A-Z of waste and what to do with it

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H

L | M | N | O | P | S | T | W

A

AEROSOL CANS

According to Planet Ark, over 2 billion aluminium cans are recycled every year in Australia. Every can that is recycled saves enough energy to power a television set for 3 hours!

For small quantities, place them into the yellow lidded recycling bin. For large quantities, take them to:

Minnamurra Waste & Recycling Centre
Location: 446 Riverside Drive, Dunmore 2533 aerosol can
Phone: (02) 4237 5148
Fax: (02) 4237 5149
Email: council@kiama.nsw.gov.au

Operating hours:
Monday - Friday 8:00am to 4:00pm
Saturday 8.00am to 12.00noon.
Closed Sundays, Christmas Day,
New Years Day and Good Friday.

ALUMINIUM CANS

According to Planet Ark, over 2 billion aluminium cans are recycled every year in Australia. Every can that is recycled saves enough energy to power a television set for 3 hours! To find out more interesting facts visit www.planetark.com.au

Place aluminium cans, aerosol cans and steel cans into your yellow lidded recycling bin.

ASBESTOS/FIBRO

DEMOLITION OF BUILDINGS, FENCES AND OTHER STRUCTURES

Demolition of structures require development consent except where it fits the exempt development requirements under the State Environmental Planning Policy (Exempt and Complying Development Codes) 2008. Refer to: http://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/maintop/view/inforce/epi+572+2008+cd+0+N

All buildings, fences and other structures containing asbestos are required to be demolished in accordance with AS 2601-2001, The demolition of structures, (as amended), and in accordance with the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation 2001.

SAFE REMOVAL AND DISPOSAL

Asbestos fibres are hazardous when inhaled. They can be released into the air when asbestos products are incorrectly handled, stored or transported for disposal. Removal of loose friable asbestos or amounts of bonded sheeting greater than 10 square metres must be done by a licensed person. An accredited asbestos removalist may be contacted through the Asbestos Removal Contractors Association http://www.arca.asn.au/.

Information on safe removal practices for asbestos is available at www.nsw.gov.au/fibro and www.workcover.nsw.gov.au.

You can find out who is legally responsible for the handling, management, storage, transportation and disposal of asbestos waste at either worksites or non-worksites at http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/waste/asbestos/home.htm.

A website has been designed to provide home renovators with safety information for safe handling for hazardous materials, including asbestos at www.diysafe.nsw.gov.au.

For further information regarding asbestos, refer to: http://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/Tenants_and_home_owners/Home_building_and_renovating/The_building_process/Dealing_with_hazardous_materials.html

ASBESTOS AND FIRE-DAMAGED BUILDINGS

Guidance is available at http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/waste/asbestos/home.htm

BEFORE TAKING ASBESTOS TO LANDFILL

Asbestos waste must be disposed of at a licensed landfill. It is illegal to dispose of asbestos waste in domestic garbage bins. It is also illegal to re-use, recycle or illegally dump asbestos products. Most landfills will not accept asbestos without prior booking or notification. Always contact the landfill beforehand to find out when asbestos is accepted and any requirements for delivering asbestos to the landfill. NSW licensed landfills in the Illawarra and South Coast regions which accept asbestos waste from the public are listed below:

Dalmeny	Brou Landfill Facility, Brou Lake Road, Dalmeny; (02) 4476 8354
Dunmore	Dunmore Recycling and Waste Disposal Depot, Buckleys Road, Dunmore; (02) 4237 7546
Nowra	West Nowra Recycling and Waste Facility, Flat Rock Road, Nowra; (02) 4429 3374
Surf Beach	Surf Beach Waste Depot, Off George Bass Drive, Surf Beach; (02) 4471 2462

REPORTING ILLEGAL DISPOSAL AND POLLUTION INCIDENTS

You may take action by contacting the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) to address pollution incidents relating to mobilisation of asbestos fibres, or where asbestos waste has been handled in an environmentally unsatisfactory manner.

B

BATTERIES

The cadmium in nickel cadmium rechargeable batteries (NiCads) is a highly toxic heavy metal. Car batteries also contain lead and highly corrosive acid.

Nickel metal hydride rechargeable batteries (NiMHs) don’t contain toxic materials and can therefore be disposed with your household waste. Using rechargeable batteries will mean fewer batteries going to landfill.

