Hello keen beans – we are BYO Containers, here to help people all across Australia make the shift from single-use to reuse. We strive to normalise, promote and help both customers and businesses to say yes to reusing, refilling and BYO containers and to make it easier for customers to find locations that will accept reusables via our online directory map. From trashless takeaway, groceries, beauty, home, pets, wine, beer and everything in between we are here to support and encourage all Australian’s to reduce waste, save money, and take the bins out less.
BYO Containers provide helpful resources for businesses ready to jump on the #BYOC movement. Our resources section is full of helpful information and tips to get started, such as how to provide your own in-house reusables scheme, keeping reusables clean and a breakdown of the Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ). The BYO Containers team is on hand to answer questions and provide assistance too.
Businesses can download our free poster and display it prominently to show customers BYO Containers are welcome. We have flyers and pledge forms available for customers to download and drop into your favourite stores to sign them up and add them to the BYOC map. Councils and large commercial businesses can get in contact if they would like to use a free co-branded poster.
The BYO Containers website and campaign was started in 2018 by Bianca Cottle. Just like many other Australian’s Bianca was made aware of the urgent need to address our plastic waste as overseas countries ended foreign waste and plastic imports laying bare the enormity of the single use problem we have and the poor solutions provided to address it.
Like many other shoppers, Bianca started reducing her plastic and wanted an easy way to locate butchers, delicatessens, fishmongers & poulterers that would allow her to bring containers for reuse instead of the single-use plastic and paper often used. She set out to set up a website, ultimately collaborating with TrashlessTakeaway.com run by Kim Maisch, making use of his popular and easy to use database map that had been running from 2017. BYO Containers later became a joint program with Zero Waste Victoria. With the upcoming single-use plastic bans coming to Victoria and the rest of Australia, members of the Zero Waste Victoria committee decided to expand the BYO Containers to accommodate for the growing sectors and businesses accepting reuse and refill like home cleaning, personal care, pet food and much more. It was during this time Kim Maisch suggested merging Trashless Takeaway with BYO Containers and the updated website and campaign was launched in February 2022.
Our team are all volunteers, each of us understanding the difficulties that can come along when trying to shift away from single-use waste. That’s why we are happy to support Responsible Cafes and UYO on their Bring Your Own Friday campaign. Choosing one day to reuse, refill and BYO Containers is a helpful first step to incorporating the habits of reusing and refilling into your life. Before you know it, the Friday swap will happen easily every other day of the week.