Knowing what to recycle and what not to can be confusing and the excesses of Christmas consumption only adds to the waste disposal difficulty.
An abundance of wrapping paper, boxes and cards, along with mountains of food and drink containers, is a typical Australian household Christmas scene.
Thankfully, finding out more about what can be recycled via Bundaberg Regional Council’s fortnightly kerbside collection service is as simple as visiting www.bundaberg.qld.gov.au/recycle-right
Council’s ‘Recycle right’ webpage lists the recycling ‘dos and don’ts’ , listing items that can and cannot be recycled along with fact sheets, tips and additional helpful information to ensure your waste is going to the appropriate area to be processed.
Just as helpful as the list of recyclable items is an accompanying list of what cannot be placed in the recycling bin and should instead be disposed of in the general waste bin for weekly collection.
Bundaberg Region residents can help reduce their festive season waste by adopting Planet Ark’s Christmas ‘dos’ list, including:
- Give thoughtful gifts – choose an experience or charity gift or take your recipient on a shopping date.
- Buy second hand or recycled – shoppers who want to celebrate the circular economy this Christmas are encouraged to visit Planet Ark’s new directory of products made from recycled materials.
- Full tummy empty bins – prevent food waste by planning with a list and sticking to it. Compost or worm farm your unavoidable food scraps.
- Electrifying recycling – recycle old mobile phones, printer cartridges, computers and tablets that get replaced.
- Recycle Right – ensure all that Christmas eggnog and custard packaging is recycled – Tetra Pak reports that they sell 30 times more of these products in December, and thankfully most Australians can recycle cartons in their kerbside bins.
Although plastic bags and wrap should not be placed in the recycle bin, the REDcycle Program makes it easy for consumers to keep plastic bags and packaging out of landfill and, instead, be used to create useful items including indoor and outdoor furniture, bollards and signage.
More information about REDcycle, including your nearest drop off points, is also available on the ‘Recycle right’ page as are details about other waste and recycling programs including E-Waste, Fluorocycle, DrumMUSTER, Paintback, ChemClear and the Container Refund Scheme (Containers for Change).
Council’s kerbside waste and recycling removal services will continue to operate on the usual scheduled days throughout the Christmas holiday period.
Read more: Waste services continue over Christmas