When you’re transporting a battery, handle it very carefully and ensure the acid doesn’t leak out.

In no instance should you burn batteries. This releases dangerous fumes and can cause an explosion.

Minnamurra Recycling Depot provides free disposal of all scrap metal including car, truck and alkaline batteries or alkaline batteries can be dropped off for free at Battery World, New Lake Entrance Road, Shellharbour.

BOOKS

Give your old books a new home by donating them to a local charity, school or a friend. You can also sell your books through newspaper/Internet and at second hand book stores.

Another option is to trade them through organisations over the internet such as Book Crossing, the world's biggest free book club. Visit www.bookcrossing.com or donate your pre-loved books at any Lifeline shop.

If your books are unusable, you can recycle books made entirely out of paper and cardboard in your yellow lidded recycling bin. Make sure to remove any metal binding and plastic coatings and place these in your red lidded recycling bin.

BRICKS AND TILES

Bricks and tiles are great items to reuse around the home. Bricks set in softer mortar can actually be re-used. If bricks have too much cement, and therefore cannot be reused, they can be crushed and used for aggregates, fill or paving sand/gravel.

Dunmore Recycling and Waste Disposal Depot at Buckleys Road, Dunmore (phone: 4237 7546) will accept separated bricks, tiles, concrete and terracotta pipes.

Port Kembla Builders Landfill and Recycling Facility – Cleary Bros at 33 Five Islands Road, Port Kembla – Phone: 4274 0323 will accept cleaned and separated recyclable materials, including: metals; timber; greenwaste; masonry (concrete, brick, tile)

Total recycling NSW Pty Ltd
Location: Lot 9 Illawarra Highway Albion Park
Phone: Bernie Delaney on 0417 233 993.
Will accept cleaned and sorted masonry (concrete, brick, block, tile)

South Coast Concrete Crushing & Recycling
Location: Oak Flats
Phone: 4256 3411
Will accept cleaned and sorted masonry (concrete, brick, block, tile)

BUILDING MATERIALS

Dunmore Recycling and Waste Disposal Depot
Location: Buckleys Road Dunmore
Phone: 4237 7546
Will accept clean bricks, clean timber, concrete, rubble

John Green Demolition
Location: 5/7 Mye Place Albion Park Rail
Phone: 4256 3715 or contact Bud Green on 0418 276 376
Sell recycled building materials and reusable items.

C

CARTRIDGES

It’s estimated that 1.5 million toner cartridges are used annually in Australia, which leads to 1,500 tonnes of non-biodegradable waste. We also throw away up to 1.2 million ink jet cartridges and 250,000 laser cartridges per month! (Only 15% are recycled).

ink jet cartridges PlanetArk and Close the Loop have launched Cartridges 4 Planet Ark. Under this program, laser cartridges are sent to the original equipment manufacturers for their remanufacturing or component recovery programs. All inkjet cartridges, toner bottles and laser drums are processed to recycle their component materials into new precuts. All are recycled into new products or reused in new applications.

The Cleanaway Close the Loop program provides a free service for collection and disposal of printer cartridges. This service is offered at no charge.

Drop off your used cartridges in specially marked boxes at participating Australia Post and Harvey Norman outlets and Cartridge World Shellharbour Shop 1/17-19 Industrial Road Oak Flats. Phone Cartridge World on 4256 3010.

A full list of collection outlets is provided at http://www.recyclingnearyou.com.au.

CAR TYRES

car tyre

Approximately 18 million waste tyres or EPUs (equivalent passenger (tyre) units) need to be disposed of annually in Australia. The disposal of used tyres at waste depots can cause problems and therefore requires specialised methods of disposal.

Theoretically, it’s possible to recover the raw materials from tyres, though there is little or no disposal by this method due to the high cost. Of the 15 million tyres disposed of annually, a number are retreads. Retreading represents tyre re-use rather than tyre recycling and it ultimately only delays tyre disposal.

Pacific Dunlop has established a national tyre collection service. Sims Tyrecycle collects scrap and imperfect tyres from manufacturers, retailers, local councils and other sources, and disposes of them in accordance with environmental regulations. The company is the largest tyre recycler in Australia, collecting and disposing of approximately seven million tyre units (EPU’s), and supplying approximately ten thousand metric tonnes of high quality crumb annually. In addition, over 2500 metric tonnes of steel is recycled through the same process.

