New research commissioned by Planet Ark has found that while the majority of Australians trust their kerbside recycling does actually get recycled, almost half of us aren’t sure of what happens to it and a significant proportion believe it goes mostly to landfill.
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As China’s waste import ‘ban’ hits Australia and our population and waste levels continue to rise, recycling right matters now more than ever.
This year Planet Ark is encouraging Port Stephens residents to reboot their perspective on recycling in the most important National Recycling Week (November 12-18) since it was founded 22 years ago.
According to the most recent National Waste Report, NSW is performing well in terms of waste produced, at 2.5 tonnes per capita which is slightly below the national average.
Resource recovery is sitting at 65% in comparison with the national average of 58%.
However, there’s always room improvement and residents, businesses and organisations in Port Stephens can help by taking control of their own recycling journey and discovering the many elements of recycling.
This year’s National Recycling Week theme, From Waste War to Recycling Reboot, aims to resolve some of the confusion surrounding how to recycle right and what happens to our recycling once it has left our hands.
A council survey conducted by Planet Ark found that the most common recycling mistake made by residents was soft plastics like bread bags, bagged recyclables and food scraps or organics being placed in the recycling bin.
These mistakes cause problems at sorting facilities and lead to more of Australia’s recyclables going to landfill.
Households are being given a helping hand to recycle right with the launch of the Australasian Recycling Label. It aims to help consumers understand which bin a piece of packaging should be placed in.
Planet Ark has released the 6 Golden Rules of Kerbside Recycling that tackle the most common recycling conventions to help clear up confusion.
The recyclingnearyou.com.au website has been redesigned to make it even easier to find out what can be recycled in your area.
The community is also being encouraged to purchase a secondhand item or product made form recycled material as part of Planet Ark’s Buy It Back Day (November 17).
For more information visit recyclingweek.planetark.org or call 1300 733 712.
- Ryan Collins is Planet Ark’s Recycling Programs Manager.
