Many people get confused as to what can and cannot be recycled. As a result, far too much rubbish ends up in our recycling bins.

If you’re not sure what’s recyclable in your local area, check out our tips below. If you follow DoSomething’s advice, you’ll maximise your recycling and minimise the amount of waste that you send to landfill. 

  • Stop putting non-recyclable rubbish in to your recycling bin. To find out what should be in your recycling bin, type in your postcode at RecyclingNearYou.com.au

  • Kerbside recycling is not your only option. Larger items like white goods, bricks, scrap metal and concrete can also be recycled. Contact your local council for details about drop off points in your local community.

  • Buy products with recycled content. There’s a wide variety of clothing, insulation,  flooring, garden, paper and plastic-based products that have recycled content. Buying it helps to create an end use for the material that you put in your recycling bin. 


  • Recycle your electronic waste. Many councils have eWaste drop off points for TVs, computers, batteries, smoke alarms and fluorescent lights. Mobile phones and printer cartridges can also be recycled via retail collection points around Australia.


  • Recycle right. Don’t put recyclables inside plastic bags and cardboard boxes – place them loose in to your recycling bin. Don’t put oven-proof glass or ceramics in to your recycling bin – a tiny amount of these can stop a whole tonne of normal glass from being recycled.


  • Squash your milk containers, cans and plastic bottles and break up and flatten cardboard boxes. This creates more space inside your recycling bin as well as the recycling truck. You can also recycle beer bottle tops inside steel cans – just crush the top of the can to stop them falling out.

 

Jon Dee
Co-founder and Managing Director of DoSomethingNearYou
5 September, 2019