Northern Tasmanian Waste Management Group Archives - Page 3 of 4

Household hazardous waste disposal in Northern Tasmania

Are you spring cleaning ready for summer & have old chemicals in your garden shed or laundry cupboard?

Free household hazardous waste drop off – 16th and 17th September 2017

The drop off is an unregistered service for all residents of northern Tasmania including the Break O Day, Dorset, George Town, Launceston, Meander Valley, Northern Midlands and West Tamar areas, for domestic quantities of household chemicals.

When and Where
9:00am – 4:00pm on 16 September 2017 at the Launceston Waste Centre, recycling shed.
10.00am – 11:30am on 17 September 2017 at the Exeter Waste Transfer Station, Biloo St
1:30pm – 3:30pm on 17 September 2017 at the Longford Waste Transfer Station ,291 Marlborough St.

Chemicals accepted include:

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

Chemicals NOT accepted include:

• Motor oil
• Asbestos
• Pharmaceuticals
• Farm vet chemicals
• Fire extinguishers
• Ammunition & explosives
• Chemicals from commercial businesses

Download our poster to promote these free drop-off events in your workplace, school or community group:

Household Hazardous Waste drop off poster

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Take part in the 2017 Waste NoT Awards

Have you, your school, or your business made an effort to change the way you manage your waste?

The Waste NoT Awards 2017 is now open to schools, individuals and organisations who are improving their waste management practices.

From recycling to re-invention, up-cycling, and education initiatives, the Waste NoT Awards recognise and reward your efforts.

FREE ENTRY. Open to everyone who lives or works, and organisations that operate, within northern Tasmania.

Entries are open from 3 July and close at 5.00pm 31 August 2017.

Waste Not Awards Application Form 2017

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Waste Not Awards 2017 Application Guidelines

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Where do my rubbish and recycling go?

Waste management and recycling don’t end with the bin…they begin!

Big picture - news photo 1 Putting recyclable materials, like bottles or cans, and rubbish in the appropriate bins are just the first step in the safe management of our waste. Some recyclable items will even be converted into new products and materials like newspapers, drinking bottles, or even planes and cars!

The recycling journey begins with items being collected and then brought to the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF). There, they are first sorted by hand and then by machines to be baled and processed. This is why it’s important to avoid putting dangerous or inappropriate materials in the recycling bin. Even a single soft plastic bag can block the whole recycling process!

Waste too has an interesting journey. Landfills are now created with sustainability in mind, meaning they’re designed to control odours and vermin and to avoid water and soil contamination.

The Cradle Coast and Northern Tasmanian Waste Management Groups support facilities that sort, bundle and transport recyclables to processors. They also support landfill and transfer stations that safely dispose of thousands of tonnes of waste. By doing this, they help keep our community and environment healthy.

You can help by being a good sort and taking waste management seriously. Whether it’s at home, at work, at school or anywhere else, make sure that you toss items in the right bins.

To learn more about the waste managing process:

Fact Sheet: Landfill

Fact Sheet: Recycling – Where Does It Go?

Business Tips For Better Waste Management

Or visit our Resources and Links section

Bring a reusable cup for your next takeaway coffee

Tasmanians love their coffee, but the number of single use, disposable cups ending up as litter or in landfill is a growing problem.

Most disposable cups look like they’re made of cardboard and therefore can be recycled. The reality is that takeaway cups are usually lined with plastic film to help make them watertight. This plastic can’t be recycled in Tasmania, so the cups end up in landfill.

Across Australia, around one billion disposable cups are used every year and they are now a major contributor to litter, second only to plastic bottles. If disposable cups end up in our waterways and oceans they add to the big problem of plastic pollution.

So what can you do?

Bring your own reusable cup or mug when ordering your next takeaway hot drink.
There are plenty of stylish and affordable options available, often with lids. You may already have a favourite cup at home that you can use.
Take the time to sit in and enjoy your hot drink, rather than getting a takeaway.
It can be great for you to take a break, and it’s great for the environment too.
If you have to get a takeaway and you don’t have your own reusable cup with you, then say ‘no thanks’ to the lid if it’s not really necessary.
Once finished, put the disposable cup in the garbage bin and NOT the recycling bin. If you do have a lid, place that in the recycling bin.

Changing habits can take time but each time you avoid using a disposable cup you’ll be doing your little bit for Tassie. Now there’s a good sort!

Can soft plastics be recycled?

Often there is a little triangle with a number stamped or printed onto plastic products. This is the Plastics Identification Code (PIC) and it tells you the type of plastic used to make a product.

The triangle looks a bit like a recycling symbol and so it’s easy to think that anything with a PIC can be recycled, and technically they can, just not always through your kerbside recycling bin.

As a general rule, don’t put soft plastics in your kerbside recycling bin.
Only hard plastics that can’t be ‘scrunched’ such as plastic bottles, plastic jars, plastic plates etc can be recycled through your kerbside service.

Be a good sort and keep these out of your kerbside recycling bin:
Plastic shopping bags, Cling wrap, Plastic bread bags, Chip packets, Bubble wrap, Cereal bags, Plastic foil food bags, and Zip-lock bags. Soft plastic polystyrene and foam meat trays can also NOT be recycled in your kerbside bin.

So what can be done with soft plastics?

Most major supermarkets have collection points for plastic bags and other soft plastic materials, recycled via the REDCycle program. It’s also a good idea to reuse bags as many times as possible by taking them with you when you go shopping.

Some charity shops also appreciate a donation of plastic bags to use when distributing goods or when selling items in their stores.

Waste silage wrap plastic can be safely disposed at the Sheffield Waste Transfer Station. In Northern Tasmania there is a soft plastic recycler, Envorinex, contact them to find out what materials they are currently accepting.

