PEOPLE in Hinchinbrook are being urged to take more care with what they put in recycling bins – or they will be hit in the pocket.
More than 30% of material collected from the yellow-lid bins ends up being dumped because of contamination.
Dirty nappies, food scraps and other waste is being mixed with cardboard, paper, plastic bottles and cans ā which results in all of it getting tossed into landfiil.
James Stewart (40), Director of Infrastructure and Utility Services at Hinchinbrook Council, said: āItās money. Itās dollars. Itās going to start costing us – itās a huge problem.
āWe are not doing enough is the simple answer. The biggest problem is contamination of the recycled kerbside bins. The stuff going in those bins is unbelievable.
āWeāve seen loads where dirty nappies have been thrown in, food scraps, you name it and I am sure it has probably ended up in a recycled bin. It is getting so bad that entire loads have to be thrown into landfill.ā
āOur contamination rate is approximately 30%.ā
āItās money. Itās dollars. Itās going to start costing us – itās a huge problem,’ James Stewart (40), Director of Infrastructure and Utility Services at Hinchinbrook Council.
This week an entire truck load was turned back at Townsville and emptied into the landfill in Ingham.
A $4m āmajor projectā is underway to make the ‘final cap’ on the first pit at the Warrens Hill landfill site water-tight.
The second pit will be full in two years, after which it will need to be capped.
A third and final pit still needs to be dug.
Hinchinbrook tax payers’ rates are being used to pay for the project as there is no funding from the state or federal governments.
āThe state government has a policy target of zero waste to landfill by 2050.
‘However, this problem is sooner for Hinchinbrook because we may only have 10 years left of available space at Warrens Hill – by 2030 it will be full’ – Council chief James Stewart.
āThatās why recycling is so important. The more we can reduce the load on our existing waste facility the better. Too much material is needlessly going into the ground.ā
A monetary return of 10 cent per bottle or can is available through the container refund scheme ā but many are continuing to dump them with the general waste.
āA lot of people cannot be bothered saving up their cans and they just throw them in the bin,ā said Mr Stewart. āItās sad.
āI would say approximately 10% of the loads are containers that are eligible for a refund – people are literally throwing money in the bin.ā
āCouncil staff emptying the bins around town and in parks have recovered approximately 1,000 cans or bottles a week – that is $100 a week,ā James Stewart.
The council chief has championed the efforts of local Hinchinbrook schools St Teresaās College and Ingham State High, who have launched campaigns to start separating cans and bottles from general waste.
Ingham State Primary School has been running a similar campaign for the past 12 months, which has seen the students benefit from the profits of their recycling efforts through the cash for containers scheme.
āItās fantastic! It is great to see the students getting stuck into recycling and earning money at the same time.’
āThatās something Iād like to see a lot more of for sure’ – Council chief James Stewart on schools recycling bottles and cans.
āPromoting recycling is a great message for everyone to get involved with, young and old.ā
āI think the change of mindset starts with the younger ones and hopefully the older ones take a bit of notice and do the right thing.
āHopefully all of the others in the area prick their ears up and think more about recycling themselves.ā
For the many people who do recycle, washing out the bottles and removing lids is important.
Materials get sorted by hand at a centre in Townsville.
āThink about it, if you were the one emptying out that bin and sorting through that material, how would you like to receive it?ā Mr Stewart said.
āI think a lot of people are unsure of what can be recycled.
‘There is plenty of information available on councilās website.
‘If you are ever unsure if something can or cannot be recycled ā put it in the red bin ā rather than potentially adding to the contamination rate and putting it in the yellow bin.ā
For more information about recycling, go to the Townsville City Council website.
Dear IDP, I like many must be very saddened after reading this story and our community’s sad record on recycling. For others who want to help the Council and our community to increase recycling, reduce land fill and the negative environmental impacts that our waste has, please encourage the Council to join the the Compost Revolution program – https://compostrevolution.com.au/councils/ . This program rewards citizens of participating councils for reducing the amount of household food waste taken to landfill, by offering discounts on Bokashi composting supplies etc. Less green waste in landfills reduces methane emissions and possible contamination of groundwater from our landfill and encourages composting in our community. The Bokashi system composts food waste, including meat etc, and produces both compost and liquid fertiliser to help in the growing of vegetables and gardens in general. Opportunities such as these have multiple benefits to our community and to our environment. I wrote to the Hinchinbrook Shire Council in May this year, asking that they consult and consider this option for our community. I am sure they would like to know if more Hinchinbrook citizens support this idea.
Thank you for the opportunity to comment.