We are encouraging residents to take a few minutes to refresh their recycling knowledge with a new recycling campaign funded by Sustainability Victoria.
Contamination in recycling costs the Council hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to remove, and the new Recycle Right campaign aims to help clear up common points of confusion.
Placing materials in yellow recycling bins inside plastic bags is the most common error made by local residents, while items like electronic waste and batteries in kerbside bins have caused several truck fires in Greater Geelong and the Surf Coast Shire this year.
To improve recycling, we're also stepping up its bin inspection program, with a focus on the small group of households who continue to put bagged rubbish and other contaminants in their recycling after multiple education reminders.
These households will receive a reminder call from the waste education team and may have their bin rejected for collection if serious contamination continues.
The most common recycling mistakes in Greater Geelong are:
- Bagged recycling in paper or plastic bags: Always keep recycling loose.
- Soft plastics and plastic bags: Put these in your red rubbish bin.
- Tissues and paper towels: Put these in your red rubbish bin.
- Batteries and electronics: Drop batteries at supermarkets or Resource Recovery Centres.
