Projects Archives - Re-Think Waste

North West TAS: Clean out those unwanted household chemicals!

Household Hazardous Waste: free drop-off events

If you live in the Burnie, Central Coast, Circular Head, Devonport, Kentish, Latrobe, or Waratah-Wynyard council areas and you’ve got old or unwanted household and garden chemicals stored at home, now is the time to safely send them on their way.

FREE drop-off events are taking place at four locations across the region on Saturday 17th April and Sunday 18th April 2021.

Clean out those cupboards and sheds and bring any of these items along for safe disposal:

Solvents and household cleaners
Floor care products
Ammonia-based cleaners
Pesticides and herbicides
Poisons
Pool chemicals
Hobby chemicals
Acids and alkalis

Pack items in a sturdy box for transport in the boot of your car or ute tray. Make sure individual containers are no larger than 20 kilograms or 20 litres in size.

NOTE: the following items are NOT included in this free special service – motor oil, asbestos, pharmaceuticals, farm vet chemicals, fire extinguishers, ammunition and explosives, and chemicals from commercial businesses. Contact your council for disposal advice for these items.

> > For safety reasons, no early or late drop-offs will be accepted. Talk with your neighbours or friends to arrange shared delivery if you are unable to make it at the specified times.

Saturday 17 April 2021

10.00am – 2.00pm
Burnie Waste Management Centre
289 Mooreville Road, Burnie

AND

10.00am – 3.00pm
White Hills Waste Transfer Station
22475 Bass Highway, Smithton

Sunday 18 April 2021

11.00am – 3.00pm
Devonport Waste Transfer Station
Bay Drive, off Mersey Road, Spreyton

AND

12.00pm – 4.00pm
Sheffield Waste Transfer Station
Sheffield Main Road, Sheffield

No registrations are required. Simply visit any of the sites with your items for disposal between the times shown. Choose the site and times most convenient for you.

Thank you for being a good sort and helping to keep hazardous waste out of landfill and kerbside recycling.

These Household Hazardous Waste events are supported by the Cradle Coast Waste Management Group waste levy.

Grants fund improvements at Cradle Coast waste facilities

More than $109 000 in grant money has been used by Cradle Coast councils over the past 12 months to improve facilities at Waste Transfer Stations and Resource Recovery Centres across the region.

Cradle Coast Waste Services facilitated the grant program with funds from the region’s voluntary waste levy. Levy funds are used by Cradle Coast Waste Management Group member-councils to re-invest in services, infrastructure, and education campaigns to increase the recovery of re-usable resources and reduce the amount of waste that goes to landfill.

Mel Pearce administered the grants program and was pleased the funds were used to improve the accessibility and safety of waste transfer stations in seven Local Government areas.
“From litter reduction fencing and signage, to e-waste collection shelters and concrete pads to prevent pollution run-off, the improvements all contribute to better waste management services for local communities,” said Mrs Pearce.

“That is the purpose of the waste levy, to ensure that funding goes back to communities for facility upgrades and to keep pace with growing recycling services such as electronic waste and hazardous waste including tyres, batteries and unused paint.”

A total of $109,228 was issued via the 2019/20 grant program with $14 000 allocated to Burnie City; $20 455 to Central Coast; $7 350 to Circular Head; $16 223 to Devonport City; $22 800 to Kentish (across both Sheffield and Wilmot Waste Transfer Stations); $12 400 to Latrobe; and $16 000 to Waratah-Wynyard Councils.
Improvements included:
• Concrete pads for e-waste, battery and paint collection bays in Burnie.
• Toilet and washing facilities at Preston.
• Boundary fence installation in Circular Head.
• Shelter construction for the e-waste collection bay in Devonport.
• Safety barrier installation at waste drop-off areas, new signage and upgrading damaged bin waste flaps at Sheffield.
• Safety barrier installation at waste drop-off areas and new signage at Wilmot.
• Safety barrier installation at waste drop-off areas, new signage and upgrading damaged bin waste flaps in Latrobe; and
• Constructing a concrete hardstand for tyre storage in Waratah-Wynyard.

