THINK red, yellow, green when disposing of your rubbish. It’s a simple concept.
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The three-step waste management campaign however is still a challenge for some Hastings residents with staff at the Cairncross Waste Management Facility in Port Macquarie still separating contaminants from recycling that have a major impact on the end product.
Port Macquarie-Hastings Council group manager Maria Doherty said that while most people are using the three bin system, recycling items can be different across local government areas so it is important people know what bin to put things in.
“There is lots of information out there but there is also a lot of misinformation so it is really important that when people are recycling they are doing it correctly,” Mrs Doherty said.
“I guess the message is do it once and do it right.
“The biggest issue we have is contamination of our recyclables because reusable does not necessarily mean it is recyclable and each local government area enforces different rules around recycling.”
She said some people think once the yellow bins have been collected people will sort through every individual bin.
“There is the perception by some that after the trucks have collected all of the recycling from the yellow bins it goes somewhere and each collection is sorted individually,” she said.
“When in actual fact we use machines which are programmed to sort through the different recycling items we collect.
“The are programmed to sort certain sized items which is why we have to be so strict on what we can accept as recyclable.
“This is of course managed by people along the lines who do pull out contaminants but it is crucial that people sort their yellow bin properly in the first place.”
Martin Holmes from JR Richards said people would be very surprised what they find in the yellow bins that shouldn’t be there.
“We find everything from dirty nappies to dead animals in the yellow bins,” Mr Holmes said.
“Food scraps that should be in the green bin, food in containers, full bottles of liquid, belts, hoses, CD cases, fishing line – sometimes I wonder if people even think about what they are putting in some of the bins.”
He said increasingly one of the biggest problems is finding electronics in the recycling piles.
“More and more we are finding electronic devices in the recycling bins,” he said.
“That is a major issue because they are starting fires on the sorting belts which is a huge hazard and over the last few years we have seen it more and more.”
For a comprehensive list of what items go in what bin click here.