Ballina Shire Council is urging residents to keep recycling after staff watched a television story on the weekend.
Unlike the problem in the 60 Minutes story, which exposed the issue of plastics being dumped in Malaysia – Samala Heart, Council’s Waste Education Officer did want to clarify that recyclables collected in Ballina Shire are sent to reputable processors who recycle and resell the materials responsibly.
‘Plastics collected in Ballina Shire and transported to the Materials Recovery Facility in Lismore that can be recycled – PET plastic, HDPE plastic and hard plastics – are sent to Australian Recycled Plastics in Narrabri for reprocessing.
Ms Heart said council asks residents not to feel discouraged by this type of media and continue doing all they can to follow our #RecycleRight routines for household recycling.
‘The Materials Recovery Facility in Lismore allocates extensive resources to ensure materials are sorted, separated and contamination-free so they can be processed responsibly. The Northern Rivers is a very waste-conscious community and we are diligent about making sure everything that can be recycled, is recycled.’
‘We can all make a difference by following our local recycling rules so we have clean, contamination-free recycling streams.’
Ms Heart said there was no denying governments globally were grappling with how to cope with increasing volumes of waste and recycling. ‘The best thing local residents can do is look at avoiding waste altogether.
‘Limiting waste in our daily lives is something we can all commit to that’s tangible and has real impacts on our environment.
‘We encourage people to use reusable bags, cups, water bottles and straws; look for products with less packaging; say no to plastic wherever possible; and use storage containers instead of things like cling wrap and sandwich bags.’
‘The process of looking at your household waste and making a commitment to reducing what you use can actually be a lot of fun. And it’s a wonderful thing to do with children that instils a waste wise message for life.’
For more information, visit Ballina Shire Council’s website ballina.nsw.gov.au for tips to #RecycleRight.
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