Council urges residents to continue recycling

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How is Council advocating for improvements to the recycling industry? How is Council advocating for improvements to the recycling industry? We’re working with our recycling contractors, our Regional Waste Management Group, which represents 32 Councils, and the Municipal Association of Victoria. The work being done with our waste management group includes advocacy to the State and Federal Governments. Why is my recycling collection unaffected? Why is my recycling collection unaffected? Visy, our recycling provider, is one of the largest recycling companies in Australia, and have their own markets for some recycled material. However, like other providers, they still rely on overseas markets for some recyclable material. To learn more about what can and cannot be recycled, visit Visy’s website. What gets recycled in hard waste collections? What gets recycled in hard waste collections? Council recycles the following material from hard waste collections: Bundled branches Metals E-waste (appliances, electronics, TVs, etc) Metal springs from mattresses Hard waste is taken to a waste transfer station and sorted for recyclable materials, with other material sent to landfill. We are working with the industry to increase the kinds of items that can be recovered and recycled through this service. Council always encourages residents to consider offering acceptable reusable material or items to charities or for free through social media channels, such as local noticeboard pages, before they consider putting it out for hard waste collection. Doing this where possible will reduce the amount of material that ends up in landfill. Can I put soft plastics (cling film, plastic bags, etc) in my recycling bin? Can I put soft plastics (cling film, plastic bags, etc) in my recycling bin? No. Due to the sorting process and the need to reduce contamination in our recyclables, it is not currently possible for soft plastics to be included in the recycling bin collection. They can cause issues in the sorting process and will be sent to landfill once removed. Kerbside recycling bins are audited regularly across the municipality as part of our ongoing education campaign. If items such as soft plastics and other non-recyclable items are identified, a reminder notice, about what items are acceptable to put out for collection will be left in the letterbox for education purposes. But soft plastics should never be put in the recycling bin. We will continue to work with our recycling contractor, Visy, and the recycling industry to improve technologies used in sorting facilities, so we can accommodate this in the future. We encourage all residents to collect their soft plastics and drop them at their local supermarket if they have a collection bin. This allows organisations to recycle the soft plastics and keep them away from landfill.  How does Yarra Ranges Council use recycled materials? How does Yarra Ranges Council use recycled materials? When planning projects – such as roads, footpaths, boardwalks and buildings – an important consideration for Council is the environmental impact of materials used. Materials such as wood, metals and recycled options including plastics, are considered for each project with this in mind. Bollards around the municipality are made from recycled plastics – including soft plastics dropped off at supermarkets. Recycled plastic is also used for decking material around Council’s Lilydale offices, for boardwalk areas around Lillydale Lake and some public seating in Yarra Glen. In road upgrades, asphalt removed is often re-used as a base for other roads and paths. Council’s standard practice is using at least 20 per cent recycled asphalt in road construction, with 30 per cent minimum in road patching. Council undertook a trial in Kilsyth two years ago, where four roads were made with 70 per cent recycled asphalt. Council will be monitoring their condition in coming years to produce a long-term report on the performance of these roads.