How much do you know about recycling? From where we’re sitting in Newcastle NSW, we see a lot of shortfalls in our recycling systems, and we wanted to take a moment this Earth Month to share a few tips and tidbits about recycling.
Generally speaking, the recycling systems in Australia leave a lot to be desired. There are people out there working hard to make it better, but the recycling industry has been dealt a few heavy blows lately which seem to be causing a few setbacks.
Most people have probably heard about the Redcyle collapse, which made all the news headlines about a year ago now, in April 2023. Redcycle had been providing soft plastics recycling via Coles and Woolworths but things on the back-end of their business were not going so smoothly. There was no way for them to get rid of all the plastic they were accumulating, so they were just stockpiling it. The enormous amount of soft plastic material is now - sadly - landfill-bound.
Another more recent change to the recycling landscape was the closure of Qenos. They’re a plastics manufacturer but also one of Australia’s leading recyclers, working towards a circular plastics economy, and helping Australia work towards our 2025 recycling targets. Media has recently reported that Qenos has gone into administration because their business is no longer feasible in Australia, largely due to the rising cost of gas (which powers their operations). Unfortnately this also meant the loss of around 700 jobs.
The problems aren’t just affecting the big industries either. We’ve been noticing a real issue at a local level too.
Our happy place is when we’re at our caravan. We’re closer to nature, but we’re also close to the caravan park recycling bins and oh-em-gee… we’ve seen some blatant misuse of those facilities!
While there are *lots* of people doing the right thing, there are some that manage to un-do those efforts of the legends who are making an effort to do it right.
It’s as some visitors to the caravan park either don’t know what to do (ahem… the instructions are on the signs 😉), or they’re too busy to take the time to get it right (because admittedly, recycling does take more effort than tossing 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 nappies, plastic bags, you-name-its in the recycling bins. C’mon, peeps! Let’s enjoy our holidays and be responsible humans at the same time. 💪
Alrighty, rant over now! Let’s learn some stuff!
What happens when recycling goes wrong?
The short answer: it ends up in landfill. Items considered "contaminated" don't get recycled. Worse yet, if a recycling truck is loaded with more than a small percentage of contaminated items – like the wrong type of glass, which includes mirrors, ceramics, drinking glasses, and Pyrex – the whole load could be diverted to landfill because these materials have different melting points.
Other recycling foes include nappies, plastic bags, soft plastics, polystyrene, and food remnants. They can render a truckload of recycling useless, sending it straight to landfill rather than the recycling centre.
To dive deeper into the do's and don'ts of recycling, check your local council's website for specific guidelines or visit Planet Ark for general rules.
Recycling Woohoo Body Packaging
Thankfully, all of Woohoo Body’s packaging is 100% recyclable, but it does require a bit of prep to ensure it's processed correctly:
- Separate lids, pumps, and sprayers from bottles, tubes, and jars since they're often made of different materials.
- Give items a quick rinse to remove residue. While not all councils require this, it helps. A water-saving tip is to rinse them during dishwashing or let kids have fun with them in the bath.
- Remove paper labels. If your packaging has paper label stickers, remove these as they can contaminate the recycling process due to their mix of paper and adhesive. Check with your local council how to dispose of these best (often it will be in general waste).
- Keep items loose – avoid enclosing them in plastic bags.
- Mailing boxes, paper bags, packaging ‘fill’, and cards should all be placed in your recycling bin.
Composting Cardboard Tubes
Our cardboard deodorant and lip balm tubes are not only recyclable but also compostable. Here’s how to compost them correctly:
- Once empty, shred 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 like 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 sprayers) and send them to us. More deets here👍
Let’s commit to recycling correctly. It's a small effort on our part for a significant benefit to Mother Earth. Thank you for doing your part!
