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Welcome to the Recycle Right Newsletter
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SMRC ENewsletter
FREO LAUNCHES REVERSE VENDING MACHINE

Pic: A Melville Primary student places a can in the RVM.

Earlier this month, the City of Fremantle launched an exciting new initiative that rewards people for recycling their waste – a Reverse Vending Machine (RVM).

The RVM dispenses reward vouchers for the deposit of empty cans or plastic drink bottles; an initiative that aims to encourage visitors to recycle their waste, promote local businesses and keep the streets of Fremantle clean. With a capacity of up to 2,000 items per bin, the RVM project will play a role in reducing the amount of plastic making its way into landfill and the marine environment.

The City was recently awarded a Recycling Community Grant by Keep Australia Beautiful to fund the program’s first year of implementation which will be trialled in Fremantle until 2018.
 

FAST FACTS: BUYING IN BULK


DID YOU KNOW?

Every year, every single person in Perth generates around 2.5 tonnes of household waste.*

Buying dry food in bulk is one of the easiest ways to reduce your waste footprint by avoiding excess packaging.

Buying in bulk is also cheaper. On average bulk food purchases are significantly lower priced than individually packaged goods.


WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Bring your own reusable containers. Save your glass jars, cardboard boxes, paper bags or invest in some quality containers.

You can buy in bulk from Perth suppliers such as Kakulas Sister and Kakulas Brothers, Manna Wholefoods and Loose Produce.

Don’t forget to bring your reusable shopping bags!

*Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics
X-RAYS?

Yes. A small amount of valuable silver can be recovered from x-ray slides.

Simply return your slides to the Radiological Clinic where you received your x-rays, free of charge, minus the reports and patient records that may also be in the envelope.

Alternatively, x-rays can be dropped off free of charge or sent via mail to Ecocycle Australia and Quantum Technical Services.

For address details and your A-Z of recycling, visit recycleright.wa.gov.au or download the app.
MAINTENANCE TEAM REMOVE 'FUR BALL'

Pics: Maintenance team members removing large fur ball within digestor.

It’s important to remember that the contents of your green-topped bin are composted and to never place contaminates such as broken glass, wire or metal in with organic material. Recently the Regional Resource Recovery Centre’s (RRRC) maintenance team removed a four metre long ‘fur ball’ from deep within one of the four large digesters found at the Waste Composting Facility (WCF).

The ‘fur ball’ consisted of a tangle of wire, plastic, hoses and large pieces of fabric that cannot be composted. The sheer mass of the jumble obstructed the efficiency of the digesters and required a great deal of effort to remove.

The WCF digesters breakdown organic material in an anaerobic composting system and are the largest in the southern hemisphere, reaching 67m long and 4.6m wide. Each cylinder is rotated by a powerful hydraulic system. The composting process creates an average temperature of around 50-60 ºC.

After passing through the digester the material travels through a series of processes and concludes its journey as nutrient rich compost to be used on agricultural land in WA.

58% of the contents of green-topped bins is recovered through this process, saving valuable material from landfill.

JOHN CURTIN COLLEGE SCIENCE VISIT

Pics: Recycle Right’s Emma Baker making paper with John Curtin College Year 7s.

Recently Education Officer Emma Baker visited John Curtin College of the Arts to talk waste and conduct recycling craft activities with the Year 7 Science classes. Students couldn’t wait to find out how their paper had turned out after the break and took away valuable lessons about sustainability and recycling.

Teacher Peta Scorer was pleased to report that students are now taking recycling out of plastic bags and no longer placing lids on milk bottles.

To find out how a Recycle Right presentation or activity session fits in with your curriculum, please contact Emma on 9256 9528 or via email: tours@smrc.com.au

RECYCLE RIGHT APP - FRESH UPDATES


We’re happy to announce that the Recycle Right app was recently updated. The newest version offers a wide range of improvements and will greatly aid users to recycle right.
 

A key feature of the upgrade is the inclusion of information for councils using a three bin waste system. Now residents in Stirling, Cottesloe, Bayswater and Cambridge councils will be able to access listings and locations specific to their region.

Other improvements include an expanded list of items within the A-Z of recycling. Each listing is now paired with an icon, increasing accessibility and visibility.

The app also offers a larger number of drop-off points based on your location as well as information about plastic symbols. Check your app is updated by looking for icons in the A-Z of Recycling or to manually update visit the App Store or Google Play.

