Recycle right and reduce contamination

Published on 06 November 2018

Ahead of National Recycling Week, the City of Swan is urging residents to take charge of their recycling practices and reduce recycling contamination.

The current rate of recycling contamination in the City of Swan is 10-12%, and the state wide target is less than 5%.

City of Swan Deputy Mayor Kevin Bailey is asking residents to focus on eliminating four of the most common recycling ‘bin sins’ by making a few simple changes.

“Bagging your recycling waste is one of the worst things to do, as bagged recyclable items become contaminated and have to go to landfill,” he said.

“Simply keep plastic bags out of the bin, and instead place your recyclable items loosely and separately in the recycling bin.

“We also urge you to rinse your jars, bottles and containers before placing them in your bin, as food and liquid contaminate all material types and can contaminate an entire truck-load of recyclable waste.

“It’s also really important to separate lids from your empty containers and bottles and place them in your rubbish bin, as they are too small to be processed through our recycling facility.

“Finally, we ask you to please bag and place nappies into your rubbish bin; they contain human waste and should also never go into your recycling bin.

“These very simple changes can help us all collectively reduce our recycling contamination rates, and therefore reduce the amount of waste we are sending to landfill.”

National Recycling Week, a Planet Ark initiative, will run from November 12-18, 2018.

In addition to your fortnightly yellow top bin collection, the City offers a number of ways to dispose of your recyclables, including Recyclable Goods Drop off Days and access to our Recycling Centre Bullsbrook.

For more information, visit the waste section of the City's website. 

RECYCLING GUIDELINES:

New changes:

• Soft plastics, aerosol cans, meat trays and polystyrene can no longer be placed in yellow top bin. Instead, they will need to be recycled separately. Aerosol cans and polystyrene can be taken to the Recycling Centre – Bullsbrook or placed in the waste bin.

• Soft plastics, such as cling film, bread bags and anything ‘scrunchable’ can be recycled through REDcycle bins, available at major supermarkets such as Coles and Woolworths.

What you can recycle:

• Paper (excluding shredded)

• Cardboard (flattened)

• Glass (clean and empty)

• Plastic containers and bottles (clean and empty, without a lid)

• Aluminium cans (empty)

• Steel cans (clean and empty)

What you can’t recycle:

• Items in plastic bags

• Plastic bags or light plastic film

• Nappies

• Clothes or textiles

• Food or garden waste

• Building waste

• Gas bottles, aerosols or batteries

• Ropes, cables or garden hose pipes

• Polystyrene or takeaway coffee cups

• Meat trays