It’s National Recycling Week from 13 November, and great time to refresh your recycling knowledge.
Here are five items that are often incorrectly placed in mixed recycling bins.
These five items do not belong in your mixed recycling bin:
- recycling in plastic bags
- soft plastics
- tissues and paper towels
- household glass
- shredded paper
Recycling in plastic bags
Items put into your recycling bin in plastic bags can’t be recycled, and ends up in landfill.
Plastic bags damage the sorting machines by getting caught up in them. It is also a health and safety risk to staff who sort it. The recycling in plastic bags is not visible and may include sharp objects.
Instead of using plastic bags, put your recycling in the bin loose. Use a basket, plastic tub or cardboard box to collect your recycling before emptying it into the bin loose.
Soft plastics
Soft plastics are plastics that when scrunched do not bounce back to their original shape. This includes plastic bags, cling wrap, chip packets and postage satchels.
You cannot put soft plastics in your mixed recycling bin. Soft plastics go in your landfill bin.
Tissues and paper towels
Tissues and paper towels cannot be put in your mixed recycling bin.
Although tissues are made of paper, they are made of very short fibres that are not high enough quality to be recycled.
Used tissues are a hygiene issue for staff at recycling facilities.
So put your used tissues and paper towels in your general rubbish bin.
Household glass
Only glass jars and bottles can be put in your mixed recycling bin. These could be from food or drink, medicines and toiletries.
All other household glass like drinking glasses, window glass, mirrors, vases, crystal, cooking dishes and perfume bottles must be put into your general rubbish bin.
Unfortunately, different types of glass have different melting points so they can’t be melted down together.
By recycling the right glass, it can be used to make new bottles and jars over and over again.
Shredded paper
Shredded paper pieces are too small to be put into your mixed recycling bin.
Because of their size pieces of shredded paper cannot be sorted from other materials at recycling facilities.
Instead, put shredded paper in your home compost or general rubbish bin.
If you want to recycle paper, put whole sheets in your mixed recycling bin to ensure they can have another life as recycled paper products.
So now you know, keep these items out of your mixed recycling bin. Because the less contamination we put in our bins the more of your recycling can be turned into new things like glass jars, compost and plant pots.
If you are unsure whether an item can go into your bin check brimbank.vic.gov.au
And remember, your small acts make a big impact on Victoria’s sustainable future.