The crumb is widely used in tyre manufacturing, road repairs, soft fall surfacing, horse arenas, brake pads, tile adhesives, insulation purposes and sporting surfaces, etc.

The remaining tyres are used mainly for civil engineering projects, fuel for energy recovery systems and drainage aggregates.

Tyre businesses, listed as follows, accept old tyres for a disposal fee of about $3 per tyre:

JaxQuickFit Tyres Pty Ltd
Location: 260 Shellharbour Road Warilla NSW 2528
Telephone: 02 4296 4666
Fax: 02 4296 4777
Email: warilla@jaxquickfit.com.au

Goodyear Auto Service Centre
Location: City Centre
Address: 306 Keira St Wollongong 2500
Phone: (02) 4229 1555
Website: www.goodyear.com.au
Each tyre business uses Sims TyreCycle NSW for collection of large quantities of tyres. If you have more than 4 tyres to dispose of you should contact:

Sims TyreCycle NSW
Cnr Mamre and Erskine Park Roads, Erskine Park NSW Australia 2759
Contact: Laurie Fog
Tel: (02) 9834 6111
Fax: (02) 9834 5463

CARDBOARD BOXES

open cardboard box Cardboard can be recycled in your household recycling bin. Cardboard includes tissue boxes, egg cartons, pizza boxes (provided there are no food scraps in them) and other cartons (like cereal or biscuit boxes). The only exception is waxed cardboard (like fruit boxes) which must be disposed of in your garbage bin.

Extra cardboard and paper can be recycled at:

Minnamurra Waste & Recycling Centre
Location: 446 Riverside Drive, Dunmore 2533
Phone: (02) 4237 5148
Fax: (02) 4237 5149
Email: council@kiama.nsw.gov.au

Operating hours:
Monday - Friday 8:00am to 4:00pm, Saturday 8.00am to 12.00noon.
Closed Sundays, Christmas Day, New Years Day and Good Friday.

CARDS

Birthday, Christmas, Get Well and other greeting cards made of paper or cardboard can be recycled in your yellow lidded recycling bin at home.

CHEMICALS

AGRICULTURAL AND VETERINARY

ChemClear is leading the way to providing a safe and easy collection and disposal service for all agricultural and veterinary chemical users throughout Australia. ChemClear is a national industry funded initiative designed as a cost effective way to collect unused and unwanted currently registered chemicals.

Which chemicals are collected free of charge?
Chemicals that are still registered by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Manufacturers Association (APVMA) and are supplied by Avcare, VMDA or participating companies are collected free of charge.

Which chemicals attract a fee for disposal?
Unregistered or scheduled waste attracts a disposal fee per litre/kg.

Who can use the program?
ChemClear collects unwanted chemicals from agriculture and commercial livestock production, forestry, commercial pest and weed control operators, including local, state and federal government activities and resellers.

How do I register?
For further information, advice and bookings http://www.chemclear.com.au or phone 1800 008182

HOUSEHOLD

It can be dangerous to throw away household chemicals in the rubbish, down drains, toilets or sinks, or down the stormwater drain outside.

Chemicals and pesticides can harm our environment and human health. It is important to make sure that household chemicals are disposed of safely. If chemicals are disposed of irresponsibly and in a way that could harm the environment or people, a fine could be issued to the person found responsible.

The Office of Environment & Heritage NSW are working with local councils to provide drop off centres for old or leftover chemicals around the home. Weekend drop off centres are run throughout the Sydney, Hunter and Illawarra regions.

Materials that will be accepted include:
cleaners

Paint and paint related products

Pesticides and herbicides

Solvents and household cleaners

Motor oils, fuels and fluids

Batteries

Gas bottles, fire extinguishers

Flares

Pool chemicals

Acids and alkalis

Hobby chemicals (eg. photography chemicals etc)

Please note that only household quantities of chemicals will be accepted. Always remember to transport your chemicals carefully so they don't leak or break.

For more information on how to transport chemicals or to find out about other locations across the Illawarra region, call the Clean Out Info Hotline 1300 787 870 or visit www.cleanout.com.au

OTHER

Chemsel of 12 Bushels Place Wetherill Park. Operates in Illawarra/Shoalhaven areas Phone: 9604 7533. For collection and disposal of the following items: fluorescent tubes; PCB capacitors; HID lamps (mercury and sodium); solvents (paints and thinner.

