Incorrect items placed in the recycling bin is known as 'contamination'. Contamination is costly – Council pays a fee to dispose of contaminated recycling to landfill.
Keep these materials out of your yellow lidded recycle bin:
Plastic bags:
Recyclables must be loose in the recycling bin – never in plastic bags. Bagged recyclable material ends up in landfill.
Nappies, food and green waste:
These items don’t belong in the recycling bin - they contaminate clean recyclables and can mean entire loads of recyclables are sent to landfill.
Soft plastics wrapping and packets:
These get tangled in the machinery at the sorting facility. They also mix with paper and cardboard meaning less chance of materials being onsold for reprocessing.
Electronic items such as TV’s and computers:
Take electronic items to your nearest transfer station for recycling.
Batteries and light globes:
Take household batteries and globes to your nearest transfer station. Never put batteries of any kind into any of your household bin - they can cause fires in the collection trucks which is extremely dangerous.
Containers with food or liquid:
Make sure no food or liquids are in bottles or containers. When the truck collects recycling, it compacts all the materials. Any food or liquids will seep into paper and cardboard and contaminate it.
Lids:
Remove lids from plastic bottles and place into your red lidded garbage bin. Steel lids from glass jars can be recycled if collected in a steel can (e.g. baked beans can) and the can squashed closed and put in the recycling bin.