STRATEGIC WASTE MANAGEMENT PLAN


On Monday 7 September the SMRC held a briefing session for member local governments to discuss the draft recommendations from the Strategic Waste Management Plan.


The Plan was presented by Mike Richie and Tiffany Key from MRA Consultants.

With new sustainable waste management alternatives available, the Plan considers future options to improve SMRC performance at a lower cost.

The Plan is also the first step in a process to improve the sustainability and performance of SMRC waste practices to achieve the State’s waste diversion targets.

The Plan’s recommendations were also discussed at the SMRC Strategic Plan workshop on 24 September.

A copy of the draft Strategic Waste Management Plan is available on the SMRC website.
CALENDAR – UPCOMING EVENTS
RECYCLE RIGHT AT PERTH ROYAL SHOW
26 September to 3 October

Interested in knowing more about how you can recycle right at home?

Or would you like to bring your kids along to take part in our free, fun recycling workshops?

For the first week of school holidays the Recycle Right team, supported by the Waste Authority, will be at the Royal Show to promote recycling and sustainable living. You can find the Recycle Right marquee in the Carter Precinct.

Date: 26 Sept to 3 Oct
Time: 10am-3pm daily

recycleright.wa.gov.au/recycle-right-at-perth-royal-show-2015/
GARAGE SALE TRAIL
24 October

Garage Sale Trail is one big day of garage sales happening right across Australia.

Now in its fifth year, the award winning Garage Sale Trail is Australia’s biggest REUSE event. Everyone can get involved and it’s free for sellers and shoppers.

garagesaletrail.com.au
NATIONAL RECYCLING WEEK
9-15 November

The overall aim for National Recycling Week is to increase the environmental benefits, including greater tonnage and less contamination of kerbside, industrial and community recycling programs. For a full listing of events visit the Recycling Week website.

recyclingweek.planetark.org/events

FINDBINS

Looking for a charity bin?

Simple.

Findbins makes donating clothing to charities simple by providing a searchable directory of your local clothing bins, stores and other services.

Charities can use findbins.com to create awareness of their clothing bins and services, get feedback from the people who use them and collect donations.

Visit findbins.com for more information.
HOSES

Neither bin! Hoses of any kind should never be placed in your green or yellow-topped bin. Hoses wrap around the moving machinery at the recycling facility and cause mechanical problems.

Hoses should be stored safely at home and put on the verge at the time of your junk verge collection.

For your A-Z of recycling, visit recycleright.wa.gov.au or download the app.

COMPOST-A-PAK COMPOSTABLE LINERS

There is a big difference between biodegradeable and compostable classifications. It’s important to know that biodegradable plastics will be broken down by micro-organisms such as bacteria and fungi over a period of time. However, there is no requirement for removing “toxic residue” or for the time period needed to biodegrade.

To be classified as compostable a product must be biodegradable, must disintegrate in compost, and must not produce any toxic material.

There are many compostable products such as bin liners that can be used as an alternative to disposable items and reduce your waste footprint.

Compost-A-Pak compostable bin liners are designed to break down within weeks within a normal compost environment similar to other organic waste. Drop into the SMRC offices in Booragoon to pick up a sample pack.

Readers of the Recycle Right eNews are able to save 20% off orders when using the code Composta on their online store at checkout.
sourceseparationsystems.com.au
SEE WHAT HAPPENS TO YOUR WASTE

We run free tours of the Regional Resource Recovery Centre from Monday to Friday and once a month on a Saturday for anyone interested in understanding exactly what happens after the vergeside bin collection.


Schools, community groups and individuals are welcome and bookings are essential.

The next community tour dates open to families and individuals are:

Saturday 3 October
Wednesday 7 October
Saturday 7 November

Other dates can be arranged for groups. To discuss your tour requirements, please contact Emma Baker on 9256 9528 or tours@smrc.com.au

COMMUNITY ADVISORY GROUP

Community Advisory Group

If you would like to join the CAG or learn more about what they do please contact them on the details below.

Please email smrccag@gmail.com or write to them at
SMRC Community Advisory Group,
PO Box 1501, Booragoon WA 6154
SMRC Member Council Logos
SMRC Member Council Logos
To provide feedback or request an accessible version of this document please contact us.

Copyright © 2015 Resource Recovery Group, All rights reserved.


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