Want to know more about plastics and the PIC? Check out the Rethink Waste Plastics Identification Code fact sheet.

Another handy resource is the A-Z Guide of Recycling and Waste, which lets you know how to manage different waste products, from aerosol cans to yoghurt containers and everything in between!

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

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E-Waste Drop-off Events

If old electrical equipment is taking up storage space or collecting dust in your home or business, then get sorted with your family and workmates, have a big clean out and bring unwanted items to one of the free E-Waste Drop-off Events in North and North West Tasmania!

Accepted E-Waste items can be dropped off at:

Temporary E-Waste collection point at 46 Lamont Street (off Invermay Rd), Invermay between 10.00am and 4.00pm on Saturday 8th April – for FREE!

Spreyton Waste Transfer Centre (Bay Drive, Spreyton) between 11.00am and 4.00pm on Sunday 9th April – for FREE!

E-Waste items accepted at the events:

Televisions
Computers including laptops / notebooks and PDAs / tablets
Monitors and projectors
LCD / flat panel monitors
Printers and multi-functional devices
Power supplies and adapters
Electrical cords and cables
Computer parts and accessories
Toners and ink cartridges contained in a printer where they cannot be reasonably removed.

Can’t make it to Spreyton or Invermay on the day?
In the North West, you can drop-off accepted items at the Port Sorell, Sheffield, Ulverstone, White Hills, or Wynyard Waste Transfer Stations BEFORE 31 MARCH and we’ll deliver it for you. Items can also be dropped-off before 9 April at the Spreyton Waste Transfer Station.

In Northern Tasmania, there are permanent E-Waste collection points at the Launceston, Exeter, Deloraine, Scottsdale, Longford and St Helen’s Waste Transfer Stations.

Be a good sort! E-Waste is recycled to prevent materials contaminating local landfills and the environment. Recycling E-Waste and re-using components also reduces the need for companies to extract or create new raw materials when making future electronic products.

This event is proudly brought to you by TechCollect, Cradle Coast Waste Management Group, Northern Tasmanian Waste Management Group with support from toxfree.

NTWMG March 2016 Newsletter

The March 2016 issue of the NTWMG newsletter was released on 31 March 2016.

Highlights include announcement of the:

free polystyrene collection service at the Launceston Recycling Centre
opening of the Waste NoT Awards 2016.

Resources

2016 March - NTWMG Newsletter

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Household battery recycling

The results of a recent waste audit have shown that people in north west and northern Tasmania do not have an environmentally friendly way to dispose of their used household batteries, with a significant number buried in landfill.

Household dry-cell batteries including AA, AAA, alkaline, lithium, watch, button and cordless drill batteries can now be recycled by taking them to special drop-off points in your local Council office, and other public venues. Look out for the Rethink Waste Battery Recycling posters and simply drop t battery-recycling-sign-and-bin-lid-on hem in the special bins provided.

Collected batteries will be sorted and safely shipped to processors who recover materials from the different battery types as inputs to new products.

So when your household batteries are going, going, gone; give them a second life by recycling at your nearest drop-off point:

Break O’Day Council:

Customer Service Centre, 32 – 34 Georges Bay Esplanade, St Helens

Burnie City Council:

Council Office
Tip Shop
Waste Management Centre

Central Coast Council:

Castra WTS
Council Administration Centre
Penguin Service Centre
Preston WTS
South Riana WTS
Ulverstone Resource Recovery Centre
Ulverstone Visitor Information Centre

Circular Head Council:

Phone Council Office for more information 6452 4800

City of Launceston:

Customer Service Centre, Town Hall, St John Street, Launceston
Launceston Recycling Centre, Cavalry Road, Mowbray

Devonport City Council:

Council Office
Lawrence Drive Works Depot
Spreyton WTS

Dorset Council:

Council Chambers
Bridport Pavilion

George Town Council:

Council Chambers, 16 – 18 Anne Street, George Town

Kentish Council:

Council Office
Sheffield WTS
Wilmot WTS

Latrobe Council:

Council Office
Port Sorell WTS

Meander Valley Council:

Deloraine Refuse Disposal Site, Tip Road, Deloraine

Northern Midlands Council:

Longford Waste Transfer Station, 291 Marlborough Street, Longford

Waratah Wynyard Council:

Wynyard WTS

West Tamar Council:

Beaconsfield Service Centre
Riverside Service Centre

A project of:

Free mobile phone recycling

Councils in the North and North West of Tasmania are accepting unwanted mobile phones and accessories for recycling. Check out the fact sheet below for more information.

A project of:

Resources

Mobile Muster Poster - What happens to mobile phones?

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Mobile phone recycling fact sheet

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Project links

Waste composition audits
Gallery
Waste composition audits

Projects

Waste composition audits

In 2010 the Cradle Coast Waste Management Group (CCWMG) & Northern Tasmanian Waste Management Group (NTWMG) conducted a waste audit of the seven landfills in the region; this audit provided a snapshot of the breakup of waste going into landfill but didn’t specifically highlight the waste generated by households.

To gain a better understanding of what waste is being generated by households, a kerbside waste composition assessment was conducted at selected areas across the north and north west of Tasmania in 2014. To protect the privacy of participating households, all waste collected as part of the audit was aggregated prior to sorting and all auditors submitted to relevant police checks. . The results of the audit will assist the CCWMG & NTWMG to identify target wastes for recovery and allow for the monitoring of the effectiveness of regional waste reduction programs. The NTWMG audit report can be found below. The CCWMG report will follow shortly.

A project of:

Resources

NTWMG 2014 Waste composition audit report

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