A snapshot of the knowledge,
beliefs and actions of Australia’s
successful recyclers
Ark
Prepared by Planet
g Week 2014
for National Recyclin
Secret
Know The Facts
91%
of Australians think that
recycling is the right thing to do
54%
of Australians incorrectly think
that aerosols cannot be recycled
e
c
n
a
l
G
a
At
68%
look on pack for information
about recyclability
Secret
Do It In The
Bathroom
Secret
18%
Don’t Bag It
of homes in
Australia have recycling
bins in the bathroom
Secret
23%
of Australians
sometimes put recyclables in
plastic bags before recycling
51%
of people who always
put their recycling in a plastic bag
wrongly think it will be recycled
twice
People in units are
as likely to put recycling in
plastic bags
Do It In
Public
Secret
74%
Take It To Work
get frustrated
when they can’t find a
public recycling bin
78%
believe that having
recycling at work makes them
feel better about their employer
76% of workplaces
recycle paper
Secret
Secret
Think Outside
The Bin
76% of Australians think
there are not enough recycling
options for electronic items
5,000
Every 12 hours,
mobiles phones reach the
end of their useful life
Buy It Back
1 in 6
Only
reams of new
paper has any recycled content
Recycled wood keeps carbon
out of the atmosphere
CONTENTS
Ambassador Layne Beachley with a
‘Cartridges 4 Planet Ark’ retail collection box.
Australian Packaging Covenant Foreword
4
Planet Ark Foreword
5
Introduction
6
No 1 – Know The Facts
8
No 2 – Do It In The Bathroom
13
No 3 – Don’t Bag It
15
No 4 – Do It In Public
18
No 5 – Take It To Work
21
No 6 – Think Outside The Bin
23
No 7 – Buy It Back
27
Bring Down The House
30
Conclusion
31
References
32
3
The Australian Packaging Covenant is a champion
of positive environmental action and, as such, is
pleased to support National Recycling Week 2014.
We commend Planet Ark for the production of this
research report on the habits of great recyclers: The
Seven Secrets of Successful Recyclers.
National Recycling Week is a fantastic opportunity
to reflect on what has been achieved to increase
recycling rates by everyone working together –
industry, government and consumers – and how
we can continue to collaborate and build on these
proven achievements.
Foreword
Australian Packaging
Covenant
Learning from our peers is an important part of this,
and is the approach taken to packaging product
stewardship through the Australian Packaging
Covenant (APC). By being involved in the APC,
industry is able to come together to share ideas on
how to increase the environmental sustainability of
packaging, as well as contribute to projects that
increase the recovery and recycling of packaging
materials. Over the life of the APC, the overall
recycling rate of consumer packaging has increased
from 39% in 2003 to 64.2% in 2013.
Appropriate packaging on products is necessary
– it helps us transport what we buy, provides us
with information about the product, promotes
the product, and helps to protect it and us as
consumers. As new packaging types emerge, it is
crucial that we work together to implement solutions
to help recover and recycle those packaging types.
For example, recent packaging developments have
seen an increase in flexible plastic packaging. This
has environmental savings through less materials
going into the production of the packaging and other
benefits, however, these types of flexible packaging
are currently not widely accepted for recovery
through Australia’s kerbside recycling systems and
are largely sent to landfill.
To help address this, the APC has funded the
provision of flexible plastic collection points in
supermarkets and shopping centres through the
REDcycle program. This program helps divert this
waste stream from landfill, and creates a resource
for Australian-made recycled products, such as
outdoor furniture for schools and communities. The
APC has also recently approved funding to assist
the recovery of flexible plastics at the kerbside.
We have achieved a great deal in the recovery and
recycling of packaging, but many of us have more
to do. I therefore encourage all Australians to adopt
the seven secrets of successful recyclers.
By learning from each other, and building on
successes, we can continue to build awareness and
engagement within the community to grow further
grow our recycling culture and seek to achieve real
environmental sustainability.
Stan Moore
CEO
Australian Packaging Covenant
4
Most people agree that reuse and recycling have
significant benefits, both for the environment
and the economy. On the environmental front,
producing goods from recycled rather than raw
materials significantly decreases the use of natural
resources like coal, oil, rare earth metals, water
and energy. It also minimises a wide range of
other environmental impacts like greenhouse gas
emissions, pollution, toxins and litter.
Foreword
Planet Ark
Environmental
Foundation
Economically, the recycling industry is unique
in that it provides resources to a wide range of
other sectors without directly depleting natural
resources. According to a 2012 Department of the
Environment report the recycling industry generates
more jobs per tonne of waste recycled than the
same amount sent to landfill. With the recent rise
in landfill levies in some states, recycling can even
save businesses money.
Recycling in Australia has come a long way in the
past two decades. With 94% of Australians now
having access to a kerbside service, most have
embraced the idea of recycling. This report shows
that nine out of ten (91%) Australians think that
recycling is the right thing to do and 85% think that
it is easy and convenient.
ever more successful recyclers. The ‘Cartridges
4 Planet Ark’ program, the RecyclingNearYou
and BusinessRecycling websites and National
Recycling Week are all designed to make recycling
easy, accessible and mainstream.
This year’s National Recycling Week theme, The
Seven Secrets of Successful Recyclers, aims
to make recycling at home, work, school and in
public as efficient, as effective and as successful
as possible.
Planet Ark would not be able to facilitate National
Recycling Week without the generous support
of our sponsors. So I’d like to personally thank
our Major Sponsor, the Australian Packaging
Covenant, Associate Sponsors Unilever, Bingo and
‘Cartridges 4 Planet Ark’, and Supporting Sponsors
Australian Paper, MobileMuster, and Officeworks.
I’d also like to thank all the workplaces, schools
and councils that get involved to make National
Recycling Week such a success. We are proud to
be working with all of these partners to create a
nation of successful recyclers.
Paul Klymenko
CEO
Planet Ark Environment Foundation
Recycling is an ever-changing area with new
legislation, government policy, and technology
pushing the industry into the future. Core to Planet
Ark’s mission is to help individuals, workplaces and
businesses adapt to these changes and to become
5
INTRODUCTION
Despite the high participation, the national recycling
rate of all the waste generated in Australia is only
51%2, although there are significant differences
between states and territories, ranging from the ACT
which has a recycling rate of 74% to the Northern
Territory which has a recycling rate of just 4%2. These
differences reflect the unique challenges faced in
some parts of Australia where small populations are
spread over great distances. The ACT, for example,
has 385,600 residents with a population density of
162 people per square kilometre, while the Northern
Territory has 243,700 residents with a population
density of just 0.2 people per square kilometre3,4.
