The common recycling mistakes Australians are making
Most Victorians think they’re pretty clever at household recycling, but the reality is different seeing thousands of tonnes of waste instead going to landfill. This is why.
Victoria
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Victorians are failing to properly separate their household recycling rubbish, leading to thousands of tonnes of waste needlessly going into landfill.
Just one in four households is sorting their waste correctly – the most common mistakes are trying to recycle greasy pizza boxes and not removing lids from plastic bottles.
A new report on Monday by waste management company Cleanaway revealed that about one in three adults found recycling confusing.
Nine out of 10 people said recycling was important and most believe they are good at it, especially those in the over 55 age group.
But the reality is quite the opposite.
Among the common slip-ups is that almost 50 per cent of residents still put soft plastics in kerbside recycling bins.
Cleanaway sustainability manager Rebecca Evered said the findings showed the need for more education of householders.
“We’re really encouraged by the support that recycling has in the community, and the public’s intention to do the right thing, but unfortunately, we’re losing a lot of valuable resource to landfill because people are unclear about what can go in the recycling bin,’’ Ms Evered said.
Elwood couple Beth and Adam Richards make a conscious effort to do the right thing and it’s a common conversation with their children Ruby, 8, and Parker, 5.
“Like a lot of people we get confused on which plastics, soft and hard, go where. And then you wonder if the takeaway coffee cup has a plastic lining, but we think the lid is recyclable. It’s hard to know at times,’’ Ms Richards said.
“The kids are passionate recycling and call themselves ‘eco-warriors’ and are always checking on what rubbish goes where so it’s good to have those conversations.’’
Clean Up Australia chair Pip Kiernan small changes in household habits can make all the difference.
“We know there is a lot of ‘wish-cycling’ going on, with people hoping that what they put in the bin can be recycled at the other end, but actually that’s part of the problem,’’ Ms Kiernan said.
The problem with the nation’s confusing recycling processes came more into the public eye after China stopped accepting Australia’s waste in 2017, which has overloaded Australia’s waste management companies trying to deal with the extra volume of material.
Last week the state government announced details of its container deposit scheme to encourage more recycling. A 10c refund will be given for used cans, cartons and bottles.
To help residents with their household rubbish management, Greenaway has launched Greenius, an online learning site which aims to simplify recycling.
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