The next round of the grants program will be available to the seven councils in the Cradle Coast Waste Management Group, with funding applications due to close on the 7th of October 2020.

: Kentish

: Waratah-Wynyard

: Latrobe

: Burnie

: Circular Head

Kerbside Recycling Bin Checks in the Cradle Coast

The sixth round of residential recycling bin assessments and contamination education for residents was completed in Burnie City, Circular Head, Central Coast, Devonport City, Kentish, Latrobe and Waratah Wynyard municipal areas between 17 September – 12 November 2018 and 29 April – 25 May 2019. The next round of recycling bin checks will commence in the Cradle Coast region from 23 September 2019.

In the last round, a total of 11,887 bins were checked in this program that was coordinated by the Cradle Coast Waste Management Group. On average, recycling bins across the region were estimated to be filled to 74% of their capacity (down by 2% from last assessment period).

Of the kerbside bins assessed, 36% contained some form of contamination.
Soft plastic was the most common contaminant found with 129 occurrences recorded per 1000 bins.
Recycling packed inside plastic bags was the second most commonly occurring contaminant, followed by garbage and/or garbage in bags, foil food bags (a form of soft plastic) and foam meat trays.

Bins that contained more than 10% total contamination recorded a ‘fail’ result. Across the region, 6% of bins failed the assessment. Residents were provided with recycling information and customised advice relating to their bin contents. 9% were classified as ‘Improvement Required’, where contaminants made up between 5 – 10% of the bin content. 85% of bins passed the assessment, recording less than 5% contamination.

A summary of the 2018/19 assessment program, including the full list of contaminants and their occurrence rates, can be downloaded here:

Kerbside Recycling Bin Assessment Summary - Cradle Coast 2018/19

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Don’t leave your good waste habits at home

The Cradle Coast Waste Management Group is enlisting the help of visitors to North West Tasmania in an effort to clean up illegally dumped rubbish.

Coastal reserves and nature reserves are common locations for dumping rubbish and are also popular with tourists. To make it easy for visitors to know where to dispose of their waste and recycling and to report any findings of dumped rubbish, the Waste Management Group created a collectable series of postcards with information on waste transfer station locations and contact details for the local council.

Seven cards were produced for each of the Cradle Coast Waste Management Group’s member council areas and are being distributed through visitor information centres.

Signs are also being installed encouraging visitors to not leave their good recycling habits at home and to report sightings of dumped rubbish. Increased surveillance and reporting of dumping hotspots will hopefully encourage offenders to think twice and do the right thing.

This latest campaign against illegal dumping follows from a statewide project to raise awareness of the many waste services available from government, not-for-profit groups and commercial providers to responsibly dispose of bulky, unwanted items. Find out about these disposal options in the Cradle Coast here.

Northern Tasmanian Resource Recovery & Waste Minimisation Grants Program 2019/20

The Northern Tasmanian Waste Management Group (NTWMG) Resource Recovery and Waste Minimisation Grants program will allocate grants to eligible organisations in Northern Tasmania that are working to:

decrease the amount of waste sent to landfill from core activities;
and/or
increase the recovery of resources from waste that would otherwise be lost to landfill.

This funding program responds to the growing financial pressures associated with meeting landfill management, environmental and rehabilitation standards, as well as the need to reduce the strain on landfill space and the environment by improving recycling and the reuse of materials.

Financial support will be provided for eligible project costs associated with procuring infrastructure or educational materials necessary to improve waste management practices in the northern Tasmanian region including Break O’Day, George Town, Launceston City, Meander Valley, Northern Midlands and West Tamar Council areas.

A total funding allocation of $70,000 is available under the 2019/20 Resource Recovery and Waste Minimisation Grants program.

Applications are open until 3.00pm 24th September 2019.

OPEN THE GRANT GUIDELINES AND ONLINE APPLICATION FORM HERE.

Free Hazardous Waste Recycling and Disposal in the Cradle Coast

Have you been to your council’s waste transfer station or resource recovery centre lately?

