Plastic recycling options increase for Darwin

Darwin residents will now be able recycle virtually any type of plastics due to an expansion of their recycling services. The additional recycling is done through Darwin City Council’s waste collection contractors Transpacific Cleanaway.

Previously residents could only recycle two types of plastics in their recycle bins, however, under new changes, all seven types of plastics can now be disposed of in the fortnightly kerbside collections.

Transpacific Cleanaway collects about 76 tonnes of recyclables a week from households in Darwin but due to expansion in services this figure is expected to increase significantly.

Lord Mayor Graeme Sawyer said Darwin City Council was committed to increasing recycling and reducing the amount of waste that goes into landfill. He said this improvement in service would have a positive impact on the local environment.

Transpacific Cleanaway Community Education Officer Matt Maurer said Transpacific looked forward to working with Darwin City Council in educating the community about the expansion in services.

Plastics one and two include soft drink bottles and water bottles, as well as milk containers, juice bottles and detergent bottles. With the expansion to the five other plastics, this now gives the community the opportunity to recycle rigid plastics such as butter or margarine containers, yoghurt tubs, ice cream containers and all plastic lids. Plastics such as shopping bags and polystyrene foams can’t be recycled through the kerbside service.

For further information contact Council’s Media Officer Lucy Buhr on (08) 8930 0504.