What is recycling?


Recycling is the processing of materials for use in the production of new items.

What can be recycled?

  • Packaging glass (bottles and jars only) 
  • All clean paper and cardboard 
  • Milk and juice cartons 
  • Steel cans and aerosols 
  • Aluminium cans and aerosols 
  • Plastic bottles and containers

What can’t be recycled?

  • Plastic bags 
  • Green waste 
  • Polystyrene 
  • Ceramics 
  • Hazardous waste (e.g. chemicals/syringes) 
  • Any glass that is not a bottle or jar 
  • Nappies

How to present recycling?


When placing items into the bin, there are some simple things you can do to prepare your recyclables: 

  • Rinse and squash all plastic bottles 
  • Remove lids off bottles and jars 
  • Rinse and squash aluminium and steel cans 
  • Do no squash aerosols 
  • Place items in bin loose, not in plastic bags; DO NOT BAG RECYCLING!

Benefits of recycling 

  • Conserves limited space in landfills by diverting large amounts of waste away from these facilities 
  • Saves energy and water as producing recycled products uses less of these resources compared to producing items from virgin material 
  • Conserves natural resources 
  • Reduces disposal costs as less waste is being sent to landfill 
  • Creates new jobs

What does it get turned into?


Material Recycled Products
Paper/Cardboard New cardboard/paper, newspaper, toilet paper, paper bags
Glass new bottles & containers, road base
Steel new cans, washing machines, car parts, fridges
Aluminium new cans, aircraft skins, aluminium sheeting, house frames
Plastic new bottles & containers, wheelie bins, clothing,  compost bins

 

What happens to the recyclables?


Once the recyclables have been collected, they are transported to the Toowoomba Materials Recovery Facility (MRF), where they are sorted into the different material types. Recyclables enter the MRF and, through a series of machine and manual sorting processes, are separated into the different categories. Each material type is then baled and sent to a reprocessing plant to be recycled into new products. These new products are sent to supermarkets for purchase.