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 Samantha Mazzuchelli, representative on the Maroondah Environment Advisory Committee, 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 Mazzuchelli 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 items, things such as plastic bags, tissues, nappies and cling wrap, can block and damage machinery, and contaminate material.

“Batteries in particular should never be put in the recycling bin or in your general waste bin. Household batteries are hazardous and can poison people and the environment. The material from our blue-lidded bins is sent to a Material Recovery Facility where hand sorters remove contaminants and machines sort the materials. When a battery is put into the recycling bin it places the health of the hand sorters at risk and can also cause damage to machines.

“Household batteries can easily be recycled at no cost by dropping them off at Council’s City Offices Service Centre in Ringwood, or at one of the many sites listed online,” she said.

Beyond the wrapping and packaging, there are other opportunities to reduce waste, including cutting up any live Christmas trees at the end of the season and placing them in the garden organics bin.

“It’s also a good time to start or build up a compost supply with those post-Christmas leftovers. Fruit and vegetable peelings, newspapers, tea leaves, coffee grounds and egg shells are all great fuel for home compost,” Cr Mazzuchelli said.

If there’s food waste to go into the regular bin, residents are urged to freeze any seafood or food with strong odours until bin collection day.

“Recycling is one of the simplest things we can do to reduce our impact on the environment. So, if you’re planning on a post-festive season clean out, please make an effort to recycle all appropriate material,” Cr Mazzuchelli added.

Recycling tips for the festive season Place loose items in the bin, not in plastic bags Remove food scraps and/or give containers a light wash before placing in your recycling bin. Tear and crush large cardboard pieces to save space and prevent them from becoming jammed in the bin. You can recycle food scraps at home by using a compost bin or worm farm.

For information on recycling right, visit our

The guide provides a list of agencies and recycling centres to help with safe disposal of waste items and correct recycling procedures.