This means that providing recycling services to
some areas is not only logistically difficult, but also
environmentally harmful.
Differences in state and territory legislation are
another significant contributor to varying recycling
rates. In metropolitan Sydney, for example, there is
a landfill levy of $120.90 per tonne, which has been
designed to drive diversion of waste to recycling
services. This levy is more than double that charged
in some other states, while Queensland and
Tasmania do not have state mandated levies5 at
all. South Australia and the Northern Territory both
have container deposit schemes, with a 10c deposit
being repaid to consumers for each container
returned to a recycling centre.
As well as variations in recycling rates between
states, there are significantly different rates between
materials. Metals (89%), glass (67%), and paper and
cardboard (61%) have high recycling rates, while
the rates for plastics (23%) and organics (34%) are
significantly lower2. As waste production is predicted
to double globally by 20256, and with solid waste
management comprising one of the greatest costs
to municipal budgets7, it is vital that recycling rates
continue to grow. Increased recycling has a number
of benefits, including:
• Reducing the volume of waste going to landfill
• Preserving natural resources
State recycling rates.
• Decreasing energy usage
74
• Reducing water usage
67
59
Percentage of waste recycled (%)
Recycling has boomed in Australia over the last
decade, with 94% of Australians now having access
to kerbside recycling services1. The number and
variety of alternative recycling programs has also
greatly increased, with schemes established in
workplaces, retail outlets, outdoor public areas and
council facilities, creating an environment where
98% of Australians now participate in some form of
recycling or reuse1.
In addition, improving recycling rates will ensure
there is a reliable and continuous input of materials
into the recycling system, which will make the
industry more economically viable and lead to the
development of new infrastructure and technology.
54
45
31
4
There are many ways that Australia and Australians
can become more successful recyclers. These
include:
NT
• Increasing knowledge about what can and
cannot be recycled in kerbside collections
15
ACT
SA
NSW
Introduction
VIC
QLD
WA
TAS
6
• Making collection programs for items like
electronic waste free and easily accessible
• Expanding extended producer responsibility
programs to cover a wider range of products
• Encouraging workplaces to set up recycling
systems
• Enabling people to take their good recycling
habits to work and
• Increasing recycling infrastructure in public places
so that people can continue to recycle away from
home
About This Report
The purpose of this report is to lift the lid on what
makes a successful recycler, with each section
focusing on actions that someone can take to
be more successful. It looks at the knowledge,
attitudes and behaviours of Australians towards
recycling and the services available, with the aims of
identifying current barriers to, and misconceptions
about, recycling and addressing them.
Acknowledgements
Planet Ark gratefully acknowledges the support of
the following sponsors of National Recycling Week:
• Major Sponsor
Covenant
the
Australian
Packaging
• Associate Sponsors Unilever (maker of Rexona),
Bingo Bins, and ‘Cartridges 4 Planet Ark’
• Supporting Sponsors MobileMuster, Officeworks,
and Australian Paper.
Report Authors: Amanda Cameron and Brad Gray
Planet Ark Review and Editing; Sara McGregor and
Jodie Lewin
Photo Credits: Mark Donaldson, Ryan Collins and
Brad Gray
Graphic Design: Slade Smith
The report draws on information and statistics
from a wide range of internal and external reports
and includes the results of independent research
commissioned by Planet Ark and conducted by
Pollinate. One thousand and three Australians aged
14-64 were surveyed online from 4-9 September
2014. The sample was representative of the Australian
population in terms of age, gender and location.
Planet Ark acknowledges the support of
our National Recycling Week sponsors.
Introduction
7
Secret
KNOW
THE
FACTS
A Little Knowledge
Goes A Long Way
Can you put these in your home recycling bin?
Knowing which items can be recycled at the
kerbside is the first step to becoming a successful
recycler. Research suggests that contamination
in recycling bins is not always due to a lack
of care or concern by residents, but rather a
misunderstanding about what can be recycled8.
This is highlighted in the Planet Ark survey with
nine out of ten (91%) participants agreeing that
recycling at home is the right thing to do and over
eight out of ten (85%) agreeing that recycling at
home is easy and convenient. However, even
with this overwhelming level of support, there
are a number of materials that cause confusion,
which leads people to make recycling mistakes.
Plastic bottles
Most Australians have a clear understanding of
the recyclability of certain packaging types:
Biscuit packets & trays
• Items frequently used by households, such
as plastic bottles, and long-life milk and juice
cartons, require Australians to make decisions
regarding their disposal on an almost daily
basis. As such, most people are aware that
these items are recyclable. In the Planet Ark
survey, 93% and 83% of people correctly
indicated that plastic bottles and long-life milk
and juice cartons respectively are recyclable.
• Some items, like aluminium cans and glass jars,
are made from simple and easily recyclable
Know The Facts
Aluminium cans
Long-life milk & juice cartons
Glass jars
Aerosol cans
Pringles tubes
Old/broken drinking glasses
Bread/pasta/rice/chip packets
Printer cartridges
Mobile phones
Batteries
Nappies
DON’T KNOW
NO
YES
8
materials and have been collected since kerbside
recycling began in the early 1990s, as well as
through stand alone collection programs like
Cash For Cans. Consequently, almost everyone
surveyed indicated that aluminium cans (92%)
and glass jars (87%) are recyclable in kerbside
collections.
Australians are also aware of certain items that can’t
be recycled at the kerbside:
• Most Australians are aware that items containing
human waste are not recyclable, with 90% of
people stating that nappies should not be placed
in the kerbside recycling bin.
• Eight out of ten people (81%) correctly stated
that batteries are not recyclable at the kerbside,
while high percentages of people are aware that
other types of e-waste, such as mobile phones
(76%) and printer cartridges (73%), are also not
recyclable at the kerbside.
Confusion And
Contamination
The good results for items like aluminium cans and
milk cartons are in some way offset by confusion
about other materials. In some cases, this confusion
leads to valuable material being sent to landfill, and in
other cases, to inappropriate material going through
the recycling system and causing contamination.
Aerosol cans
Australians use around 250 million aerosol cans
annually, the third highest per capita use in the world
after the US and UK11. But despite this high level of
use, aerosol cans are the only significant item in the
research, which was consistently, and incorrectly,
thought to be not recyclable. Over half (54%) of
Australians said they ‘could not’ put aerosol cans
in their home recycling bin, and a further 12% said
they did not know if aerosols could be recycled.
Only a third of people (33%) correctly identified
them as recyclable. These numbers are almost
identical to Planet Ark’s 2013 research, indicating
there has been no increase in people’s knowledge
of aerosol recyclability in the past 12 months.
