Other items

Polystyrene

Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) is a problematic material that takes hundreds of years to breakdown in landfill. Despite 98% of the plastic packaging being air, EPS takes up large amounts of space in landfills where it can easily be blown away and enter our natural environment.

For residents, polystyrene can be collected separately and taken to the local council recovery centre that recycles this waste. These centres can be found at:

For commercial businesses, private collections should be arranged to collect and recycle this product. The following links may assist further:

Suppliers such as Ecycle http://www.ecyclesolutions.net.au will deliver whitegoods and either collect clean polystyrene from retailers or take polystyrene away after delivery.

Paint Back

Paintback is operating throughout all stages and territories and accepts all paints, primers, sealers, stain and varnishes. Locations and a full list of accepted items can be found at: https://www.paintback.com.au/find-location

Clothes Recycling

Clothing in good condition can be donated to a number of charities. A dedicated tub / bin  is to be provided to ensure fabrics are removed from landfill & able to be recycled appropriately. For clothes that cannot be re-worn, textile recyclers are available Australia wide for public and commercial donators including:

For larger multi-unit developments, a dedicated clothes / textiles bin is to be provided either from a recognised charity or a dedicated collection bin located permanently on site – https://www.bremco.com.au/charity-donation-bin-bmp065/

Clothing Away (NSW ONLY) is a Not for profit organisation that provides a free textile collection ad recycling collection to residential apartments with more than 50 apartments. They offer a free service that delivers a 660L bin and hand collects  via a small van once filled. http://clothingaway.com.au

Upcycle4Better– Collect and recycle clothes, textiles (blankets, linen, pillows, towels), underwear, shoes, sandals, thongs, soft toys

Sports shoes and active lifestyle shoes

Instead of throwing unused sports or similar shoes in the bin, they can now be dropped off at participating retailers for them to be recycled responsibly via the Treadlightly recycling scheme operated by the Australian Sporting Goods Association with support from the federal government through the National Product Stewardship Investment Fund (NPSIF).

Shoe types recycled include:

  • Athletic Lifestyle Shoes
  • Any Sports Branded Shoes
  • Thongs And Slides
  • Football Boots
  • Sneakers
  • Trainers
  • Runners
  • Golf Shoes

Shoes can be dropped off in the designated collection unit at locations all over Australia. The footwear is then collected and sent to a recycling plant for sorting, breakdown and processing in Australia. Reusable components are extracted, including rubber, leather and fibres at the recycling facility. Reclaimed materials are used to manufacture new products such as gym mats, floors and playgrounds.

For collection locations see https://treadlightly.asga.com.au/collection-locations/

 

Sunglasses, eyewear and single use contact lens cases – Opticycle

 

Collection service for hard to recycle items including clothes, any shoes, accessories, textiles – Recycle Smart

 

Nappy / Incontinence pads recycling

DiaperRecycle is a nappy waste collection for recycling service currently available in metropolitan Melbourne. From their website https://diaperrecycle.com/about/:

We’re diverting used disposable nappies from landfills and decreasing greenhouse gas emissions. We’re joining the circular economy and recycling a waste consumer product into other products. Using our process emits 80.6% LESS carbon than putting this waste in landfill!

We can recycle baby diapers through to aged care continence aids. The plastic is for plastic recyclers and we’re using the fibre. Our first product for market is cat litter made from the fibre. Our fibre is also proven to be compostable using industrial composting, but we are concentrating on recycling only.

We aim to build several recycling plants in Australia, and we’re licensing our technology here and overseas. Contact us if you want to know more!

Detox your Home & Chemical CleanOut Events

Sustainability Victoria hosts around 40 pop-up events each year around Victoria in partnership with local councils to drop off unwanted household chemicals.

Highly toxic items should never be placed in rubbish bins, poured down the sink or left out for hard rubbish collections.  They are generally not accepted at waste transfer stations either due to the risk of fire.

You will need to register for each event and prepare your items.

An updated list of locations and times can be found at Sustainability Victoria’s website or at

https://www.sustainability.vic.gov.au/detoxyourhome

 

In NSW the safe way to dispose of potentially household chemicals is at a Household Chemical CleanOut event hosted by the NSW EPA. These events accept a wide range of items beyond jut chemicals including motor fuels, gas bottle, acids, fire extinguishers, smoke detectors and even fluorescent tubes.

A full list of dates, locations and accepted materials can be found at:

https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/your-environment/recycling-and-reuse/household-recycling-overview/household-chemical-cleanout

Other Unwanted Items

Unwanted items, clothes and other consumables can be donated to charities, sold on online or at second-hand local market places if in good condition. If repairs are required, seek out repair community centres for re-purposing.

  1. PlanetARK for a comprehensive listing to each council. https://recyclingnearyou.com.au/councils/
  2. TerraCycle is a national initiative where you can look up where to deposit non-recyclable waste such as contact lenses, coffee capsules, mailing satchels, toothbrushes & tubes. http://www.terracyclemap.com
  3. Recycle Smart collects household items from your house or business if based in Melbourne or Sydney. A reusable shopping bag costs $5 for collection and each collection is minimum 2 bags or $10. Items collected include soft plastics, clothes and textiles, e-waste, batteries, polystyrene, lightbulbs, pharmaceuticals bliseterpacks (via Pharmacycle) etc. For more details see https://www.recyclesmart.com/. Book a collection via their app.
  4. Toys for Joy recycle any brand of pre-loved toys for free with partners Big W & Terracycle. These are for toys that cannot otherwise be donated such as broken parts or just worn out. This avoids more toys in landfill. There are drop off points Australia wide at Big W stores. https://www.bigw.com.au/toys-for-joy

Recycling soap in hospitality venues

Soap Aid is a Melbourne based charity recycling soap from hospitality outlets and distributing recycled soap to people in need.

Pharmacies and hospitals – Blister packs

A blister pack is the name for packaging used to contain tablets dispensed by pharmacies.

Registered pharmacies and hospitals can collect and deliver used blister packs packaging for recycling by Pharmacycle.

To find the nearest pharmacy that collects blister packs for recycling see the link below:

https://www.pharmacycle.com.au/find-a-location