How much do you know about recycling? From where we are in Newcastle NSW, we see a lot of shortcomings in our recycling systems and wanted to take a moment this Earth Month to share some tips and tidbits about recycling.
In general, recycling systems in Australia leave a lot to be desired. There are people out there working hard to improve it, but the recycling industry has taken some heavy hits lately, which seems to be causing some setbacks.
Most people have probably heard of the collapse of Redcyle, which hit the headlines a year ago now, in April 2023. Redcycle provided soft plastics recycling through Coles and Woolworths, but things behind it their business wasn’t going so smoothly. There was no way to get rid of all the plastic they were accumulating, so they just piled it up. The vast amount of soft plastic material is now – unfortunately – bound for landfills.
Another more recent change in the recycling landscape has been its closure Blank. It is a plastics manufacturer and one of Australia’s leading recyclers, working towards a circular plastics economy and helping Australia work towards its 2025 recycling targets. The media recently reported that Qenos has gone into administration because their business is no longer viable in Australia, largely due to the rising cost of natural gas (which powers their operations). Unfortunately, this also meant the loss of around 700 jobs.
The problems do not only affect large industries. We have noticed a real problem at the local level as well.
Our happy place is when we are in our camper. We’re closer to nature, but we’re also close to the caravan park recycling bins and oh-um-gee… we’ve seen some gross abuse of those facilities!
While there are *a lot* of people who do the right thing, there are some who manage to undo those efforts of legends who try to do it right.
It’s like some visitors to the caravan park either don’t know what to do (uh… the instructions are on the signs 😉), or are too busy to take the time to do it right (because admittedly, recycling takes more effort than throwing away your stuff in the red bin).
And it’s one thing to just put all your recyclables in the red bin, but what really gets our goat is finding diapers, plastic bags, you name it, in the recycling bins. Come on peeps! Let’s enjoy our holidays and be responsible people at the same time. 💪
Okay, now screw up! Let’s learn a few things!
What happens when recycling goes wrong?
The short answer: it ends up in a landfill. Items considered “contaminated” are not recycled. Worse, if a recycling truck is loaded with more than a small percentage of contaminated items—such as the wrong type of glass, which includes mirrors, ceramics, drinking glasses, and Pyrex—the entire load could be diverted to landfills because these materials have different melting points.
Other enemies of recycling include diapers, plastic bags, soft plastics, polystyrene and food scraps. They can render a recycling truck useless by sending it straight to the landfill rather than the recycling center.
To dive deeper into the dos and don’ts of recycling, check your municipality’s website for specific instructions or visit Planet Ark for general rules.
Woohoo Body Packaging Recycling
Fortunately, all of Woohoo Body’s packaging is 100% recyclable, but it does require a bit of preparation to ensure it’s properly processed:
- Separate caps, pumps and sprayers from bottles, tubes and jars as they are often made of different materials.
- Rinse items quickly to remove residue. Although not all councils require it, it helps. A water saving tip is to rinse them when washing the dishes or let the kids have fun with them in the bath.
- Remove the paper labels. If your package has paper stickers, remove them as they can contaminate the recycling process due to the mixture of paper and glue. Check with your local council how to dispose of these best (they will often be general waste).
- Keep items loose – avoid sealing them in plastic bags.
- Mailing boxes, paper bags, packaging ‘stuffing’ and cards should be placed in your recycling bin.
Composting cardboard tubes
Paper deodorant and lip balm tubes are not only recyclable but also compostable. Here’s how to properly compost them:
- Once empty, cut or tear the tubes into smaller pieces. This will help them break down more efficiently in your compost pile.
- Add them to your compost bin as ‘brown’ material, balancing them with ‘green’ materials such as food scraps to ensure a healthy compost mix.
- If you don’t have a home composting system, don’t worry—many communities have local composting programs or facilities that accept compostable materials.
Want free products?
Collect your hard-to-recycle product packaging (pumps, droppers and atomizers) and send it to us. More details here👍
Let’s commit to proper recycling. It’s a small effort on our part for a major benefit to Mother Earth. Thank you for doing your part!
