In an Owners Corporation (OC), bins are typically shared among multiple residents and the incorrect actions of one can undo the good work of many.
Let’s break down the common actions having the biggest impact on correct waste disposal, and the simple behaviour changes that can address them.
1. Don’t bag your recyclable waste.
At one building where a waste audit was carried out, almost 15% of their mixed recycling was bagged. This can contaminate the whole bin.
Remember, soft plastic is not recyclable with mixed recycling, so keep your mixed recycling loose.
If you need to collect your recyclables somehow, try using a carboard box instead (and remember to empty, then flatten it before discarding to save space in the bin)
2. Prevent your glass waste from shattering.
If you have mixed recycling, precautions should be taken to prevent glass recycling from shattering.
Shattered glass can contaminate the whole bin and prevent the other contents, like paper, cardboard and rigid plastic from being recycled.
Your OC may consider establishing a separate stream for glass collections, or you may choose to exclude glass from your mixed recycling and instead drop it at a communal recycling point or utilise the Container Deposit Scheme.
3. Empty and Rinse your Recycling.
Heavily soiled jars, cans and bottles may not be recyclable and can damage sorting machinery. We’ve even heard instances of full and unopened items being placed in recycling.
Rinsing out your recyclable packaging before disposing of it is the easiest way to reduce contamination of your bins and improve resource recovery.
4. Never dispose of e-waste in your general waste
This is especially important for items containing lithium batteries, like disposable vapes, which can explode in bins, bin trucks and sorting centers.
Further e-waste 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.
Consider dropping your e-waste at a collection point or talking to your OC about establishing an additional waste stream and collection point at your property.
5. Separate your Food and Garden Organics
The most common missed opportunity when it comes to general waste in apartment buildings is Food and Garden Organics Waste (FOGO).
When in landfill, FOGO 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.
Talk with your waste contractor about adding a FOGO bin and collection at your property or set up a worm farm or bokashi bin. Communal worm farms thrive in dark cool places like basement car parks and present a great opportunity for forming a working group to bring residents together. If space is a consideration, a small bokashi bin in your unit can help reduce the amount of food waste you’re sending to landfill.
A note on responsible bin chute use.
Many of the above points are especially important for properties where bin chutes are in use. For example, gagged recycling and shattered glass tend to be most prevalent in these properties, and damage to lithium batteries is most likely in this scenario too.
While your bin chute is intended to be a convenience, consider which types of waste may require a trip to your bin room to ensure they are safely and correctly disposed of.
Importantly, be sure to familiarise yourself with the dimensions of your bin chute to ensure that what you are disposing does not get stuck on its journey to your bin room. A jammed bin chute can be an expensive and time-consuming problem to solve. Check your bin chute, or the documentation provided to you when you moved in, to find this information.