Contact: Ian Parkes (Operations Manager)
Phone: 0409 938 553

Gardner Perrot of 162 Shellharbour Road Kemblawarra
Phone: 4275 2222
Contact: Tony Hickey, Steve Wellington
For collection and disposal of liquid and solid wastes.

Nationwide Oil Pty Ltd Cnr Davis Road and Wenban Place, Wetherill Park
Phone: 02 9604 2611
Fax: 02 9609 2219
Nationwide Oil is the market leader in the collection and refining of used engine oils. Their plant is designed to eliminate all the impurities from used oil, resulting in the production of a recycled product of a quality suitable to be sold as lubricating oil. Nationwide is pleased to offer the following additional services -collection and disposal of: oil filters; oily rags; oily water (including interceptor trap pump outs); grease; coolants, waste management audits.

CLOTHES

If your clothes are in a reasonable condition, please donate them to charity or place in your local Lifeline bins. Charities that will accept old clothing include:

Saint Vincent de Paul
Location: 80 Terralong Street Kiama
Phone: 4232 2656

Salvation Army
Phone: 131 640

Anglicare
Phone: 132 622

Lifeline Kiama
Location: Shop 22 Centrepoint, Terralong Street, Kiama
Phone: 4232 1496

COMPACT DISCS (CD’s) and CASES

a compact disc CDs are made from polycarbonate and acrylic plastics along with a reflective layer of aluminium and generally come with a label. A complex mix to break apart and recycle. Old CD’s that are still useable can be donated to charity, given to friends, or sold.

If your CD’s are scratched and un-useable dispose of them in your garbage bin.

COMPUTERS

Do you have old or outdated computer equipment you would like to dispose of?

Dunmore Resource and Recovery Centre will accept old computers that are still able to work, or be stripped of working parts. Fees apply
Phone: (02) 4237 5193
Location: Buckleys Road, Dunmore

Dell Recycling offers computer owners a variety of environmentally sound, convenient and affordable options for unwanted computers -- and the equipment does not have to be from Dell.

Dell Recycling accepts any make or model of computer, notebook, monitor, printer or peripheral device.

Contact Dell Recycling on 1800 465 890 or email recycling_dell_au@dell.com

Renewable Recyclers offers you a safe, efficient, responsible and cost-effective way to dispose of your e-waste. computer screen

Once you have booked your recycling (either a collection or a drop off) you can rest assured that your data will be securely erased and you will have done everything you can to protect human and environmental health. As well as helping to provide a job for someone in need.

Book a collection today!

Refer to the Renewable Recyclers website for more information.

CORKS

corks Did you know? There is a law which only allows cork to be harvested every nine years?
Cork is truly a renewable material. Every year an estimated 30 tonnes of corks are collected for recycling in Australia.

Corks can be taken to Wollongong Hospital for the Cancer Carers organisation for collection to raise money for cancer patients. For more information, please contact Geoff Fails from Cancer Carers on 4271 5226.

D

DRUMS

For information on centres which will collect drums call Waste Services NSW on 1300 651 116, visit the website www.wasteservice.nsw.gov.au or call South Coast Drum Traders Unanderra on phone: 4271 5708 for information of specific requirements with collection of drums.

For the recycling of clean farm chemical drums with drumMUSTER, Kiama Council has established a drumMUSTER collection point at:

Minnamurra Recycling Depot
446 Riverside Drive, Dummore
on the FIRST Monday of every month
8:00am to 4:00pm

E

E-WASTE

Renewable Recyclers offers you a safe, efficient, responsible and cost-effective way to dispose of your e-waste. computer screen

Book a collection today!

Refer to the Renewable Recyclers website for more information.

F

FIBRO

See Asbestos/Fibro.

FRIDGES

Fridge Buyback

Fridge Buyback is an aware winningresidential energy savings program that actually pays you to help save the environment and reduce your power bills by giving up your old second fridge.

Old fridges are one of the biggest energy users in the home, consuming up to three times the energy of new fridges. Running your second fridge adds an average of $265 a year to your power bills and results in greenhouse gases being released into the atmosphere.

