also buses and trains which are a great option if you plan on going further out of Melbourne.