Recycling
Recycling isn’t just good, its brilliant for our future! Every time you toss the right materials in the recycling bin; you’re contributing to the transformation of waste into useful, repurposed products. That’s the magic of a circular economy – less waste, more valuable items. Saving resources and cutting down on landfill.
Benefits of recycling include:
- New life for materials: Why let good stuff go to waste? Recycling breathes new life into materials, keeping them in the loop and out of the landfill.
- Environmental impact: Every recycled item means less digging, less draining, and way more saving of water, energy, and our beautiful environment.
What goes in your yellow-lid bin?
Glass Containers - beverage bottle, food jars, jam jars, sauce bottles, vitamin bottles (keep lids on).
Metal (Steel and Aluminium) - Empty deodorant cans, empty fly spray cans, soft drinks cans, aluminium foil and trays, food tin cans, pet food tin cans.
Hard Plastic – Firm and flexible containers, shampoo bottles, detergent bottles, takeaway containers, ice cream containers, cordial bottles, laundry bottles, milk bottles, sauce bottles, soft drink bottles, yoghurt containers, margarine/butter tubs, juice bottles, biscuit trays.
Paper – Newspaper, magazines, brochures, envelopes, greeting cards, junk mail, office paper, toilet paper rolls, post it notes.
Cardboard – Beer cartons, cereal boxes, egg cartons, cardboard packaging, long-life milk cartons/poppers.
Use the A-Z Recycling Guide or the Waste Wise App to search if an item can be recycled.
Easy tips to remember?
Keep it clean – always rinse containers before placing them in the recycling bin to remove food residue
Keep it loose – Do not place your recyclables in plastic bags as they can entangle machinery at recycling facilities.
Size matters – Ensure items are larger than the palm of your hand; smaller items may fall through sorting equipment and go separately.
Remove lids – Dispose of smaller lids in the waste bin. If larger lids are attached to containers, please remove and recycle them.
Be a change maker – Recycle at a container deposit scheme and get a 10-cent refund for eligible container you return.
Make sorting simple – Keep a separate sorting basket for recyclables in your kitchen, laundry and bathroom.
Putting the wrong materials into your recycling bin leads to contamination, which means entire truckloads of recycling being sent to landfill.
What can't go in the yellow-lid bin
Proper recycling is crucial to prevent contamination. Incorrect items in your recycling bin can lead to entire loads being sent to landfill. Here are some items that cannot be recycled:
Plastic
plastic bags, good packets, soft plastics, other plastic items not from your kitchen, laundry or bathroom.
Waste
Nappies, food waste, polystyrene, ceramics, crockery, bubble wrap, cling wrap, tissues, toothpaste tubes, toothbrushes
Green waste
Grass clippings, rocks, soil, tree stumps
Glass
Drinking glasses, pyrex storage containers, broken glassware, mirrors
Hazardous Materials
Batteries, gas bottles, syringes, chemicals, pesticides, light bulbs, motor oil containers, paint
For more information about battery bins visit - Battery Bins | Gympie Regional Council
Electronic Devices
TVs, laptops, mobile phones, vapes, electronic devices
Other
Clothing, shoes, textiles, wire, scrap metal, toys, coat hangers, ink cartridges
FAQ's - Recycling
Rinsing - do I need to rinse before recycling
Yes – food containers, pizza boxes and all other items need to be empty have food scraps removed before they into the yellow lid bin.
The best option is to always give items a quick rinse. This helps to prevent contamination and ensure that the recycling processes runs smoothly.
Lids on or off - what do I with lids
Take lids off items before putting them in the yellow lid bin and dispose of smaller lids in the general waste bin.
If larger (palm sized) lids are attached to containers, please remove and recycle them separately.
Recycling symbols - which one do I use
Several different packaging labels are used in Australia, and some items with a recycling symbol cannot be recycled in the yellow lid bin. When considering whether an item can go in the yellow lid bin, ask yourself what the item is made from. If the packaging is made from paper, carboard, hard plastic, aluminium and steel or glass, it is likely it can be recycled.
Can any plastic item with a triangle recycling symbol go into our yellow lid bin?
The plastic resin codes (the triangle with a number inside) that are widely used across Australia, indicate the plastic type, not necessarily if it can be recycled.
When considering whether or not an item can go into your yellow lid bin, please refer to the information provided on our Recycling page, and not to the plastic resin code.
Recycling Resources
Enhance your recycling knowledge with our comprehensive resources:
Join us in our mission to recycle right and create a sustainable future for Gympie!