To participate in the program your fridge must be a working second fridge that has been in regular use, is 250 litres or more in size (8.83 cubic feet) and at least 10 years old.

Fridge Buyback provides residents with free collection by professional removalists and a $35 rebate if the removal of the fridge involves 6 steps or less. The fridge is collected for free if there are between 7 or 20 steps but no rebate is available. A fee will apply only if the property has more than 20 steps. The fridges collected are professionally degassed and the metals recycled.

For more information visit the Fridge Buyback website.

FURNITURE

Help the environment and your community by donating your quality used furniture to charity. You'll introduce less waste into the environment and help raise money for our vital community projects.

The Salvation Army and Lifeline offer a free pick up service for the collection of any unwanted furniture that you cannot deliver yourself. Conditions apply.

To arrange a collection contact:

The Salvation Army - call on 13 SALVOS (13 72 58) and select 'Salvos Stores' at the prompt or you can fill in their online form at their website

Lifeline – call 02 4225 9820

Please note that in some instances, because of government regulations, the charities may be unable to accept white goods/electrical items and mattresses.

G

GARDEN ORGANICS

Grass clippings, leaves, small branches, flowers, untreated and unpainted wood, twigs and garden prunings will be collected fortnightly by your green waste collection service. Please place in your green lidded bin. Refer to your waste calendar for more details.

Tree stumps can be taken to:

Dunmore Recycling and Waste Disposal Depot

Location: Buckleys Road, Dunmore

Phone: (02) 4237 5193

GAS CYLINDERS

The disposal of gas cylinders is quite dangerous and must be treated with caution.

Resource NSW coordinates with councils to provide drop-off centres for gas bottles/fire extinguishers/smoke alarms. To find out more visit www.resource.nsw.gov.au/cleanout or call the Clean Out Information Hotline: 1300 787 870.

GLASS

Most glass items can be recycled.

To dispose of glass bottles or jars (such as a soft-drink bottle, wine or beer bottle, or condiments jar) place them in the yellow lidded recycling bins.

Be mindful that glass in certain formats cannot be recycled:

Broken windows
Windscreen glass
Drinking glasses
Oven-proof or heat-treated glass (eg. Corning Ware, Pyrex or Vision Ware)
Light globes
White opaque bottles
Laboratory and medical glass

When recycling, ensure you don’t include china, ceramics or stoneware with glass bottles and jars. It can lead to the rejection of thousands of bottles and jars collected for recycling.

To prepare glass for recycling, remove any lids or caps, and rinse all bottles and jars. To conserve water, wash bottles and jars in used dishwater or in a bucket with other recyclables.

GLASSES

Your unwanted reading, sight or sunglasses can help improve the eyesight of children and adults all around the world. Donate your glasses to the following charity organisations:

Recycle for Sight - Lions Clubs International collect eyeglasses through their 'Recycle for Sight' program. Australians can donate their glasses, which are then given to people in developing countries.

OneSight - Drop off your unwanted reading glasses and sunglasses, either broken or intact to any OPSM or Budget Eyewear stores across Australia. Your glasses are then distributed worldwide to charities helping developing communities.

H

HOUSEHOLD ITEMS

Many items you wish to dispose of can be reused by finding a good home with somebody else. Items such as books, clothing, shoes, kitchen items can be dropped at charity boxes. Larger items such as furniture will be collected by charity:

Saint Vincent de Paul
Location: 80 Terralong Street Kiama
Phone: 4232 2656

Salvation Army
Phone: 131 640

L

LAMPS (incandescent light globes and compact fluoro lights - CFLs)

With the phase out of incandescent light globes over the next 12 months, there is need to consider the increased volume of compact fluorescent light globes (CFL’s) entering the waste stream. There have been a number of stories relating to the mercury content of CFL light globes, and the predicted effects of the increased volume of CFL light globes going to landfill, so Kiama Council has chosen to be proactive in its approach to dealing with this issue.

Kiama Council offers a lamp recycling service for at its Minnamurra Waste Depot for residents to recycle their burnt out incandescent, CFL and fluorescent tubes.

The CFL and fluorescent tube recycling process sees the old light globes / tubes collected, crushed into 44 gallon drums and sent to Victoria for separation into their metal, glass and phosphor powder components.

