Soft plastics, food scraps, garden clippings and bagged recyclables are among the most common items that are contaminating household recycling bins in Townsville which is why Council is encouraging residents to recycle right and save time, money and the environment.
Townsville Water and Waste chairperson Russ Cook said while Townsville residents recycled about 12,500 tonnes per year, there was room for improvement.
“As a Council we are committed to stopping valuable recoverable resources from ending up in landfill, and recycling plays a major role in how we do this,” Cr Cook said. “Contamination in household recycling increases the time and cost of processing recyclable materials, while bagging or boxing recyclables can pose a risk to the safety of workers who sort and separate the items. We’re urging locals to follow a few simple steps such as only placing hard plastic bottles and containers, glass bottles and jars, steel and aluminium cans and paper and cardboard in the yellow lid recycling bin. We also ask that residents don’t place anything smaller than a credit card in their recycling bin, such as bottle caps and lids, and bread clips as they can get caught up in machinery. By doing little things like keeping it simple and recycling right we can all help send less to landfill and more items can be given a new lease on life.”
For more information on waste and recycling in Townsville, visit Council’s website.