Recycling is a great way to reduce the amount of waste that goes to landfill and also reduce the use of resources like energy and water that go into making new products. There are so many items that can be recycled and with access to local council kerbside recycling services, it is made super easy.

It can be confusing what can actually be recycled, what can go in your kerbside recycling bin and what can’t, and where to take those trickier to recycle items. It’s important to make sure we get it right because putting the wrong thing in the recycling bin can cause issues at the processing plant. Or things that can be recycled inadvertently end up as landfill. To make sure your recycling efforts are as effective as possible, read on for some tips about getting recycling right.

Number one option – reduce waste

While lots of things can be recycled these days, saving lots of reusable resources from landfill, the best option is to reduce the amount of items you are purchasing, or the packaging on the items, so you have less waste in the first place. Next best is to reuse items, either specifically buying things that can be reused (like shopping bags, drink bottles etc), or to find a new use for that item – upcycling! When those options fail – then recycling is the go.

I’ve noticed that I’m filling up my recycling bin quite quickly, which is great on the surface, but it shows that I’m buying things with a lot of packaging. My resolution for 2018 is to reduce this so that I’m not only reducing my landfill contribution, but I’m reducing how much I need to recycle too. I’m using reuseable produce bags to buy my fruit and vegetables, and reusable shopping bags each time I purchase other food, or other general items. Being aware of packaging and plastic shopping bags that you use can make a big difference to the amount that needs to be recycled.

Recycling tips

There is a long list of items that can go in your kerbside recycling bin, and there are also collection points for other items that can’t be included in the bin. I’ve listed some of these items below and provided links to more information if you are interested in finding a drop off point.

What can go in your yellow kerbside recycling bin?

Your yellow kerbside recycling bin is collected through your local council, so what can go in it varies per council area. For an exact list, check your local council website and they should have a recycling guide available.

Generally, in South Australia, most hard plastics can be put in your kerbside recycling bin. This includes all hard plastics numbered 1-6. Plastics numbered 7, or polystyrene that you might find used for meat trays, or packing materials, cannot be put in your kerbside recycling bin. In general, hard plastics that keep their shape when crumpled, or that would hold liquid, can be recycled.

For my council area[1], the items that can go in the yellow bin are:

• Paper, cardboard, egg cartons
• Milk/juice cartons
• Pizza boxes with no food scraps
• Aluminium and steel tins
• Glass bottles and jars (lids off)
• Metal lids – put them in an aluminium or steel tin first
• Plastic lids and bread bag clips – collect them in a plastic bottle (eg a rinsed milk bottle) and put in the bin when the bottle is full
• Alfoil which is clean and balled to the size of a fist
• Paint tins – empty and dry
• Empty aerosol cans

Give items a quick rinse before putting them in the bin, and make sure lids of containers are off. Put items into the bin loose (except the metal lids, and plastic lids and bread tags).

The following items should not be put in your recycling bin:

• Fabric and clothing
• Food scraps or garden waste (put these in your green bin)
• Nappies
• Polystyrene packaging
• Plastic bags/soft plastics
• Packaging with food scraps on it
• Crockery or glasses
• CD’s, DVD’s, cassette tapes

What can go in your green organics bin?

Your green waste bin is a great way to reuse your garden and organic waste, and it is turned into useful products like compost, mulches and potting mix. Using compost and mulches is great for soils, and means more efficient water use – so you are reducing what goes to landfill and helping to reduce water use at the same time. A great option!

Only organic material should go in the bin, so as not to contaminate the processing of the waste at the other end.

Some council areas allow food scraps to be put in the green bin, check with your local council to see if yours allows this. If not – it’s a great reason to start your own compost heap!

For my council area[2], the organic material that can be put in the green bin includes:

• Lawn clippings, dead plants and leaves
• Small prunings and cuttings
• Tea leaves, tea bags and coffee grounds
• Newspaper
• Tissues and paper towels
• Egg shells
• Food scraps (check to see if your council allows this)
• Compostable nappies
• Shredded paper
• Cardboard (eg pizza boxes)
• Pet droppings and paper-based kitty litter

These items should not be put in the green bin:

• Plastics (including plastic pots)
• Polystyrene
• Metal or glass
• Chemicals
• Garden tools

What about items that can’t go in the recycling bin?