The phosphor powder is put in a still where the mercury is drawn out, after which it is sent to the dental association to be used in dental amalgams, thermometers or in the production of more light globes.

The glass is recycled into materials such as insulation batts and the inert phosphor powder is used as a bulking agent for fertilizers.

It is also very important to buy good quality energy efficient light globes, as the mercury content in various globes can vary immensely; anywhere from 2mg up to 60mg. Check with a lighting specialist which globes and fluorescent tubes have guaranteed low mercury levels. For more information on the lamp recycling service you can call Kiama Council Waste Depot on 4237 5148.

M

MATTRESSES

Mattresses can be taken to Dunmore Recycling and Waste Disposal Depot located at Buckleys Road, Dunmore phone: 4237 7546. Fees apply.

MEDICINES/MEDICAL WASTE

Return Unwanted Medicines (the RUM Project) to any pharmacy for free and safe disposal or call 1300 650 835. Residents can drop off syringes and dialysis material for free to MOST pharmacies, where they are disposed of safely and correctly. Before delivering your syringes to the pharmacy, ensure they are in a proper plastic sharps container (available from either Diabetes Australia/MS Society or a needle and syringe exchange outlet), or are in a rigid plastic drink container with a screw top (milk bottle, coke bottle or juice bottle).

MILK CRATES

Every day, approximately 2,000 milk crates are taken out of the Dairy Farmers system – which equates to 60,000 a month, 720,000 a year or over 650 semi-trailer loads full!

Dairy Farmers is currently running a Milk Crate Recovery Program in NSW. The aim of the campaign is to return as many of their crates back into the system, limit the number of crates taken out for unauthorised use and reduce the number of crates Dairy Farmers is required to purchase in order to replace the ones that have been taken out.

If you have milk crates you wish to dispose of (or report where you have seen crates), call Dairy Farmers on 1800 883 534 or email milkcrates@dairyfarmers.com.au. Dairy Farmers will then arrange for the crates to be picked up.

MOBILE PHONES

Since 1999, over 260 tonnes of mobile phone handsets, batteries and accessories have been collected for recycling in Australia. Recycling mobile phones can produce nickel (used to produce stainless steel), cadmium (a component of new batteries), plastics and small amounts of gold and copper.

The Australian Mobile Telephone Association is currently running a Mobile Phone Industry Recycling Program. They are collecting old mobile phones and batteries at over 1600 phone retail outlets around Australia. Phones and batteries that are dropped off by the public will be melted down and recycled into new products.

mobile phone

Locations for disposal of old mobile phones include:

Battery World
Location: New Lake Entrance Road, Shellharbour
Telstra Shop
Location: Shellharbour Square
Vodafone
Location: Shellharbour Square
Optus World
Location: Shellharbour Square

Mobile phones can also be dropped off at Kiama Municipal Council through the MobileMuster Program. A collection box is located at Kiama Council's Administration Building, 11 Manning Street, Kiama. Over 90% of the materials in mobile phones can be recovered and used as raw materials for new products.

N

NAPPIES

Disposable nappies CANNOT be recycled. They should be placed in the garbage bin. Every year millions of disposable nappies are sent to landfill, making a massive environmental impact.

Alternatives are nappy wash services or reusable cloth nappies. For further information on other options to disposable nappies such as cloth nappies visit, www.natureschild.com.au.

NEEDLES

See Medicines/Medical Waste and Sharps/Needles/Syringes.

O

OIL

Around 500 million litres of lubricating oil is sold in Australia each year. While some engines, such as two-stroke lawn mower engines burn oil completely, others like motor vehicle engines and machinery produce large volumes of used oil that can be reclaimed and reused. Industry and the community generate at least 250 million litres of used oil in Australia each year.

Disposing of used oil the wrong way has the potential to pollute land, water and infrastructure, so we need to recover and recycle as much of it as possible. Consider that it takes only one litre of oil to contaminate one million litres of water and a single automotive oil change produces 4 to 5 litres of used oil.

Used oil, or ‘sump oil’ as it is sometimes called, should not be thrown away. Although it gets dirty, used oil can be used as an industrial burner fuel or as hydraulic oil, or incorporated into other products, or refined back into new lubricating oil.

Minnamurra Recycling Depot provides free disposal of waste oils including, car and cooking oil.

