FROM REDLAND CITY COUNCIL
Recycling has become a routine part of daily life for many of us, but confusion still lingers around one common material: hard plastic. While it might seem like all rigid plastic should go in the recycling bin, that’s not always the case. Understanding the difference between recyclable and non-recyclable hard plastics can help reduce contamination and improve the efficiency of recycling systems.
So, what can be recycled? Typically, the containers we use every day – milk bottles, cleaning spray bottles, detergent bottles, yoghurt tubs, meat and biscuit trays, and some takeout containers – can go in your kerbside yellow-lid recycling bin. These are made from plastic types that recycling facilities are equipped to process. They are durable, lightweight, and melt at predictable temperatures, making them suitable for re-use in manufacturing.
And what cannot be recycled? While plastic coat hangers, toys, storage bins, buckets, kitchenware (like Tupperware) and garden furniture may be sturdy and seem similar to recyclable hard plastics, they’re made from a different type of plastic than what is accepted in the plastic recycling process where a milk bottle is turned into a milk bottle and a soft drink bottle is turned into a soft drink bottle.
To make recycling plastics work, remember this one simple rule: if it’s a rigid plastic container that you have bought from the supermarket, containing a product that is edible or that you’ll use to wash yourself or to clean your clothes or house, then it is highly likely it can be recycled.
Keeping the right types of plastic in the right bins helps reduce contamination levels, increasing recycling rates and keeping rubbish out of landfill.
To find out more, download the RecycleMate app or visit www.Redland.qld.gov.au/recycling
Did you know?
The triangle symbol with the number in the middle doesn’t always mean something is recyclable. Instead, it indicates the type of plastic the material is made from – which might not be the recyclable kind.
