The right place for your problem waste.
We all love to make a new year’s resolution or two but one that is definitely worth putting on your list is to ‘find the right place for your problem waste’!
Household batteries, mobile phones, eye glasses and other items can be recycled or disposed of safely, if you drop them in at one of Clarence Valley Council’s Community Recycling Stations or CRS.
To make it more convenient for Clarence Valley residents to recycle small quantities of the above items without having to make a trip to one of the regions Community Recycling Centres or CRC, which are located at the Grafton Regional Landfill and the Maclean Waste Transfer & Recycle Centre, they can instead be dropped off for free at a local CRS, located at:
Grafton, Maclean and Iluka libraries;
Treelands Drive Community Centre, Yamba;
Bunnings Store, Grafton.
North East Waste CRC Project Coordinator, Karen Rudkin said, “This free CRS drop off provides a great opportunity to recycle all those household batteries that so often end up in kerbside bins and then landfills where they can cause fires.
An estimated 46 tonnes of household batteries are incorrectly placed in bins across the Northern Rivers every year and the Xmas & New Year holidays can be the worst time, what with all those fairy lights, toys and gadgets on the go”.
“Using re-chargeables is always the best option for reducing battery waste but when you do need to dispose of batteries, keep them out of landfill by dropping them in at your nearest CRS or a CRC if it’s not out of your way. Old batteries are processed here in Australia and most of the extracted materials are used to make new items such as mobile phones”. Ms Rudkin said.
To find out about other problem waste that can be dropped off for free visit www.newaste.org.au/crc or contact Clarence Valley Council – Grafton 6643 0888 or Maclean 6645 5225.
This is a Waste Less Recycle More initiative funded by the waste levy.
Get your organics in the green bin.
Sorting and storing food waste can be tricky, but there is a solution. Using a compostable bin liner in your kitchen caddy may be the answer to preventing unwanted odours and flies, particularly in these warmer months or when you have little other green waste to blend.
Compostable bin liners are available for purchase at some hardware outlets throughout the Clarence Valley and from Ecovend vending machines in Coles Mall and Grafton Shoppingworld, and Yamba Fair shopping centre. These bin liners meet the Australian Standards for composting and have been designed for use in our organics recovery facility. You may use other compostable bags in your kitchen caddy but they must meet the Australian Standard AS 4736, be lime green and be labelled compostable. Do not use other bags as an alternative, even if they are labelled biodegradable or display a recycling symbol. Biodegradable and compostable are not the same.
Should you need a replacement kitchen caddy, these can be purchased at Clarence Valley Council’s Grafton and Maclean offices.
Of course, if ‘nude’ or wrapping food waste in newspaper is working for you, continue to use your system or a combination of both. Our aim is to keep food and garden waste out of landfill, which, in turn lowers methane production, keeps our carbon footprint small, extends the life of our landfill and saves money/prevents an increase in waste management fees. So, however you do it, get your organics in the green bin!