What are the waste streams in your building? The obvious answers of ‘general waste’ and ‘recycling’ may jump to mind. For newer buildings, the list might be longer and include ‘flattened cardboard’ or ‘food waste’. And for many, the answer might be, “what’s a waste stream?”
Effectively managing the waste produced by a multi-unit dwelling such as an apartment building is one of the most effective (and easy, if tackled correctly) ways to reduce the environmental impact of the property.
Case Study – Potential to reduce general waste by 95%.
A recent visual waste audit undertaken at one of our properties by the team at Reground revealed that, in one building, 95% of the waste in the General Waste bin was missed recyclables.
In other words, only 5% of the were true general waste, while the remaining 95% could have been recycled and diverted from landfill.
This represents a huge opportunity to potentially:
- Decrease the amount of waste sent to landfill, reducing the overall environmental impact
- Reduce the frequency of general waste collections, resulting in cost savings for the OC
This article explores the different waste streams available and how your Owners Corporation can make the most of them. Learn how to boost resource recovery and why choosing the right waste management partners is key to success.
Understanding Waste Streams.
In order to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill and improve recyclables the Victorian Government is standardising household waste and recycling services across Victoria – with all councils to move to a four-bin system which includes:
- General Waste
- Food and Garden Organics (FOGO)
- Mixed Recycling
- Glass Recycling
Figure 2 Source: vic.gov.au
Many apartment buildings may also be familiar with a dedicated bin for flattened cardboard, or a collection point for soft plastics.
Let’s briefly break down the most common types of waste streams.
General Waste
General waste is sent to landfill and should be used only for materials that cannot be recycled or recovered through other streams. However, this is often not the case. Many recoverable resources, such as soft plastics, food waste and eWaste are often found in general waste streams.
Did you know?
The cost of taking general waste to landfill locations is increasing across Victoria from 1 July 2025. This cost will likely be passed on by your waste contractor and will increase the cost to your OC of disposing of general waste.
This represents a great opportunity to gain support from your community to implement additional waste streams at your building, reducing your overall volume of general waste and potentially save on costs.
Food and Garden Organics Waste (FOGO)
For those with council waste collections, all food scraps and garden cuttings go into this bin. It is collected to be commercially composted, with the compost distributed where it is needed.
Apartment buildings can look to implement a private FOGO collection, utilise the local drop off points established by many councils, or establish a communal worm farm (basement car parks are great spaces for this) to effectively manage the FOGO waste produced in apartments and keep it out of general bins.
Why is it important?
Food waste makes up a significant portion of landfill waste. When in landfill, it produces methane as it breaks down, a gas with a warming effect on our atmosphere.
When this food waste is composted instead, not only do we reduce methane emissions, but we support healthy farming and agricultural practices in our communities.
Paper & Cardboard
This one can be especially important in apartment complexes where move ins and outs can be frequent. This bin can be used for flattened moving boxes and the packaging from online shopping orders, for example.
This will free up space in your mixed recycling bin, potentially reducing the frequency of collections required, while also potentially improving the end destination processing of the paper & cardboard.
Why is it important?
Paper and cardboard can be returned to pulp and made into new paper-based products. As virgin paper is made by cutting down trees, increasing our use of recycled paper reduces the need for deforestation, and protects mature trees so they can continue to remove carbon from our atmosphere.
Mixed Recycling
Also known as co-mingled recycling. This includes things like hard plastic bottles and containers, carboard packaging and aluminum tins. It may also include glass (if a glass bin is not available to you).
Remember, your recycling should never be placed in a plastic bag as soft plastics are not recyclable via this waste steam. If you need to collect your recycling in something, use a cardboard box (and at the bin, consider emptying the contents and either reusing or flattening the box to save on bin space)
Did you know?
Heavily soiled packaging and unopened products may not be recyclable. Before you recycle that unopened jar of passata, or place that takeaway container in the co-mingled bin, always empty the contents and give it a good rinse to ensure you are not contaminating the whole bin.
Glass Waste
Did you know that when glass shatters, it can contaminate the rest of the contents of the bin? This means recyclable items like cardboard and plastic from that bin may be discarded. Separating glass from your mixed recycling removes this possibility, while also improving the recycling of glass into new, high-quality products. Remember to take off lids and caps, and empty and rinse your jars before placing them in the bin.