It’s not a tip. It’s THE place to take unwanted items for recycling. Every council in the Cradle Coast Waste Management Group has at least one; so you don’t have to travel far (Circular Head, Waratah-Wynyard, Burnie, Central Coast, Devonport, Latrobe and Kentish Council areas).

These centres now also accept for FREE and safe recycling or disposal:

light globes and fluoro tubes
paint and paint tins
household batteries and
electronic waste including old TVs, printers, computers, computer accessories and electrical cables.

Don’t risk harming the environment by throwing them in your garbage bin.
Search for your local Council on our home page, or call your Council to find out more.

Dumping is not the answer: disposal options in the Cradle Coast

Safely disposing of big loads of household rubbish isn’t as costly or difficult as you might think.

Local councils, not-for-profit groups and commercial businesses all provide a variety of disposal services for bulky, unwanted items. You can give away unwanted items through online networks such as freecycle.org, gumtree or Buy, Sell, Swap pages on Facebook. Often people take these items to repair or repurpose.
There are also commercial recyclers in Tasmania that can take unwanted goods for a fee – search online to find businesses near you (and some are happy to travel and collect materials too).

TYRES
Tyres can be dropped off at most tip/waste management centres for recycling. A fee applies depending on the size of the tyre (usually around $5 – $10 each).
Many car service centres offer a tyre disposal service when they fit new tyres. This fee is often cheaper and more convenient than taking the tyres to the tip yourself.

CARS
Car bodies can be sold for scrap metal recycling and can be collected for free. Contact a car wrecker or ‘cash for car’ service for a quote and to arrange drop off or collection. Some companies pay approximately $50 for a car that they collect or $70 for a car that is dropped off.

GENERAL RUBBISH
Disposal of general rubbish at any of the Cradle Coast tips can cost from approximately $10. Some councils provide tip tickets to residents in their rates notices. Contact your local Council to enquire about disposal fees at your local waste transfer station.
Excess household recyclables such as cans, bottles and cardboard can be dropped off for free at most transfer stations.
Any reusable items can dropped off at a tip shop including Burnie, Central Coast and Spreyton, for resale or reuse.

GREEN WASTE
Green waste can be disposed of at your local waste transfer station.
It is fairly simple to home compost some garden waste such as lawn clippings, leaf litter and small prunings. There’s a Rethink Waste Tasmania fact sheet on Home Composting that you can use as a guide (see our Resources page for details).

FURNITURE
Furniture in usable condition can be sold or donated. Popular online classifieds for the sale of 2nd hand goods include Gumtree and Facebook Marketplace.
Many charity stores accept furniture and some such as the Salvation Army and St Vincent de Paul offer a free collection service.
Tip shops also accept reusable furniture.

The largest Waste Transfer Stations in Circular Head, Waratah-Wynyard, Burnie, Central Coast, Devonport, Kentish and Latrobe municipal areas all accept electronic waste (e.g. televisions, computers, monitors, printers and accessories) for free recycling drop-off.

Finding it difficult to physically move unwanted bulk items?
Commercial operators can be paid to take away unwanted goods. Household goods in usable condition may also be collected by some charities. Items posted on buy/sell/swap sites are also usually collected and may even be re-purposed or repaired.
Talk to a neighbour or friend about sharing a trailer load for disposal. Secure the load for transport and sort the materials in the trailer so they’re grouped together for quick and easy drop-off.

Seen rubbish dumped where it doesn’t belong?
Report dumping hotspots to your local council and together we can find ways to stop waste items from harming Tasmania’s soil, waterways and environment. Report it and let’s get it sorted!

It’s what’s on the inside that matters – spread the word on excess packaging

When rethinking waste in Tasmania, we’re aiming to avoid or reduce waste being created in the first place. Where it can’t be avoided, then the goal is to reuse or recycle whatever is possible.

Tasmania’s three regional Waste Management Groups and their local council members often hear from residents and businesses expressing their disappointment at the amount of unnecessary packaging used on fresh produce and other products, including from online shopping outlets.