When asked why they believed aerosol cans were
not recyclable:
• Almost one in two people (49%) indicated ‘I’ve
been told aerosols aren’t recyclable’
• Just under one in two people (44%) indicated
‘Aerosols will explode in the recycling’, and
• One in four (27%) indicated ‘Aerosols aren’t made
from recyclable material’.
By far, the largest component of an aerosol can is
metal – either steel or aluminium – both of which
are recyclable, and according to Planet Ark’s
RecyclingNearYou website, more than 90% of
Australians live in a council area where aerosol cans
are collected for recycling through the kerbside
Know The Facts
Why don’t you recycle aerosol cans?
I’ve been told aerosols
aren’t recyclable
49
Aerosols will explode in
the recycling
Aerosols aren’t made
from recyclable material
44
27
recycling service. To ensure their safety, it is
important that aerosols are empty when they go in
the recycling. 9,10
The fact that almost half of Australians believe
aerosols may explode in the recycling is clearly a
barrier to greater collection. A number of studies
have been done that assess the risk of cans
exploding, and under what parameters recycling
aerosol cans is safe. A key study titled Health and
safety issues in post-consumer aerosol container
recycling found that:
The general conclusion of the risk assessments
reviewed is that although potential hazards arise
from flammable or harmful residual contents, empty
aerosol containers may be included in the domestic
post-consumer waste recycling stream provided a
number of basic precautions are taken to control
risks to an acceptable level. Principle amongst these
precautions is that only empty aerosols derived from
the domestic waste stream should be handled by a
MRF and these should not be segregated from the
steel and aluminium streams.11
9
Recycle Right
Recycling aerosol cans is safe and simple:
• Make sure the can is empty
• Find out, through RecyclingNearYou.com.au or
your council’s website, whether it collects aerosols
(most do)
Aerosol cans are used to package many
products and are easily recycled.
Nine out of ten Australians live
in a council area where aerosol
cans are collected for recycling
in kerbside bins.
The report also found that “a fatal accident [occurred]
in the US [in 1997] when a large number of full aerosol
cans, derived from disposal of bankrupt stock, were
processed as a batch at a MRF. This activity directly
contravened the most basic safety precautions”.
For the average consumer, this and other studies,
along with the practical experiences of recyclers,
demonstrates that, with just a little care, aerosol
cans are safe to recycle.
• Leave the can intact (do not pierce or squash
it), remove any plastic parts like lids and nozzles
where possible, and put the can in the bin with
your other recycling
Keep Out
A more common recycling issue shown by the survey
was people indicating that a material is recyclable
when, in fact, it is not. Over half of Australians
surveyed said that three items – Pringles tubes,
broken drinking glasses, and biscuit trays – could
be placed in their kerbside recycling bin when they
cannot, and over a quarter of Australians incorrectly
believe that polystyrene containers, plastic bags,
and bread/chip packets can also go in the kerbside
recycling bin.
Pringles Tubes – Despite two out of three (64%)
Australians thinking Pringles (and other similar home
brand) tubes, can go in their home recycling bin,
they are, in fact, not recyclable. This is because
they are made of multiple materials bound together
during the production stage; a plastic lid, a metal
Know The Facts
base, and a cardboard body with a plastic and a foil
lining. Although each of these materials is recyclable
when collected separately, the production process
used to make the tubes fuses them together in a
way that cannot be undone in the recycling process.
Old or Broken Drinking Glasses - Although whole
glass bottles and jars are widely understood to be
recyclable (87% of people answered this survey
question correctly), there is confusion regarding old
or broken drinking glasses. More than half (56%) of
people wrongly stated that they believe these should
go into the recycling bin. The glass used to make
drinkware, decorations, and windows is different to
that used to make bottles and jars. It is heat tempered
so it melts at a much higher temperature. Even a
small amount of drinkware glass is enough to block
the extruding machines used to make new bottles or
to make the new products too brittle to use.
The components of a tube can’t be separated in the recycling.
10
Check On Pack For
Details
Australians are becoming increasingly used to
searching for information about the recyclability of
the packaging they use at home. When presented
with an unfamiliar form of packaging, more than
two out of three (68%) people look on the pack for
information about its recyclability and about one
in three look to their council for information. Other
sources of information include friends or Planet Ark’s
RecyclingNearYou website while some consumers
assume all new items are either recyclable or not
recyclable.
However, with over 600 different labels worldwide
making some sort of eco statement about the
What would you do if you wanted to
find out if an item is recyclable?
Assume it is
recyclable
Check Planet
Ark’s ‘Recycling
Near You’ website
Ask family, friends
or colleagues
Assume it is not
recyclable
Check with
council
Nine out of ten
Australians agree that
recycling at home is
the right thing to do.
8%
14%
23%
Does this symbol mean an item is recyclable?
25%
29%
Look for recycling
symbol on the
item
63%
Percentage (%)
Biscuit Packets – One in two (49%) people
incorrectly stated that biscuit packets can go in
the recycling bin. Soft plastics, like biscuit packets,
can interfere with the sorting process and damage
the recycling equipment by getting wound around
the cogs and wheels of the conveyer belts that
move the recycling through the processing centre.
Consumers can do the ‘scrunch’ test to assess
whether a plastic is rigid or soft: If the item can be
scrunched easily into a ball or breaks apart easily,
it is a soft plastic and should be kept out of the
kerbside recycling bin12. Soft plastics can, however,
be recycled through the REDcycle program at
metropolitan Coles and Woolworths stores.
product or packaging13, many people are confused
about what the labels mean. When presented with
six symbols commonly found on packaged items,
Australians had trouble distinguishing between
them. While nearly eight out of ten people correctly
identified the mobius loop as the recycling symbol,
only one in ten people identified that most of
the other symbols (five out of six) do not provide
information on whether the item can be recycled in
Australia.
Know The Facts
No, this does not mean it is recyclable
Don’t know
Yes, this means it is recyclable
11
What Australians Think It Means
What it Actually Means
The Mobius
Loop
Eight out of ten (80%) Australians correctly
identified that the mobius indicates that an
item is recyclable, 16% said they do not
know, and 4% said it does not indicate
that something is recyclable.
The mobius loop, when used correctly,
indicates that a packaging item is recyclable.
Generally speaking this means in kerbside
collections. When used incorrectly, it can
cause confusion, as is the case when it
appears of soft plastics like shopping bags.
Mobius Loop
With %
Two thirds (66%) of Australians indicated
that they believe the mobius loop with a
per cent value in it indicates that an item
is recyclable. A further 24% said they do
not know, and 10% said it means the item
is not recyclable.