Soft plastics

Soft plastics can be recycled but not through your yellow recycling bin. They can be taken to a Coles store where a designated recycling bin is provided. Other supermarkets also provide this service so it is worth checking whether your local store does. It doesn’t take long for plastic bags to accumulate so this is a great way to send them to a recycling depot rather than to landfill. Soft plastics covers all sorts of things like:

• Plastic shopping bags
• Bread bags
• Confectionary and ice cream wrappers
• Silver packaging from chips/crackers
• Bubble wrap
• Cling wrap (free of food)
• Frozen food bags
• Snap lock bags
• Pasta and rice bags

Pet Waste

Some council’s will allow pet poo to be put in the green waste bin. Best to check with your local council, but most suburban councils can process the poo. Put the poo in the bin loose, not in a plastic bag (even biodegradable bags). The waste in the green bin is then treated and turned into compost, and the way it is treated makes it safe for use on gardens, including vegie gardens.

Nappies

Disposable nappies have only one place to go, and that’s landfill. These nappies are made from plastic and take hundreds of years to break down.

There are other options – reusable cloth nappies help reduce the amount of waste created by nappies and the energy and water that goes into making them too. While I don’t have babies in nappies and haven’t tried them myself, it sounds like they have come a long way over the years, and they are now much easier to wash and come in a variety of designs too. Some have liners or inserts that can be reused or composted. And, one company, Eco Bums Cloth Nappies, has a hire pack so you can try before you buy, what a great idea! They have great resources on their website too. If you don’t think they are for you, you can give them a try before making up your mind, and before investing in a particular type.

If you do like them, or use them in combination with disposable nappies – just think of the impact you could have by reducing the number of nappies going to landfill! And the money you could also save on disposable nappies! Another win win for the environment and the hip pocket.

Batteries

Batteries can be recycled and it is best to take this option to avoid harmful chemicals being exposed in the environment when they end up in landfill. You can take your flat household batteries to all Aldi supermarkets, and Battery World stores, where they will then be recycled. Some councils also have a battery recycling service, so check with your council to see if they can help. And next time you need batteries – consider rechargeable batteries that can be used again and again. This will save resources that go into making them in the first place, and save you money from having to buy new batteries.

Mobile Phones

If your mobile phone has bitten the dust, it contains many reusable compounds that can be recycled. This means less raw material that needs to be mined, and less hazardous waste into landfill.

The Aussie Recycling Program has teamed up with a number of charities – you can donate your old phone to one of these charities, which helps them raise funds for their organisations. Click here for details of how to go about this, and which charities they support.

Another option is MobileMuster, a not for profit organisation aiming to keep mobile phones, chargers and accessories out of landfill. Mobile phones can be dropped off at designated drop-off points, or mailed to them in a reply paid satchel which can be collected from Australia Post. Check out the MobileMuster website for more information.

If your phone is still working – consider whether you really need a new one, or whether you can sell or give away your old one.

Printer Cartridges

Planet Ark offers a recycling service for your used printer cartridges. Enter your location on their website to find out where your nearest drop-off point is. Recycling your cartridges means reusable resources are kept out of landfill and

Useful resources

Of course there are many more items that can be recycled (but I’ll stop there as it’s been a long read!) so if you are interested in finding out more check out these websites:

Recycle Right (for South Australia) – enter your suburb and the material you want to recycle and they’ll let you know whether a) it can be recycled and b) what to do with it (eg put it in your yellow recycling bin, or take it to a specialist recycler). This is very handy for those trickier items that you aren’t quite sure of. Information sheets are also available on this website.

Planet Ark (Australia wide) – provides information on where to take printer cartridges for recycling cartridges, and how to arrange a workplace collection. Another page on the Planet Ark website provides information on Recycling Near You – enter your location and the item to be recycled, to find out where to take it. This resource covers electronic goods, white goods, furniture and more.

Your local council website is also a useful resource for what can go in your kerbside bins and other services that are provided, like collections for electronic waste.

Here’s to recycling right!

I hope this list has helped you find out more about what can be recycled, and will make your recycling efforts more effective. And the next step, once you have your recycling mastered, is to reduce how much needs to be recycled at all, by reducing packaging and using reusable options. Every little bit will help look after our environment.

We’d love to hear how you’ve gone with your recycling, drop us a line below if you’ve got a success story, or found a solution to recycling those trickier items!

For more tips on reducing waste, or reusable products, check out our website.

[1] https://www.marion.sa.gov.au/page.aspx?u=754#Yellow-Bin

[2] https://www.marion.sa.gov.au/page.aspx?u=754#Green-Bin