Re*team reports: What happens to our yellow-topped bins?

Several members of the Re*Team had a tour of the Suez recycling plant recently. It was an eye-opening experience:

Some fast facts:

The company, Suez, has the waste and recycling contracts for many large businesses and several local governments in WA. Chances are they service your waste bins at home as well as here at MU.

This plant receives 30 tonnes per hour of materials put into yellow topped recycling bins.

The process of separating recyclables is a mixture of automation and hands-on physical work.

Waste in the recycling stream means resources that could be recycled are lost because of contamination. This an issue, both for MU and the wider community.

Market forces dictate what is actually recycled. Suez and other large recycling companies recycle HDPE- i.e. milk bottles, and PET plastics, i.e. soft drinks bottles.

Soft/ scrunchable plastics and other items that don’t have a market value for Suez are either baled and stockpiled until such time as the demand increases, or landfilled.

Your choices matter! Here are four simple things to remember:

1. Avoid single-use items as much as possible. There are heaps of resources online to inspire and assist you.
2. Do not bag your recyclables before putting in the bin. Plastic bags get tangled in the sorting machines, and are regarded as contamination. Too much contamination means the resources can't be recovered, and will be landfilled.
3. Your recyclables should be rinsed if possible, but must not have food scraps or liquids in them. It’s OK to leave the lids on things.
4. Consider removing soft/scrunchable plastics from your recycling and waste streams at work and at home.  Look for RedCycle bins in your local supermarket or check out https://www.redcycle.net.au/where-to-redcycle/  
5. Still not sure? Check out www.recycleright.wa.gov.au for more information for MU and your local government area.

Check out the rest of the story and photos here