Green Purchasing

Green purchasing is about considering the environmental impact of materials and services when making purchasing decisions. The principles of green purchasing are based on those of the waste hierarchy:

• Avoid - do you need to buy the product or is there an alternative such as leasing?
• Reduce - better planning will mean that excessive materials are not purchased and wasted
• Reuse - can reused materials be sourced to do the job such as second hand timber?
• Recycle - purchasing products with recycled content develops markets for the materials we recycle from our homes and businesses.

Examples of environmentally sustainable products include:

• Energy efficient products, e.g. compact fluorescent lights, solar hotwater systems
• Water efficient products, e.g. rainwater tanks and AAA shower heads
• Materials with recycled content, e.g. recycled paper and recycled plastic furniture
• Materials with low toxicity, e.g. low toxicity paints and timber finishes

Eco Buy

Maroondah City Council is a member of the Eco Buy program. The program is co-ordinated by the Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) and supports and encourages councils to purchase environmentally sustainable products.

For more information on green purchasing and information on green products visit the Eco Buy website at  http://www.ecobuy.org.au/