Clear recycling message a must

Aregional waste co-ordinating group has assured the community it is continuing to work with municipal councils to provide a clear message around what people can and can not recycle.

Grampians Central West Waste and Resource Recovery Group executive officer La Vergne Lehmann said reducing contamination from recycled waste was a challenge. But it demanded attention to ensure better outcomes for recycling across the region.

“If we are to improve our recycling rates we need a clear and concise message for residents,” she said.

“This is because we know it has to be a simple process for people to decide whether an item goes into the recycling or rubbish bin at the time they are doing it.”

Ms Lehmann stressed that reducing contamination rates in recycling was key to improving the recycling system in Australia and keeping recycling costs down for the community.

She said making an effort to get recycling right and ‘get it sorted’ would lead to improve- ments in reducing what went into landfill and the quality of our recycling.

“The recent challenges with recycling in Victoria have highlighted not only why recycling is important, but also the need to improve our recycling habits,” she said.

“Materials that we are able to recycle in our kerbside collections are mostly packaging materials that can be reprocessed into new packaging materials or other products – thus ensuring that material has more than one life.

“Residents in most Victorian municipalities have been recycling for many years and the result has been a significant reduction in what we send to landfill.

“It has also resulted in new businesses that have been able to use those recycled materials – but there are still many more opportunities.

“It has been a constant challenge to continue educating our communities on recycling and how we want it presented in the recycling bin.

“We know people receive a lot of information on so many issues these days that it is difficult to cut through with a clear recycling message.”