Good manufacturers and retailers respond to what their customers want, so we’ve created an easy way for Tasmanians to have their views on packaging heard.

Simply download one of these electronic postcards and email to the manufacturer, retailer or supplier.

Spread the word! Ask that they use less and waste less and together we can encourage a positive change.

If you’ve experienced wasteful packaging used on FRESH PRODUCE – here’s a simple message that you can email to the retailer or supplier:

Please Rethink Waste on Fresh Produce

1 file(s) 467.83 KB

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If you’ve experienced wasteful packaging on any OTHER PRODUCTS – here’s another message aimed at those manufacturers or suppliers:

Please Rethink Waste for Products

1 file(s) 543.19 KB

Download

These electronic postcards are in JPG (picture) format and so are also suitable for attaching to the ‘Contact Us’ forms sometimes found on business websites.

Kerbside Recycling Bin Assessments in the Cradle Coast region

Starting: 17 September 2018
Location: Circular Head, Waratah-Wynyard, Burnie City, Central Coast, Devonport City, Latrobe and Kentish Council areas.

Kerbside Recycling Bin Assessments are coordinated by the Cradle Coast Waste Management Group on behalf of its member Councils and take place a couple of times a year in North West Tasmania.

The assessments help tell the Group whether landfill diversion education campaigns are working and where it might need to focus more attention.

If your kerbside recycling bin is randomly selected for assessment, the assessor will check the contents of your bin before it gets collected by the truck. They’re looking for non-recyclable materials, known as contaminants.

The assessment is a great opportunity for you to receive advice on some of the more confusing aspects of recycling such as:
– Foam meat trays can NOT be recycled in your kerbside bin, even if they feature the plastics identification code triangle.
– Paper towel and paper tissues can NOT be recycled in your kerbside bin, they break apart and reduce the quality of other recyclables by sticking to them and causing contamination.
– Foil food bags can NOT be recycled in your kerbside bin, these are made of plastic not aluminium and should be placed in your rubbish bin.
– Soft plastics such as shopping bags, bread bags and biscuit wrappers can NOT be recycled in your kerbside bin. Take soft plastics to participating supermarkets’ collection bins for recycling.

Bins included in the assessment will have a tag placed on their handles, advising of the assessment results and some friendly do’s and don’ts relevant to your kerbside recycling bin contents.

For more advice on what can and can’t be recycled via your kerbside recycling bin, check out this handy guide:

A-Z of Waste & Recycling in North and North West Tasmania

1 file(s) 162.06 KB

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Finding ways to avoid, reduce and reuse waste

The three regional Waste Management Groups have created an awareness raising program to encourage Tasmanians to avoid , reduce and reuse waste.

Tasmanians are pretty good at recycling and although this is a great way to keep waste out of landfill and our environment, there are many other things we can all do to be good sorts and decrease our waste.

It’s important that we try to find ways to reuse and reduce waste, or best of all to avoid generating waste altogether.

Here are some simple ideas being promoted across Tasmania on TV, in newspapers, on radio and social media. Are there one, two or more things you could be doing to rethink waste?

Avoid waste:

Take your travel mug for your next coffee
Refill your drink bottle in place of packaged water
Take your own shopping bags
Choose unpackaged food and products over those with excessive packaging
Use containers instead of plastic wrap for storing left-overs
Say no to plastic straws.

Reduce waste:

Plan ahead and only buy ingredients you need for the week
Choose and maintain household items that will last or can be repaired
Borrow or hire instead of buying if you only need an item for a short time.

Reuse waste:

Post unwanted items online for sale or giveaway, hold a garage sale or swap-meet
Treasure hunt for pre-loved items before buying new – Council tip shops are a great resource too
Cook up the next meal from left-overs
Find new uses for every-day items, such sewing old clothes or fabric items into reusable bags.

If you haven’t yet seen the Avoid – Reduce – Reuse – Recycle commercials on TV in Tasmania, you can watch them on our Rethink Waste YouTube channel.