Make recycling a priority this Christmas

Maroondah residents are being encouraged to recycle their Christmas waste in an effort to reduce their impact on the environment.

Councillor Mike Symon, Council’s representative on the Metropolitan Local Governments’ Waste Forum, said tonnes of recyclable material ended up in landfill each year rather than in recycling centres.

“Maroondah households can produce up to three times as much garbage during Christmas as they would in a normal week,” Cr Symon said.

“Over the Christmas period we buy, eat and party more than any other time of the year and, consequently, we produce a lot more waste.

“Our biggest purchases over the festive season are gifts, food and drink, and when you consider the packaging that goes along with these, such as wrapping paper, it adds up to a lot of rubbish.

“Disappointingly, this increase in waste often leads to residents filling their recycling bins with general waste as their garbage and garden organics bins fill up.

“Sorting is essential and we ask that that residents only place appropriate items in their recycling bin. Non-recyclable material, especially plastic bags, can block machinery and contaminate material,” he said.

Please DO NOT place the following items in your Council recycling bin:

Plastic bags Batteries Paper towel or tissues Clothing or shoes Light bulbs Ceramics Pyrex glass or drinking glasses

“It’s not just wrapping and packaging that can be recycled either. Live Christmas trees can be cut into small pieces and placed into the green waste bin,” Cr Symon said.

“Or use this time of year to start to build up a compost supply, adding to it your post-Christmas leftovers. Fruit and vegetable peelings, newspapers, tea leaves, coffee grounds and egg shells are all great fuel for home compost.”

Top recycling tips for the festive season:

Sort your waste and only place recyclable items into the recycling bin Never dispose of plastic bags in your recycling bin as they can jam machinery used in the recycling process. Remove food scraps and/or give containers a light wash before placing in your recycling bin. Keep squashing down the waste as you go, to make even more room in your bin. Recycle your food scraps into a compost bin or worm farm Cut your live Christmas tree into small pieces and place it in your garden organics bin All that Christmas food

If you’ve already gone overboard with pre-Christmas shopping and bought more than you probably need, why not consider donating to those less fortunate.

The Maroondah Citizens Advice Bureau has been providing service to the communities of Ringwood and Croydon for over 40 years. Today it continues to meet the needs of the community through providing emergency relief in the form of food and material aid.

Also, Hope City Mission Foodbank is an assessment-based emergency relief program that provides nutritious food and material aid to families in Melbourne’s outer-east.

When it comes to food scraps, leftovers are best disposed of in a compost bin. If there’s waste food to go into the regular bin, residents are urged to freeze any seafood or food with strong odours until bin collection day.

Worm farms are also a good way to dispose of waste, which in turn can be used as compost for the garden. Worm farms might also make an excellent gift for the environmentally-conscious.

So before launching into a five-course Christmas lunch, plan ahead for how much your family will realistically eat on the day!