Helping residents recycle right

In an effort to reduce contamination in recycling bins the City of Armadale is implementing a Bin Auditing and Tagging program to provide feedback and education to residents.

The program will involve a quick visual assessment of the bin contents on the verge prior to collection, conducted by City of Armadale officers.

The City’s recycling contractor Suez has advised that incorrect items that are commonly found in recycling bins sent to the recycling facility include soft plastics, clothing and textiles, nappies, food waste, recyclable items placed inside plastic bags and meat trays. These impose risks to the health and safety of sorters, machinery break-downs and quality of the end product.

Mayor Henry Zelones OAM, JP said waste audits in other Councils indicate that recycling is being placed in general waste bins and there is around 20 per cent contamination in recycling bins.

“We know people want to do the right thing for the environment, but many households might be unaware of recent changes to what is accepted in their yellow lid recycling bin. The tags will therefore assist individual households to reduce contamination of recyclables.

“This initiative is necessary due to the changes last year to what can be recycled, which resulted from traditional overseas markets banning the import of 24 types of waste.

“Not all households and suburbs will be involved in the program. A representative sample of households will be chosen to see how well the community is doing.

“The aim of the program is to improve residents understanding about what can and can’t go into their bins, which will decrease contamination and reduce processing costs,” said Mayor Zelones.

Bins will be inspected three times in randomly selected streets and feedback will be provided to residents on the way they recycle in the form of tags attached to the bin handles.

The tags, with a smiley or sad face, will indicate if the bin has the correct contents. A sad face indicates there is some contamination of non-recyclables present, and residents can find out what items were incorrectly placed in the bin from the information provided on the tags. This will assist residents to reduce contamination of their recycling bin to ensure the contents are recycled.

If you would like further information on waste and recycling visit the City’s website or contact the Waste Education Officer on 9394 5000.