Australian Capital Territory (ACT) participated in last month’s National Recycling Week, to help raise awareness of good recycling behaviours along with the environmental and economic benefits of recycling.
Minister for City Services, Chris Steel, said, “We have a diverse range of recycling and waste management services in Canberra to help us reduce, reuse and recycle.
“From the kerbside collection in the yellow bin at home to green waste recycling, drink containers and even mattress recycling.
“It is pleasing to see the way Canberrans are getting involved in recycling programs.”
Since the launch of the ACT Container Deposit Scheme on 30 June 2018, more than 4.9 million containers have been returned.
Over 4,058 tonnes of organic green waste has been collected since the rollout of green bins began in April 2017.
Since the introduction of the mattress recycling initiative in April 2016 Soft Landing has diverted more than 70,000 mattresses from landfill.
With 74 percent of the material able to be recycled, nearly 847 tonnes of steel, 116 tonnes of timber and tonnes of foam have been recovered for recycling.
The ACT celebrated National Recycling Week, an initiative of Planet Ark, by running a series of workshops and tours for the community at some of the main waste and recycling sites
“There are a few simple things people can do to reduce the number of incorrect items in our recycling system,” Minister Steel said.
“Plastic bags are the worst contaminants. Many residents put their recycling in plastic bags before placing it into the recycling.
“Because the plastic bag is a contaminant, in most cases, the whole bundle is sent to landfill.
“A reboot of recycling habits is simple. If in doubt, leave it out, or check our online Recyclopaedia to
see what belongs.”
