Campaspe Shire Council urges residents to separate Christmas waste for better recycling opportunities. Residents should understand what can and cannot be recycled to maximise recycling efforts.
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Andrey Moisseyev
Campaspe Shire Council is urging residents to properly separate their Christmas waste to maximise recycling opportunities during the festive season.
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Campaspe Shire Council is urging residents to properly separate their Christmas waste to maximise recycling opportunities and minimise their waste costs during the festive season.
Campaspe Shire Council manager waste and environment James Marsh emphasised the importance of understanding what can and cannot be recycled.
“The most important thing about Christmas waste is that we recommend you separate your waste to maximise what can be recycled and save yourself some money,” Mr Marsh said.
“Sometimes people get confused about what can be recycled.”
All food waste, including bones and shellfish, should go in the green FOGO bin.
However, Mr Marsh warned against common packaging confusion.
“Just because food is packaged in plastic does not mean the plastic can then go in the green bin,” he said.
“It is only the food itself.”
Wrapping paper presents another challenge for recyclers.
“Often, that really thin, shiny wrapping paper that a lot of people use cannot be recycled because it is layered with plastic,” Mr Marsh said.
“We encourage people to use newspapers or brown wrapping paper that you get from post offices, even textiles such as tea towels make great wrapping paper that can be reused year after year.”
Electronic waste poses significant safety risks, with the council experiencing five truck fires in the past 18 months caused by e-waste.
“E-waste is anything that is powered by electricity, including the batteries themselves,” Mr Marsh said.
“If it has anything to do with electricity, it can't go in the kerbside bin.”
Even seemingly innocent items can be problematic.
“Some people aren't aware that if a teddy bear speaks, it is e-waste and it has to go to a resource recovery centre,” he said.
For disposal guidance, residents can access the Recyclemate app at recyclemate.com.au
You can download the app or go to the website and it will tell you where you can dispose of all of your materials through multiple disposal facilities.
This includes information about the disposal of batteries, soft plastics and polystyrene.
Council is doing high-visitation skip bins for campers' waste to encourage them to dispose of their waste correctly again over the summer.
“A gentle reminder, it is only for campers, we need to ensure they have capacity for campers at all times” Mr Marsh said.
“Residents, please do not use those bins, they are not for you.
“While I realise it is a cheap and easy option, it is not designed for you and if we catch you dumping in the bin, there may be penalties that apply.
“If the skips are full, please don’t leave items beside them.
“Instead, pop into a Resource Recovery Centre, it’s easy and safe!
“These areas are used by lots of people, including kids, and we want everyone to enjoy the festive season without accidents.
“And remember, campers’ waste is accepted free of charge at all resource recovery centres.”
High-visitation skip bins are provided for campers' waste disposal, not for residents.
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With Victoria's Container Deposit Scheme now operational, bottles and cans can generate revenue with a great CDS depot on Hume St, Echuca.
Residents can go to cdsvic.org.au for other CDS locations and a list of charities that proceeds can be donated to.
Christmas trees require special handling.
Real trees can go to resource recovery centres using ratepayer vouchers as green waste, while fake trees go in the red bin if dismantled.
If your fake tree cannot be dismantled to fit in the red bin, it will have to be taken to a resource recovery centre for disposal as general waste.
All Campaspe Shire Council resource recovery centres will be closed on Christmas Day and New Year's Day.
Collection schedules will shift, with Thursday, Christmas Day, collections moving to Friday and Friday collections to Saturday, returning to normal from December 29.
If anyone has any questions, they are welcome to contact the council, view the council’s website or try other alternatives such as Recycle Mate.
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