It’s National Recycling Week and Central Coast Council is bringing this year’s theme, ‘Busting Recycling Myths’ into the spotlight.

Council Unit Manager Waste Services and Business Development, Andrew Pearce said residents were avid recyclers, however, in a bid to reduce waste often placed items in the incorrect bin.

“It’s important to remember that simply because something has a recycling symbol, does not mean it can be placed in your yellow lid household bin,” Mr Pearce said.

“These symbols are developed on a national scale, while local governments have differing agreements with their recycling contractors.

“In the same vain, we accept many items that do not have a recycling symbol; one of the most common questions we receive is whether pizza boxes can go in the yellow lid bin, and just like all carboard products, as long as there are no food contaminants they can.

“Additionally, residents can drop off car batteries, scrap metal and unlimited quantities of e-waste items at our Waste Management Facilities for free, with drop off points at our library branches and administration buildings for batteries, light globes and mobile phones.

“To simplify what can or cannot be recycled, we have developed a new A-Z guide in partnership with Cleanaway that can be found at 1coast.com.au.”

Some of the most common items incorrectly placed in household and public place recycling bins include:

Coffee cups (including lids) – even though mostly made from paper, it is difficult to determine the difference between products. With around one billion single use coffee cups ending up in landfill every year, reusable coffee cups are the way to go.

Meat trays and paper - we cannot prove to our contractors these items are not contaminated.

Long-life cartons – the current contract does not have the means to separate the materials to recycle them individually. Small poppers are accepted through Return and Earn, which is a State Government initiative.

Shredded paper – smaller bits of paper can cause issues with sorting machines at our recycling facility.

Bio-cups – even though they seem like they’re made of conventional plastic, these cups are made from plants not oil. Due to the material make-up they are not recyclable here on the Coast.

Plastic bags – anything placed in plastic bags will automatically be diverted to landfill.

Mayor Lisa Matthews said everyone has a part to play in reducing the amount of waste ending up in landfill.

“What we would really like is for residents to think twice about everything they throw out – can it be recycled, reused or composted?” Mayor Matthews said.

“That can also be considered at the time of purchasing an item too – by stopping to think how easy it will be to reuse or recycle we can further reduce the amount of waste to landfill.”

“To help residents move towards more sustainable living, several Green Living events have been organised for National Recycling Week, including the special free screening of the documentary ‘Just Eat It’ on Friday 15 November.”

Bookings are essential for all events and can be made via centralcoast.nsw.gov.au/events

ENDS