The Most Surprising Items That Can’t Be Put in Your Regular Trash or Recycling Bin

Australians love to recycle, but are you as good as you think you are? Too many of us “Wish Cycle” – we want to do the right thing and feel that the more you can recycle, the better. We think it should be recycled, so we put it in our curbside bin. Because really, the less we send to landfill in those red bins, the better right? Wrong! The irony is that, to recycle more, sometimes we must recycle less. Rubbish Removal Kings are here to help and educate you on what you can and cannot recycle.

Cleanaway did a report recently stating that 89% of Australians believe recycling to be an important step in helping our environment, and 74% of those people believe themselves to be good or very good recyclers.

Many of us do participate in some form of sustainable behaviour in our lives. Despite this positive outlook, results from this research suggest that many are misinformed or mistaken about what they can and cannot recycle, harming the environment rather than helping. For example, 47% of Australians think that soft plastic can go into recycling, whilst 26% don’t know that food containers need to be washed and rinsed before going into the recycling bin. Most shocking of all, 15% of Australians think that everything can go into recycling, citing that it will get sorted out at the facility.

As you can see, many of us mean well when it comes to recycling, but a great majority of Australians simply don’t know enough in order to recycle properly. It can be confusing, which is why we’re here to help you curb those bad recycling habits. Here is a list of items that are frequently found in kerbside recycling bins that shouldn’t be there:

Plastic bags
Takeaway coffee cups
Broken glassware or mirrors or glass from photo frames
Batteries
Clothing and other textiles
Food containers that haven’t been rinsed/cleaned
Building materials, such as pieces of timber or bricks
Paper towels

These examples are just some of many. Misconception is our biggest enemy when it comes to recycling, so our best weapon against it is research and proper knowledge of how recycling works. Even equipped with your best intentions, mistakes can be made.

So what can be done with these other materials that don’t normally go into your recycling bin? There are actually many services in place to properly dispose of these pesky items.

Cans can normally be recycled, but a better way to get rid of them is through a container deposit scheme. This program provides a financial incentive to reducing letter, leading to a much cleaner environment for us all, and also clears up some room in landfill.
Believe it or not, batteries can also be recycled, but not in your curbside bin. Australia has an official battery recycling scheme called “B-cycle”, so you can give those dead batteries a new lease on life. With over 100 organisations in Australia where you can recycle your batteries, head to B-cycle and find your nearest drop off location.
Mobile phones can be easily recycled thanks to Mobile Muster, a free mobile phone recycling program that aims to do their job to the highest environmental standards. Empty laser or inkjet cartridges can be dropped at all Officeworks stores.
Lastly, purchasing products that have the Australasian recycling label is a great way to learn how to easily recycle certain products, as they contain clear instructions as to how to properly dispose of this waste.

Now that you know how to recycle with ease, go out there and make Australia a cleaner place for the future. Rubbish Removal Kings are also here to help with any recycling or rubbish removal required. Contact Rubbish Removal Kings for a free quote and book in your rubbish removal today. When it comes to waste disposal and service, no one does it better!