Did you know you can leave caps and labels on plastic bottles when recycling? This is just one of many tips Wellington Shire Council hopes will encourage its residents to recycle more items and to recycle better.
With people spending more time at home due to Covid, many residents may have noticed more items in their waste. So it is important that we all take a few seconds to work out what can be recycled. And the good news is, getting recycling right is easy.
For example, labels do not need to be removed from bottles and jars, because the heat used during the recycling processes removes paper, adhesives and food residue. This also means a pasta sauce jar can go straight into the recycling bin without being rinsed, as long as it is not still half full of sauce. Just take off the lid and tip out any leftovers.
Aluminium foil can be recycled. Simply roll it into a cricket ball-sized, loose ball.
All paper, cardboard, plastic bottles and containers, glass bottles and jars (remove metal lids), cans and tins go into the recycling bin.
Last year, Wellington Shire Council dealt with more than 4100 tonnes of recyclable material at its facilities. But 10 per cent of what Wellington residents send to be recycled is not recyclable and needs to be sent to landfill.
Wellington Shire Council Mayor Alan Hall said the most common mistake was to throw soft plastics such as bread bags and biscuit and chip wrappers into the recycling bin.
“If it’s plastic and can be easily scrunched, keep it out of the recycling bin. Soft plastics can be recycled at a local Coles or Woolworths store,” Cr Hall said.
Plastic bags sent to a recycling centre are not opened for safety reasons - everything inside a plastic bag is sent to landfill. So, throw all recyclables into the recycling bin loose.
At present, long-life milk and juice cartons cannot be recycled. And clothing should never go in the recycling bin.
Visit www.visy.com.au/recycling for more information on what can and can’t be recycled or check with Council on 1300 366 244.