National Recycling Week is a great time to start a conversation about what belongs in your yellow recycling bin and what doesn’t.
The good news is, as a community we are keen to recycle and to get it right. We understand that recycling keeps waste out of our landfills.
“Our recent household waste audit showed around 80% of materials in our yellow bins were recyclable. The rest of the contents were ‘contaminated’ materials and items that don’t belong in the yellow bin,” Paul De Szell, Council’s Director of Liveable Communities explained.
“We need your help to do better, so that everything you place in the recycle bin is recyclable.”
Dirty paper and containers, soft plastic and bags, clothing and shoes, ropes and twine, should not go in the yellow bin.
The key to ‘recycling right’ in the yellow bin is to:
- Keep it simple – clean paper, cardboard, aluminium and steel cans, glass bottles and jars and rigid plastic can go in the recycling.
- Keep out soft plastics – if you can scrunch your plastic into a ball it cannot go into your recycling bin. You can REDcycle it.
- Keep out small items – nothing smaller than a business card, including lids.
- Keep it loose – not in plastic bags or boxes
- Keep it clean – empty and rinse containers before placing in the recycling bin.
The Australasian Recycling Label also makes it easy to put your packaging in the right bin. The label shows which part of the package belong in which bin.
There are some items that don’t belong in either your yellow recycling bin or red landfill bin.
Batteries, light globes, paint, x-rays, e-waste and more, are hazardous waste and should go to Community Recycling and Waste Management Centres.
“When it comes to waste, we all can make a difference by thinking about what we’re using in the first place, consuming less, avoiding over-packaged and single use products, buying recycled products, and looking for opportunities to re-use and repair the items we have.”