The Container Deposit Scheme.
Many of the bottles (both plastic and glass) which would typically end up in your Mixed Recycling or Glass bin can now be recycled via the Container Deposit Scheme, earning you (or your selected charity) 10c per item. Consider a separate stream in your home for these items and cash in the benefits. Or perhaps your OC could collect cans and bottles in your waste room and use the funds for community activities or improvements.
Soft Plastics
Despite there being much publicity about the collapse of Red Cycle, Australia’s most prominent soft plastic recycling scheme, there are still options for separating this stream from your general waste.
Providers like Reground are offering collections for apartment buildings to pick up items like plastic bags, chip packets and bread bags (think, if you can scrunch it, it can likely go in soft plastics collections)
Why is it important?
Soft plastics take a long time to break down and never break down completely. Instead, they break into smaller particles known as ‘micro plastics’ which have been found in our water, our food and even in our bodies.
Further, soft plastics can be melted back into their liquid form and re-purposed, making them a great candidate for recycling, and reducing the reliance on extraction of natural resources to produce more.
E-Waste
E-waste includes things like batteries, cables, monitors, lightbulbs and anything electrical in nature. These items can contain valuable, reusable materials such as copper, gold and silver and hazardous materials like lead, mercury and cadmium, all of which should be prevented from going to landfill.
Why is it important?
Besides the waste, hazardous materials in e-waste can leach into soil and water when incorrectly disposed of, which is harmful to wildlife and humans alike. It’s also worth noting that since the rise of lithium batteries in these items (for example, in disposable vapes) disposing of e waste in general waste streams can pose a fire risk during the disposal process. Never throw items containing a lithium battery in your general bin.
Figure 3 Source: CFA News
Clothing & Textiles
Fabric waste may include things like old clothes, shoes, towels and sheets that are past their useful life. If still in useable order, these items can be donated to op shops, animal shelters, or even sold on secondhand marketplaces like ebay or Facebook.
Sometimes, op shops can inadvertently be used to manage this waste stream. Remember, if you wouldn’t give it to a friend or family member, don’t donate it. Disposing of unsellable donations costs charity shops money, taking funds away from the important community work they provide.
Why is it important?
If incorrectly disposed, most fabrics end up in landfills where they take a long time to break down. In the case of modern fabrics made from poly-fibers, these break down into micro plastics which are bad for the environment. Many fabrics, however, can be shredded or broken down to their original fibers or molecules, to produce recycled fabrics – a much better use of this resource.
Selecting the right Waste Contractor.
Setting up these waste streams in your building and educating and encouraging residents to correctly separate their waste is a worthwhile and rewarding undertaking. But these efforts are for nothing if your building is not partnering with the right waste contractor.
If looking to improve the resource recovery from your waste room, it is vital that your waste contractor knows:
- Which bins they are responsible for collecting, and which they aren’t
- Which streams can safely be combined in the truck, and which can’t (this will depend on the processes of the waste sorting facility they take the collection to)
- What the processes of their end destination partners are (e.g. – can these companies transparently and confidently explain how the waste is managed?)
If your property is serious about reducing environmental impact and improving resource recovery, spending the time to find a waste contractor who can confidently answer these questions, and work with the goals of your community is crucial.
Case Study – Demand Transparency from your Waste Contractor.
A recent Waste Contractor Review undertaken at one of our properties by the team at Reground revealed that the end destination for mixed recycling materials (meaning, where the waste contractor takes the collections) was unable to provide clear information about where and how these materials are recycled.
When the end destination cannot explain such a fundamental part of their operations, it raises concerns about the true fate of these materials. While there was no evidence in this case that the materials were being improperly disposed of, transparency should be a standard expectation from both waste contractors and Owners Corporations. It fosters resident engagement by building confidence and trust in the system.
Speak with your waste contractor to see how confident they are in the processes of their downstream partners. If you are unsatisfied with the information available to you, consider undertaking a full review, or finding a more transparent and proactive provider.
Circular Systems is one example of a provider who offer 8+ waste & recycling streams for apartments and multi-unit dwellings. They only partner with contractors who can provide full transparency about the final destination of your waste – as evidenced by their offer to arrange site visits to any of their processing facilities.
Not sure where to start?
Reground are experts in Waste Management and Resource Recovery in apartments and passionate about improving processes and outcomes.