The purpose of the mobius loop with a per
cent value in it is to indicate that the item is
made using a certain amount of recycled
material, in this case 70%. It is commonly
seen on paper, cardboard or plastic items.
Two thirds (60%) of people indicated that
they believe the plastic identification code
(PIC) means an item is recyclable, 30%
said they do not know, and a further 20%
said it does not indicate recyclability.
The purpose of the PIC is to indicate the
type of plastic used to make an item. Each of
the numbers 1-7, represent a different type
of plastic. It does not necessarily indicate
whether that type of plastic is recyclable in
any given area and that isn’t its purpose.
One in three (37%) people indicated that
they thought the Green Dot means an
item is recyclable, more than half (55%)
said they do not know, and 8% said it
does not mean an item is recyclable.
The Green Dot is a European symbol that
means the manufacturer of the product is
financially contributing to a recycling program
in Europe. It has no relevance in Australia. It
is often found on imported products.
Recycle Now
One in four (26%) people indicated that
they believe the Recycle Now symbol
means an item is recyclable, a further two
thirds (63%) indicated they do not know,
and the remaining 11% said it does not
indicate recyclability.
Recycle Now is a symbol used in the United
Kingdom to indicated that 75% or more
councils in that country, collect and recycle
that item. It has no relevance in Australia. It is
often found on imported products.
Tidy Man
Just under three quarters (72%) of
Australians correctly identified that Tidy Man
does not indicate recyclability, a further 13%
said they are unsure, and 15% said they
believe it means a pack is recyclable.
Tidy Man is an international anti-litter symbol,
which encourages people to dispose of
waste correctly, rather than to specifically
recycle their waste.
Plastic
Identification
Code (PIC)
The Green Dot
Know The Facts
These findings strongly suggest a need for a
standardised and universally recognised labelling
system in Australia, as exists in the UK and the
US, to provide accurate recycling information to
consumers at the point where they will be recycling.
Get In On The Secret
You’ve gone to the effort of separating your
recycling, so make sure you know the facts and get
your recycling right.
• Check what is and is not accepted in your council
collection by visiting RecylingNearYou.com.au
or your council website.
• Follow the instructions provided by your council
whether they are on bin stickers, fliers, or attached
to the wall of the waste room.
• Check that everyone in your household knows
what can and cannot be placed in the kerbside
recycling bin.
• If in doubt, leave it out – don’t risk contaminating the
recycling bin by putting non-recyclables in the bin.
12
Australians have embraced recycling but a closer
look around the house shows that it is inconsistently
applied from room to room.
With just under two thirds (62%) of Australians
have a recycling bin or bag set up in the kitchen,
this room is the recycling hot spot. In all likelihood,
the fact that recycling bins are more common in the
kitchen is a reflection of the fact that it is the room
in which most recyclable waste is generated. Most
food and grocery items come packaged in cans,
bottles, jars, cartons, and boxes, all of which are
recyclable. Additionally, more than 80% of people
have garbage bins in the kitchen. The presence of
recycling infrastructure in most kitchens is likely the
reason why it is perceived to be the easiest room in
the house in which to recycle7,14
DO IT
IN THE
BATHROOM
From the high of the kitchen, the frequency of
recycling bins in other rooms drops off markedly.
Around one in three households have a recycling
bin in the garage (37%), while a similar proportion
have one in the home office (34%). Less than one
in four (23%) have recycling bins in the laundry and
less than one in five (18%) have recycling bins in the
bathroom.
One fifth (21%) of Australian homes have a garbage
bin in every room, whilst only 6% of homes have a
separate recycling bin in each room. Furthermore,
despite an estimated three quarters of household
waste being suitable for recycling15, Australian
households have twice as many garbage bins in
Do It In The Bathroom
One in three people
occasionally throw
recyclable items from
the bathroom into the
garbage.
their homes as recycling bins (average number of
garbage bins: 3.1; average number of recycling
bins: 1.6). This creates an environment where the
default option for waste disposal is to throw it in the
general garbage bin.
Garbage v’s Recycling Bins Around the House
100
80
Percentage (%)
Secret
60
40
20
0
Kitchen
Garage/
shed
Garbage bin/bag
Home
office
Laundry
Bathroom
Recycling bin/bag
13
Even though bathrooms have fewer bins, they
are a source of numerous products in recyclable
packaging, including aerosol deodorants, hair
spray, shave cream, and air fresheners, toilet paper
rolls, and shampoos, conditioners, and other hair
and skin care products in plastic bottles.
Recycling in the
bathroom is child’s play.
Get In On The Secret
Aerosols and plastic
bottles are easily recycled.
Planet Ark’s research is broadly consistent with
research on the presence of home recycling
infrastructure carried out by both Sustainability
Victoria, which looked at homes in Melbourne,
and with American research carried out by Cone
Communications . In both studies, the bathroom
14
was the room least likely to have a recycling bin.
The Sustainability Victoria research found that one
in three respondents (36%) occasionally discarded
recyclable items from the bathroom into the
rubbish bin, with the proportion of people who did
this “often” or “all the time” highest among those
aged 16-29. The American research reported that
almost one in five people would recycle more often
if they had better or more convenient recycling bins
Doing it in the bathroom, laundry, study, and garage
is a simple way to become a successful recycler.
• Put a recycling bin next to each garbage bin in
the house.
• If there’s not enough space for that, set up a
system of separating the recycling from the
rubbish either in the room you use it or at the
recycling bin.
• Check what is and is not accepted in your council
collection by visiting RecylingNearYou.com.au or
your council website.
Aerosol cans,
toilet paper rolls,
and shampoo
and conditioner
bottles are all easily
recyclable.
throughout the house.
Do It In The Bathroom
14
Secret
Keeping It Loose
Almost every council in the county has a notice on
their recycling bins telling residents to keep plastic
bags out. Yet, recyclable items in plastic bags
remain an all too common sight in bins.
Planet Ark’s research showed that more than three
in four (77%) Australians never put their recycling
in plastic bags before putting them in the bin.
However, almost one in ten people (9%) stated that
they always put their recycling in a bag and a further
14% sometimes did. Combined this means 23% of
people put recycling in the bin in a plastic bag.
Do you put your
recycling in
plastic bags?
9
DON’T
BAG IT
14
Yes, always
half (51%) indicated that they believe it is recycled.
A further 27% of the people who sometimes put
their recycling in a bag think it is recycled. Only 6%
of people who never bag their recycling report that
they think it is recycled.
The upside to the fact that so many people
incorrectly believe that recyclable waste in plastic
bags is recycled is that they are doing something
that they believe is the right thing. This indicates that
they are likely to change their behaviour once they
know the correct action to take.
