Myths about recycling revealed

Whether to bin or recycle waste and packaging is a decision that confronts almost every Australian every day. While we have generally adopted recycling as part of our daily lives and are doing it effectively, 50% of people are making at least one mistake when they put their bins out.

A new report from Planet Ark, titled ‘The Seven Secrets of Successful Recyclers’, addresses the four materials that most confuse people and the common mistakes made. The report has been commissioned ahead of National Recycling Week, which runs from 10 to 16 November.

Understanding which items can be recycled at the kerbside is the first step in establishing successful recycling habits. Research suggests that contamination in recycling bins is not always due to a lack of care or concern, but rather due to genuine misunderstandings about what can be recycled.

This is highlighted in the Planet Ark report, which found that 91% of independent survey participants agree that recycling at home is the right thing to do.

However, over half the population think that Pringles tubes, broken drinking glasses and biscuit trays are recyclable in the home recycling bin when they are not. A quarter of people surveyed also believe that polystyrene containers, plastic bags and bread/chip packets can go in the kerbside recycling bin.

Surprisingly, 50% of people got at least one item wrong when asked if it is recyclable. For example, only 34% of Australians know that empty aerosols cans are recyclable in their kerbside bins. One of the top explanations given for not recycling aerosols was a mistaken belief that they will explode in the recycling.

“It’s surprising that more than half of Australians wrongly believe that aerosol cans can’t be recycled,” said Planet Ark Head of Campaigns Brad Gray. “In fact, they are made from recyclable steel or aluminium. Many people report having been told to keep aerosol cans out of the recycling, which is a hangover from the past. Once they are empty it is perfectly safe to put them in the recycling.”

The survey also shows that 23% of people sometimes or always put their recycling in a plastic bag, then into the bin. However, items contained within the plastic bags end up being sent to landfill as the plastic bags clog most recycling machines. Recycling must be loose in the recycling bin to be sorted effectively.

One of the other key barriers to successful recycling is that only 18% of people have a recycling bin in the bathroom, which means packaging like shampoo bottles, toilet rolls and aerosols are unnecessarily sent to landfill.

Increasing recycling rates is important for promoting further advancements within the whole recycling industry and has implications for how our governments deal with waste. In order for new recycling infrastructure and technology to be developed, there must be a reliable and continuous input of materials to make the system economically viable.

The Seven Secrets of Successful Recyclers are:

1. Know the facts;
2. Don’t bag it;
3. Do it in the bathroom;
4. Do it in public;
5. Take it to work;
6. Think outside the bin; and
7. Buy it back.

For further information, visit RecyclingWeek.PlanetArk.org.