Orange residents are being urged to 'check it before you chuck it' to ensure that only accepted recyclable items are placed in the yellow-lid kerbside recycling bin.
Items that CAN be placed in the yellow-lid recycling bin are paper and cardboard, glass bottles and jars, aluminium and steel cans, and plastic bottles and containers from the kitchen, bathroom and laundry. Materials should be clean and empty and placed loose in your recycling bin.
Items that CAN NOT be placed in the yellow-lid recycling bin include soft plastics such as plastic bags, wrappers and packaging as well as polystyrene, clothing, toys, disposable coffee cups and electrical waste. Soft plastics are the leading contaminants found in kerbside recycling bins across the Central West.
Check it before you chuck it and keep your recycling bin contaminant free.
Orange City Council Environmental Sustainability Committee Chair Cr David Mallard says we all know recycling is good for the environment, but recycling correctly makes a big difference.
"Contaminants in our recycling bins are the rotten apple that spoils the whole barrel. The recycling contamination rate in Orange sits at approximately 12 per cent, which is around the Australian standard. It's good but means there is still room for improvement," Councillor Mallard said.
"This means an entire load of recycling can end up going to landfill because it has been contaminated. Not only are all those potential resources wasted, but it's also undoing some of Orange's hard work to protect our environment."
When something ends up in the recycling bin that cannot be recycled at Council's recycling facility, it negatively impacts recycling efforts. Contaminants can clog and damage machinery, affecting worker safety and impacting efficiency.
Another form of contaminant is items that can be recycled at other facilities through different programs, just not through our kerbside bin collection.
Such contaminants such as gas cylinders, electrical waste, chemicals and batteries can be dangerous if disposed of in the kerbside recycling bin, however, these items can be disposed of for free at the Community Recycling Centre (CRC) at the Ophir Road Resource Recovery
Centre.
The CRC is a permanent and convenient drop-off point for residents to dispose of their hazardous items and problem waste, where they can be collected and recycled safely.
Orange City Council monitors recycling bins to address the ongoing issue of contamination.
Residents who put incorrect materials in their recycling bin will receive a letter highlighting the issues caused by contamination and assisting residents to recycle correctly by reminding them which materials can and can't be recycled.