P

PAINT

Paint can be collected in the annual household chemical collection. To find out the dates of household chemical collections in your region visit: www.cleanout.com.au. Also view the latest information booklet.

Large quantities of paint can be taken to Cleanaway located at Lot 3 Berkeley Road Unanderra Phone: 4272 4166.

PAINT TINS

Empty and clean paint tins can be placed into your recycling bin.

Paint tins are also accepted at Shellharbour City Council Waste and Recycling Depot, Buckleys Road, Dunmore, although the paint needs to be hardened and not in liquid form. To do this just leave the lid off and allow the paint to dry of its own accord. Or, you can purchase a product from Bunnings, Waste Paint Hardener and this will cater for small or large amounts of paint.

PAPER

The following items are recyclable and can be placed in your paper/cardboard recycling bin.

Drawings (on paper)
Computer cards
Invoices/forms
Manilla Folders
Envelopes
Computer printouts (no carbon)
Photocopy paper
Cardboard
Writing pads

PLASTIC BAGS

Australians dump 4000 recyclable plastic bags into landfills every minute. It takes 36,850 tonnes of plastic to produce 6.9 billion plastic bags.

Plastic bags are accepted at most supermarkets for recycling. Be careful to check that plastic bags are accepted at the recycling bins, they usually only accept the supermarket style shopping bag (HDPE), not the heavier bags used by other retailers (LDPE). Ask the store about its policy on recycling and packaging.

PUBLIC PLACE LITTER BINS

Council has adopted a policy to address the illegal disposal of domestic, rural, business, commercial, industrical, building construction and demolition waste in public place litter bins. The policy applies to all public places, Council facilities, streets, parks and reserves, and other areas where public place litter bins are located in the Municipality.

PLASTICS

Australians consume more than 1.3 million tones of plastic every year, more than 71 kg for every person. Manufacturing plastics from recycled materials uses 30% of the energy required to make plastic products from fossil fuels.

To determine if the plastic item is or isn't recyclable, do the CRUSH test!

Rigid Plastic

If you CANNOT crush the item, place it in the YELLOW lidded recycling bin (ie all rigid plastics).

If you CAN crush the plastic item, and it returns to its original shape, place it in the YELLOW lidded recycling bin.

Plastic Film & Wrappers

If you CAN crush the plastic item and it remains crushed - place it in the RED lidded garbage bin (ie plastic film clind wrap, chip packs, bread and biscuit wrappers).

POLYSTYRENE (EPS)

Polystyrene CANNOT be recycled through your yellow lidded recycling bin. It MUST BE placed in the red lidded garbage bin.

S

SHARPS/NEEDLES/SYRINGES

While injecting equipment is used by drug users, many people rely on using needles, lances or syringes to maintain their own health or that of a family member. Injecting equipment is also used by pet and livestock owners or vets. For health and safety reasons, the correct disposal of this waste type is obviously extremely important.

Your sharps must be secured in a strong puncture resistant container, such as an Australian Standard Sharps container.

Sharps must NOT be placed in your yellow lidded recycling bin or red lidded garbage bin.

Please dispose of your sharps at authorised collection points such as:

Priceline Pharmacy Kiama
Location: 118 Terralong Street Kiama
Phone: 4232 1046
Priceline will accept your sharps and also hand out sharps disposal units for home use. Call Priceline for further information.

Gerringong Pharmacy
Location: 113 Fern Street Gerringong
Phone: 4234 1333
Gerringong Pharmacy will accept your sharps and also hand out sharps disposal units for home use. Call Gerringong Pharmacy for further information.

Needle Clean Up Hotline
Provides information about removing discarded needles and syringes from public places.
Freecall 1800 633 353

STEEL CANS

Steel cans that are accepted for recycling include food cans, coffee, oil, paint and aerosol cans, bottle tops and jam jar lids.

What to do:

Rinse the can thoroughly.
Place the lids inside the can. (Place bottle tops and jam jar lids inside as well)
Press the can flat near the top of the can. (This saves space and prevents injury to those sorting).
Place the cans in your yellow lidded recycling bin.

To find out more, please visit: http://www.cansmart.org/.

SUMP OIL

See Oil.

T

TIMBER

Timber is one of the most renewable and ‘earth friendly’ materials.