I'm the sustainability officer for my school and a member of SLIM (Sustainable Living In the Mallee) so I look at sustainability quite a bit.

In regards to packaging, I keep all the backs of the boxes with their bio's on them and the rest of the cardboard goes in the recycle bin or I use to get our fire going in the winter. I also keep the instructions. It's only the plastic that goes into the garbage. Any bubble-wrap from shipping I take to school for the lower functioning students in the sensory program to use.

In regards to fuel due to my remoteness I have bugger all stores to visit for TF hunting so I use almost zero petrol for it, mainly just to get to the post office to pick up my parcels (and since we have a PO Box I have to go there anyway). Getting toys shipped probably creates a bit of a footprint but usually I get them shipped in bulk like my 6 monthly box from BBTS or my bi-monthly box from HLJ so that saves a bit on shipping (financially as well).


As for offsetting my TF carbon footprint, I grow all my own organic veggies and fruit which are fed by my 3 giant compost bays and also got a dozen young nut tree's planted so hopefully in a year or two will be up to my arse in walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds and chestnuts. I have ducks for eggs, solar panels for the hot water and spa, use rainwater from our big tank for drinking and dam water for everything else and am getting some goats to keep the grass and weeds in the paddock down rather than using the slasher. I also over the past month just planted 2 dozen native tree's to act as a anti-eroder and eventually a natural noise blocker. So sustainability-wise I reckon I can get away with a bit of TF collecting on the side