Waste and Recycling - Educational

Recycling has many benefits for both your workplace and the environment.

Recycling plastic, cardboard and paper - put smaller amounts in your blue kerbside recycling bin. For larger amounts purchase recycling services through a local waste services contractor.

Recycling organic garden waste, timber and food scraps - encourage staff to take home food scraps for chickens or home compost or purchase a FOGO bin from Council. Take larger amounts to the Waste Transfer Station or to an organics recycler to be mulched.

Recycling E-Waste (electronic appliances), batteries and light globes - take smaller amounts to the Waste Transfer Station to be recycled. For larger amounts purchase an E-Waste recycling service. Batteries can be disposed of free at Mount Gambier Library, Waste Transfer Station and local businesses including ALDI, Bunnings and SE Battery Service.

Recycling hard waste from shop fit-outs, repairs and maintenance - put smaller amounts in your blue recycling bin. For larger quantities use a local hard waste recycling service.

Other recycling iniatives are also available through TerraCycle.

Mount Gambier residents send more than 500 tonnes of disposable nappies to landfill every year, that’s a lot of nappies!

There are a number of alternatives to sending nappies to landfill:

• Reusable cloth nappies - these have improved a lot since the days of terry towelling nappies and safety pins! Search the internet for ‘modern cloth nappies’ and you will find lots of options. They are great for the environment but do require washing.

• Compostable nappies - there are a handful of fully home compostable nappy brands available on the market. Some examples include Ecoriginals and Eenee. These contain compostable pads and inserts will break down in home compost. They have a re-usable outer layer that does have to be washed, but this is less onerous than cloth nappies. Compostable nappies are also a good environmentally friendly alternative.

• Sustainable disposable nappies - these are disposable nappies that are made of sustainable materials, such as plant based plastics, as opposed to oil based plastics. Search the internet for ‘sustainable disposable nappies’ and you will find lots of options.

• Home compost of disposable nappies - all disposable nappies are made up of outer layers and an inner core which is the absorbent section made up of wood pulp fibres and ‘super absorbent polymers’ (SAPs). The inner core of any disposable nappy can be composted, as it is essentially plant based. To compost the inner core simply tear or slice a wet nappy so the inner core is exposed, empty this into your compost bin, then cover with plants or other compost material. Don’t use the resulting compost on edible plants, and don’t compost soiled nappies. This simple action can reduce your nappy waste by up to 90%!

Avoid

Buy fresh food without packaging, or grow your own!

Reduce

Drink more tap or tank water and cut down on bottled drinks.

Reuse

Use egg cartons as biodegradable seed pots.

Recycle

Put plastic containers, paper, cardboard, glass jars and aluminium cans in your household Recycling Bin.

Illegal dumping costs the community and the environment. The EPA have an established unit to investigate illegal dumping, they will be watching!

Illegal Dumping

Green Industries SA

Zero Waste SA YouTube Channel

All of Mount Gambier’s kerbside recycling goes to the Green Triangle Recyclers facility in Mount Gambier where it is sorted into different categories – paper, cardboard, metal, glass, PET plastic (#1), HDPE plastic (#2) etc. The materials are baled and then sent to other facilities to be turned into new products. The recycling industry is an open market, where recycling processors sell their material where they can get the highest price. Here are some examples of what happens to Mount Gambier’s recycling:

• Cardboard and mixed paper are sent to facilities in Victoria and New South Wales where they are turned into new recycled paper products.

• Newspaper is sent to Adelaide where it’s turned into kitty litter.

• PET plastic (#1) is sent to Sydney where it’s turned into plastic bottles.

• HDPE plastic (#2) is sent to Moama NSW where it’s turned into drainage pipes.

Only contamination from recycling bins is sent to landfill. This highlights the importance of making sure you don’t contaminate your recycling bin. For further information view these videos.

The Mount Gambier Library offers free disposal of small domestic batteries up to the size of a 6V battery only. Batteries can also be disposed of at the Waste Transfer Station.

Local businesses also offer free battery disposal, including ALDI, Bunnings and SE Battery Service.

The Mount Gambier Library offers free disposal of x-rays.

Old mobile phones and accessories can be dropped off in the Mobile Muster Bin at the Mount Gambier Library. You can visit the Mobile Muster website for other drop off locations.

Residents who use needles/syringes and other forms of sharps in the home, in the course of administering medication, are able to obtain sharps containers from Council (a small fee applies). There is a large yellow sharps disposal bin outside the Civic Centre in the Cave Garden/Thugi.

There are a number of local 'Buy, Swap and Sell' groups available on Facebook.

The Planet Ark website also contains information about online forums for finding, giving, swapping or selling pre-loved items.