Sharing a Bin
Australians living in units or townhouses who share
a bin with their neighbours are more than twice as
likely to put recycling in plastic bags (37%) than
people living in detached houses who have their
own bin (16%). As a general rule, people who share
bins with their neighbours are more likely to have
to travel further to get to the bin than residents of
77
Yes, sometimes
No, never
There is clearly confusion about why putting
recyclables in a bag before putting them into the bin
is an issue. Of the people surveyed who report that
they always put their recycling in a bag, more than
Don’t Bag It
77% of Australians
never put their
recycling in plastic
bags then into the
recycling bin.
15
detached houses. Shared bins are commonly in the
front or rear of a unit block or in the basement of
an apartment building. This means that residents
are more likely to have to put their recycling in a
bag simply to transport it to the recycling bin. There
is also a disincentive to using a permanent and
reusable bin for recycling as it means the resident
can only empty it in their building’s recycling bins if
they are returning directly to their unit.
With more than a quarter of Australians (26%)
living in homes other than free standing houses18,
and with that proportion set to grow in the future,
Percentage of people that put plastics bags into the bin (%)
Do you put recycling into plastic bags detached houses v's units?
40
37%
35
25
16%
15
10
5
0
Own bin
The Problem
With Plastic
To understand why recyclable material in plastic
bags is such an issue, it is important to understand
the sorting process that the material goes through. In
Australia, most recycling is co-mingled, which means
various materials like glass, metal, paper, cardboard
and plastic are put in the one bin. Once collected
from the kerbside, the recycling is transported to a
material recovery facility (MRF) where the different
materials go through a series of processes designed
to separate them.
The first stage of the process is hand sorting. MRF
staff working at conveyer belts remove contaminants
like batteries, loose plastic bags and polystyrene, by
hand. These workers pick the full plastic bags off the
conveyer belt and throw them into a collection bin
destined for landfill. They do not have time to open
the bags as they are processing tonnes of recycling
an hour. Opening the bags is also a health and safety
issue as they could contain dangerous or unpleasant
items like needles or dirty nappies.
30
20
it is increasingly important for education and
infrastructure programs that assist people to
recycle successfully.
Shared bin
After this first stage, the recycling goes though a
series of sorting processes: magnets are used to
pick up steel; Eddy currents are used to separate
Don’t Bag It
Workers need
to cut plastic
bags out of
machines.
Recyclable items in plastic
bags can’t be recycled and
end up in landfill.
aluminium; fans are used to push paper into a
collection area; and optical sorters (light beams
with high pressure air nozzles) separate plastics.
Recyclables in plastic bags simply cannot be sorted
using these systems.
Another significant issue with plastic bags is that
they get caught in the MRF’s machinery. MRFs work
on a network of conveyer belts and it is very easy
for plastic bags to jam in the cogs and wheels that
run these belts, slowing down the recycling process
16
and causing damage. Plastic bags are therefore a timeconsuming and costly problem for MRFs, with most
having to employ staff to clear bags from the machines
at the end of every shift.
Get In On The Secret
Keeping recycling out of plastic bags is one of the
simplest secrets of successful recyclers.
• Use a reusable box or bin to take recycles to the
recycling bin.
• Alternatively, use a reusable and foldable bag to take
the recycling to the bin, then pop it in your handbag
or backpack if you are not returning to your unit.
• If you need to use a plastic bag, empty the recyclables
into the bin, then take the bag to your nearest
supermarket for recycling, or if this is not convenient,
throw it in the garbage bin. Recycling needs to be
loose!
• If you share a recycling bin with your neighbours and
notice there are plastic bags in the bin, print off a
copy Planet Ark’s ‘Don’t Bag It’ poster and stick
it on the bins. They may not know that recycling in
plastic bags gets sent to landfill.
51% of people who always
put their recycling in a bag
believed it was recycled.
Don’t Bag It
17
Secret
Australians have greatly increased their recycling
rates at home over the last decade, but recycling
rates in public areas are still significantly lower.
Whether they are at a sporting event, shopping
centre, beach or park, Australians are likely to
generate packaging waste. Successful recyclers
seek out and utilise recycling facilities when they are
away from home.
Do you feel frustrated if you can’t
find a recycling bin?
Agree and
strongly agree
Neutral
Disagree and
strongly disagree
9
16
A Source Of Frustration
The Planet Ark survey found that three in four
Australians (74%) feel frustrated when they do not
have access to a recycling bin when they are out
and about.
DO IT IN
PUBLIC
Councils, state governments, businesses, and
industry groups are increasingly focusing on
providing away from home recycling services to
capture bottles, cans, cartons, and other recyclable
items. The Australian Packaging Covenant, an
alliance of governments, environment groups
and businesses, has undertaken a program to
dramatically increase the number of public place
recycling bins. To this end, the Covenant has
provided funding for the installation of over 2500
recycling bins across Australia in shopping centres,
tourist areas, entertainment venues, and universities
since 2011.
74
Three in every four
Australians (74%) feel
frustrated when they
cannot find a recycling
bin when they are out
and about.
In 2011, for example, the APC funded the
installation of recycling bins for bottles and cans in
Do It In Public
18
Westfield Shopping
Centres recycle 62
million bottles and
cans a year.
the food courts of 36 Westfield shopping centres
across Australia. The bins, along with new signage,
increased the recycling rate of bottles and cans
from 542 to 1,492 tonnes a year, equivalent to over
62 million containers.
Another APC project is designed to provide
recycling services to community events in the
Desert Fringe Regional Waste Management area in
Victoria. The project will provide a fleet of fifteen 360
litre recycling bins to community events that don’t
have fixed infrastructure for recycling. The provision
of this portable and flexible service will significantly
reduce the volume of waste from this area that is
sent to landfill.
Councils and Others
Local councils have also contributed significantly to
increasing recycling facilities in public places, with
recycling bins now a much more common sight
in parks, shopping centres, and at public events.
For example, since Waverley Council in NSW
installed water refill stations and recycling bins on
the promenades of its beaches, along with staff
to direct visitors to them, there has been a 27%
reduction in plastic bottle litter19. The installation
of recycling bins at Monash Shopping Village
in Victoria reduced the amount of waste going
into garbage bins by 75%, with very low levels of
contamination found in the recycling bins20. New
projects include the installation of recycling bins in
the Gold Coast Botanic Gardens, QLD, which aims
to divert 15 tonnes of recyclables from landfill each
year21, and new public place recycling bins installed
in Fremantle, WA, in February 2014, which aim to
increase the city’s recycling rates to 65% by 202022.
