Waste contamination

Illawarra residents are ‘recycling friendly’ and most households adopt good recycling practices.

Contamination remains a major problem. Contamination refers to the mixing of general garbage in either the yellow top recycling bin OR the green waste bin.

Contamination in the recycling truck or green waste truck increases the cost of recycling or reuse of the product. This is because the only way to separate these items is by
hand. Sometimes considerable expense results when a large contaminated load needs to be separated.

Please take the time to consider what is being placed in your bins and recycle wisely.

Did you know?
Your green waste bin will NOT be collected if it contains:

• soil;
• rocks;
• plastic bags filled with green waste;
• general rubbish.

Food scraps should not be placed in your green waste bin as it does not provide a proper composting environment. Place food scraps in a compost or worm farm or, as a last resort, the red top garbage bin.

These items are not considered recyclable and should be placed in your red top garbage bin:

• clothes;
• nappies;
• plastic bags;
• bags of rubbish;
• foam;
• coat hangers;
• electrical cables.

Avoid, reuse and recycle
One of the great Australian past times is shopping. The result of purchasing more of what we want instead of what we need is more waste to landfi ll, litter, pollution and green house gas emissions. When your bins are collected, the waste may be gone but it is far from forgotten.

Be waste wise and Avoid, Reuse, Recycle.
Here are some ideas to help you incorporate the Avoid, Reuse and Recycle philosophy into your daily routine.

Avoid waste - only buy what you need. Look for the most efficient whitegoods model and don’t buy disposable items such as cameras, razors or lighters.

Reuse kitchen scraps and garden waste by setting up a compost or worm farm.

Recycling into new products reduces our impact on natural resources and landfill.