Partnerships between businesses and governments
are also effective in increasing recycling. Aluminium
manufacturer and recycler Alcoa partnered with
Sustainability Victoria and Barwon Regional Waste
Management Group to fund recycling infrastructure
at sporting venues, recreational areas, and main
streets, where previously only garbage bins had
been available. The project resulted in a 40%
reduction in waste to landfill23.
Get In On The Secret
Keeping your eyes open when you are out and
about is a simple way to be a successful recycler.
• Keep your eye out for recycling bins when at the
shops, park or beach.
• Make sure you use the bin correctly – follow the
signage.
• If there are no bins available, take your items
home with you for recycling.
Over 62 million containers per year are
recycled through bins set up in 36 Westfield
shopping centres across Australia.
Do It In Public
19
Benefits of Public Place Recycling
Gold Coast Botanic Gardens
15 tonnes
of recycling diverted from landfill each year.
Fremantle
Waverley
recycling rate by 2020.
reduction in plastic litter.
65%
27%
Monash Shopping Village
75%
reduction in waste to landfill.
Barwon Regional Waste
Management Group
40%
reduction in waste to landfill.
Do It In Public
20
Secret
One of the last hurdles for successful recyclers to
overcome is the workplace. About 12.5 million tonnes
of commercial and industrial waste is produced in
Australia each year50. Businesses generate more
waste than households, but commercial waste has
a lower recycling rate, at only 46%26.
Recycling Makes
Happy Staff
TAKE IT
TO WORK
Planet Ark’s survey showed three in four employees
(78%) agreed that having recycling facilities at work
does, or would, make them feel like they work for
a responsible employer. In 2013, 71% of workers
agreed with this statement. This is a valuable
opinion for people to have about the organisation
they work for as research shows that embracing a
‘green’ mandate increases the ability of a business
to recruit and retain good employees27.
By far, the most commonly recycled material in the
workplace, as reported in the Planet Ark survey, is
paper. Common packaging items are recycled by
about half of workplaces. Printer cartridges are the
most commonly recycled form of e-waste with just
under half (44%) of workplaces reporting that they
have a program in place. A third of workplaces
(33%) report recycling computers and accessories,
and just over one in five (27%) report recycling
mobile phones. Compared to paper and packaging
items, there are a relatively high number of people in
workplaces who report not knowing what happens
Take It To Work
Staff feel good about a workplace
with recycling services.
Three out of every four
(78%) employees report
that having recycling
facilities at work does,
or would, make them
feel like they work for a
responsible employer.
21
it is necessary to work with more people to ensure
that the materials are recycled correctly.
What does your workplace recycle?
Percentage (%)
Research has shown that the biggest barrier to
people recycling in a workplace where facilities are
available is proximity and being unsure about which
bins to use28. Ensuring that bins have clear and
simple signage and are located in easily accessible
areas are two simple ways to increase recycling
rates at work.
office paper only
DON’T KNOW
NO
ph Mo
on bile
es
ca P
rtr rin
Co idge ter
m
ac p s
ce ut
ss ers
or &
ies
O
rg
w an
as ic
te
tic
s
las
as
Pl
al
et
M
G
r
pe
Pa
tin
ca s &
ns
Get In On The Secret
YES
with used e-waste. This is probably because, in
many workplaces, recycling is the responsibility
of an individual, team or external contractor so it
happens behind the scenes.
Getting It Right
Recycling successfully at home is relatively simple
compared to recycling at work. The workplace,
generally speaking, produces significantly more
waste and recycling than the home, there are many
more types of materials that can be recycled, and
• Planet Ark’s BusinessRecycling website has
a Step-By-Step Toolkit for successful workplace
recycling. It includes:
• Contact details for recycling services for more
than 90 different materials
One of the free signs from
BusinessRecdycling.com.au
Magdalena Roze with used phones
and other e-waste for recycling.
• Free recycling signage
• Tips on managing waste and recycling
contracts, and
• Suggestions for encouraging positive behaviour
change among staff and customers.
• Find out if your workplace is eligible for a free
‘Cartridges 4 Planet Ark’ collection box.
• Partner with MobileMuster to securely recycle
used mobiles and accessories.
• Acknowledge and congratulate staff
colleagues when they do the right thing.
Take It To Work
and
22
Secret
As of late 2014, there are more active SIM cards
in the world than people – there are just under
7.2 billion of us and just over that number of SIM
cards47. The rapid growth of personal and portable
technology over the past decades underlines the
importance of producer responsibility programs and
easily accessible and free recycling programs.
A Growing Demand
THINK
OUTSIDE
THE BIN
Electronics have become an integral part or our
daily activities. As a result, there is now an estimated
20-50 million tonnes of e-waste being produced
globally each year30. However, despite 95-98%
of e-waste material being suitable for recycling,
less than 10% of this is currently being recovered
around the world31, although in Australia, rates are
slightly higher. Recycling e-waste is important not
only for reducing landfill and keeping potentially
harmful materials out of the environment, but also
for accessing the valuable materials contained
within them. The concentrations of precious metals
found in circuit boards, for example, is 10 times
higher than commercially mined minerals31, and the
combined value of the materials in e-waste around
the world is an estimated $21 billion32.
Recycling outside the kerbside bin is a growing
success story for Australians. This is demonstrated
by the fact that 74% of people agreed with the
statement ‘There aren’t enough recycling options for
electronic items (TVs, computers, etc.)’, an increase
Think Outside The Bin
on the 2013 figure of 68%. A possible explanation
for this growth is an increased understanding of
the need to recycle electronics and a growth in
expectation that a service will be readily available.
Small, Recyclable,
Emotional
With used electronics having so much potential
value, it can be surprising that extended producer
responsibility programs sometime struggle to
encourage consumers to recycle. MobileMuster, the
official recycling program of the Australian Mobile
Telecommunications Association, estimates that
there are more unused mobile phones stored in
draws and cupboards around Australia than there
are people in the country. Research on the reasons
why consumers retain their used phones ranged
from the rational/emotional (‘It’s my first phone’, ‘My
For every tonne
of mobile phones
recovered, 10,000
tonnes of greenhouse
gas emissions are
avoided.
23
Responsible Recycling
E-waste requires specialised recycling programs as
it can contain over a thousand different substances,
many of which are harmful to both humans and
the environment if not treated carefully. There are
unfortunate cases where unscrupulous businesses
have illegally dumped e-waste in developing
countries with great risks to both human and
environmental health33,34. Successful recyclers look
for responsible programs through which to recycle
items that cannot be recycled through the kerbside
bin. Some of these programs include:
MobileMuster
MobileMuster has almost
8,000 collection points.
father gave it to me’, ‘It’s a backup in case mine
stops working’ and ‘I paid a lot of money for it’) to
the ridiculous (‘It will bring me good luck”, and ‘I
think one day it is going to be worth heaps of money
and end up in a museum’48. To break the emotional
attachment, recycling programs need to make
a compelling case for the benefits of recycling.
Consumers show similar levels of attachment
to other forms or electronic waste, particularly
computers.
MobileMuster is the Australian mobile phone
industry’s not for profit recycling program. It’s a
free service, funded solely by industry that accepts
all brands and types of mobile phones, plus their
batteries, chargers and accessories. It’s purpose is
to ensure old mobiles and their accessories do not
end up in landfill at the end of their life, but instead
recycled in a safe, secure and ethical way. In May
2014, MobileMuster was formally accredited by the
Federal Government as Australia’s first voluntary
product stewardship scheme under the Product
Stewardship Act 2011.The accreditation recognises
both its achievements over the past 16 years and
the mobile industry’s ongoing commitment to keep
old mobiles and accessories out of landfill and
recycle them responsibly .
Think Outside The Bin
To facilitate effective phone recycling MobileMuster
has established an extensive collection network
encompassing nearly 8,000 locations. In the 201314 year the network includes 3,010 mobile phone
and electronics retailers, 1,533 councils, 3,281
workplaces, schools, government agencies and
phone distributors, and the reply-paid recycling
satchel program. Two of the key barriers for
consumers to recycle items away from home are
inconvenience and forgetfulness. The depth and
breadth of the MobileMuster collection network
and the choice to either drop off or post in helps
overcome these barriers by making recycling easily
accessible and conveniently located in the places,
like work and school, where consumers spend
significant time.
MobileMuster was the first voluntary product
scheme accredited by the government.
24
‘Cartridges 4 Planet Ark’
‘Cartridges 4 Planet Ark’ is a partnership between
Planet Ark, recycling partner Close the Loop, and
the participating manufacturers – Brother, Canon,
Epson, HP, Konica Minolta, Oce and Kyocera.
It is designed divert used printer cartridges from
landfill and into recycling programs. Between its
establishment in 2003 and October 2014, more
than 25 million cartridges have been diverted from
landfill with zero waste to landfill from Close the
Loop’s processes. This promise to keep all waste
from landfill drives the program to find new and
positive uses for all the captured materials. Most
recently, residual toner has been added to road
surfaces in a product called TonerPaveTM, which
makes road surfaces stronger and reduces the
carbon emissions in their production49.
regional centres and has collected 78 million units of
soft plastic, weighing 312 tonnes39. From late 2014,
the program grew to include metro Woolworths
stores, greatly increasing the program’s reach.
Biscuit packets and trays, bread, pasta, rice, cereal
and dry cleaning bags, and other ‘scrunchable’
plastics can be recycled through the program.
Soft plastics like bread,
pasta, rice and cereal
bags, biscuit packs and
trays, and dry cleaning
bags can be recycled
at all metro Coles and
Woolworths stores.
‘Scrunchable’ plastic
can be recycled at
participating Coles and
Woolworths stores.
New Kids On The Block
REDcycle Program for soft
plastics
Although most supermarkets in Australia have
provided facilities to recycle plastic bags for a
number of years, the REDcycle program, introduced
in 2012, allows households to recycle a much wider
range of soft plastics that previously would have
gone to landfill. To date, the program has been
available though Coles stores in metro and major
Think Outside The Bin
25
Get In On The Secret
ALDI ActivEnergy Battery
Recycling Program
ALDI established the ALDI ActivEnergy Battery
Recycling Program in all stores at the end of 2012,
providing free drop off points for all brands of AA,
AAA, C, D and 9V sized batteries. Since then, the
program has collected 60 tonnes of batteries for
recycling36.
Every ALDI
Supermarket has a
recycling bin for AA,
AAA, C, D and 9V
batteries.
There is a growing number of free producer or retailer
led programs to help the successful recyclers keep
items out of landfill.
• Dig your old mobiles and accessories of out
the drawer and recycle it with MobileMuster at
any mobile phone retailer / Officeworks store or
pick up a free replay paid recycling satchel from
Australia Post or download a free reply paid label
at RecyclingNearYou.com.au/phones
• Drop your used printer cartridges into any
Officeworks store or participating Australia
Post, Office National, Harvey Norman, Dick
Smith, JB Hi-Fi and the Good Guys store, or
visit
RecyclingNearYou.com.au/cartridges
to find out if your workplace is eligible for a free
collection box.
• Set up a collection system at home for soft plastics
like bread, pasta, rice, and cereal bags, and other
‘scrunchable’ plastics like biscuit packs and
trays, then drop them off at participating Coles
and Woolworths stores when you go shopping.
• Set up a collection system at home for spent AA,
AAA, C, D and 9V batteries and drop them off at
any ALDI Supermarket for recycling.
60 tonnes of batteries
have been collected
for recycling by ALDI
Supermarkets.
Think Outside The Bin
• Find out where to recycle your old TVs and
computers under the National Television
and Computer Recycling Scheme by visiting
RecyclingNearYou.com.au/ewastescheme
26
Secret
Finishing The Job
There’s a saying, ‘Unless you are buying recycled,
you’re not really recycling.’ Successful recyclers try
to buy items with recycled materials, helping to close
the recycling loop. Buying recycled also creates
a demand for recycled goods, which increases
investment in recycling collection schemes and
infrastructure.
“50,000 tonnes
of reclaimed
paper diverted
from landfill”.
Recyclers have opportunities to close the loop with
many day-to-day items, such as office paper and
toilet paper, as well as ‘big ticket’ items like outdoor
furniture, carpet underlay, and even whole houses.
Day-to-Day Items
BUY IT
BACK
On a day-to-day basis, Australians often buy items
with recycled content without even realising it. Most
newspapers are produced using recycled paper,
and most aluminium drink cans and glass bottles
made in Australia have at least some recycled
content. When it comes to consumers actively
choosing recycled content products, Australia is still
a growing market.
One of the most common recycled supermarket
items is toilet paper. By choosing to use Safe
Toilet Tissue products, Australians have diverted
more than 50,000 tonnes of reclaimed paper from
Australian landfills, which represents a space saving
of 161,000m3.
Buy It Back
More than 50,000
tonnes of reclaimed
paper has been
diverted from landfill
to produce Safe Toilet
Tissue, saving more
than 161,000 cubic
metres of landfill space.
27
Recycled office paper shows the two sides of the
recycling issue. Office paper has a high recycling
rate of around 68% but fewer than one in six reams
of paper purchased in Australia has any recycled
content. So it is going into the recycling bin but the
loop is not being closed because few individuals
and workplaces are buying it back. In part, this is
probably due to the poor impression that many
people have of the quality of recycled office paper
from when it was first introduced in the 1980s. It
was noticeably darker in colour then and performed
less well in copiers and printers. In recent years,
however, the quality of recycled paper has improved
to the point that most people would not be able to
tell the difference between it and virgin paper in
either look or performance.
Office paper has a
high recycling rate
but only 18% of newly
purchased reams
have any recycled
content.
Furthermore, changes in the production of office
paper show that recycling can be a driver of
economic benefit. In late 2014, paper manufacturer,
Australian Paper, will be opening a $90 million deinking and recycling plant in Victoria that will divert
up to 80,000 tonnes of waste paper from landfill
each year. It will produce up to 16 billion sheets of
A4 paper each year, all containing some recycled
content.41 The plant will allow Australians to finish
the job of paper recycling.
Big Ticket Items
Finishing the recycling job
with 100% recycled paper.
As well as day-to-day items, consumers can help
close the recycling loop buying ‘big ticket’ items
like outdoor furniture, carpet underlay and timber.
Using recycled material is becoming an increasingly
common business model for many companies.
Buy It Back
Dunlop underlay is made using
more than 90% recycled material.
Dunlop Flooring manufactures foam underlay
for carpets and timber floors from 90% recycled
materials. Foam is ideal for carpet underlay as it
is soft, durable and insulated against sound and
temperature. Its durability also makes it ideal for
recycling. Old underlay, foam offcuts from furniture
production, and even offcuts from bra manufacturing
can be repurposed into new underlay. The closed loop
nature of foam underlay is demonstrated by Dunlop
28
Flooring’s collection program which is run though
retails like Flooring Xtra. This allows householders
and retailers to send their unused or excess underlay
back to the production facility where it is then cleaned,
sorted, and recycled into new underlay42. Over a fiveyear period, the amount of CO2 emissions that the
Dunlop Flooring recycling program prevents from
entering the atmosphere is equivalent to 42,924 cars
being removed from Australian roads43.
Wooden It Be Good
Recycling in its many forms has measurable
environmental benefits. Making aluminium cans
from recycled material uses just 5% of the energy
used to make them from new material. By using
recycled wood, these benefits can be scaled up to
an entire house and can span decades.
As a tree grows, it takes carbon from the air and
turns it into wood. Half the weight of wood is stored
carbon. By using recycled wood in buildings, and
indeed for furniture, toys, and other uses, the
carbon stored in that wood is locked out of the
atmosphere for the life of the house or product.
The Berry Mountain home used large dimensional
timbers from an old bridge built in Queensland in
1938. The carbon stored in that wood was likely
taken from the atmosphere in the early 1900s and is
now locked in a new modern house.
Get In On The Secret
Successful recyclers finish the job by buying
recycled products.
• Seek out and buy products made from recycled
materials. Look for recycled toilet paper or office
paper.
• When buying furniture or having construction
work done on your home, ask if recycled materials
are available. Businesses will not know there is a
demand for it if no one asks!
The carbon stored in
the recycled wood
was taken from the
atmosphere in the
early 1900s.
Buy It Back
29
BRINGING
THE
HOUSE
DOWN
Recycling isn’t limited to inside the house. Pretty
much the whole house itself can be recycled.
Everything from floorboards, timber frames and
tiles to window frames, bricks and copper wiring
can be dismantled and recycled into new materials.
Bingo Bins, a Sydney based construction and
demolition recycler achieves an industry leading
recycling rate of 80%45. To recycle a house it
is demolished in the opposite order to which it
was built with the frame the last to come down.
For best results different materials should be
source separated into different skip bins to
reduce contamination and to facilitate transport to
specialist recyclers.
Pipes,
mobile phones
Crushed
to make
drive ways
Recycled into
appliances like
fridges
ELECTRICAL WIRING
AND PIPES
ROOF TILES
BRICKS
METAL
FENCING
AND TAPS
TIMBER FLOORS, WINDOWS
AND DOORS
Reused or crushed
to make roads
GLASS
WINDOWS
CONCRETE SLAB
Reused or
whipped for
mulch
Recycled into
new windows
Recycled into
new concrete
Bringing Down The House
30
CONCLUSION
Planet Ark’s National Recycling Week is an annual
opportunity for individuals, workplaces, councils,
governments and the industry to reflect on the
developments in Australia’s waste and recycling
activities and achievements.
In the decades since kerbside recycling was
introduced there have been massive changes.
Recycling was once the domain of only the most
committed environmentalists. Now almost every
Australian practises it and, as this report shows, 91%
of us see recycling ‘as the right thing to do’. Over the
past few years recycling has moved out of the home
and into schools, workplaces and retail outlets.
This rapid growth does create some issues with
recyclers having to know about and remember
more and more information; where to take batteries;
what goes in the home recycling bin; what types
of plastic is accepted at drop off points. Despite
this increasing complexity Australians are taking
up the challenge. Collections for items as varied as
printer cartridges, mobile phones, computers, TVs,
batteries, and soft plastics continue to grow, while
increasing numbers of renovators and builders are
aware of the environmental benefits of recycled
construction waste and wood.
Swapping is a
positive way to
create a culture
of re-use.
Australians are truly becoming successful recyclers.
With a little more work to overcome entrenched
myths, like aerosol cans cannot be recycled, and
familiar errors, like recycling in plastic bags, the
benefits of recycling will continue to grow.
• Workplaces can host a Friday File Fling and
make note pads out of office paper before it ends
up in the recycling
• Schools can participate in the Schools Recycle
Right Challenge and re-use packaging in arts
It is important to remember, however, that although
recycling has a huge range of positive environmental
and economic benefits when compared to disposal
to landfill, waste reduction and re-use are also
important steps in cutting environmental impacts.
National Recycling Week is a perfect opportunity to
review waste practices and to look at ways to build
re-use into daily life. Examples include:
Conclusion
and crafts and
• Councils and individuals can promote a culture
of re-use by hosting Big Aussie Swap Parties
By living by the old adage to Reduce, Re-Use,
Recycle every Australian can take positive action for
the environment.
31
REFERENCES
1. Environmental Issues: Waste Management, Transport and Motor
Vehicle Usage. (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2012).
2. Smith, K., O’Farrell, K. & Brindley, F. Waste and Recycling in Australia
2011. (Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population
and Communities, 2012).
3. Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2012-2013. (Australian Bureau
of Statistics, 2014).
4. Australian Demographic Statistics, Mar 2014. (Australian Bureau of
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