Why should we recycle?
In 2021, a detailed audit of the South Burnett’s general waste bins showed approximately 32% of general waste bin was recycling materials, 32% was food/garden organic materials and remaining 36% was general waste that should have gone to the landfill. Remaining 64% materials (recycling + organic waste) should not have been landfilled. The easiest way to minimise waste generation is to avoid purchasing products you do not need and avoiding products with short term uses or packaging that will go straight to landfill.
Recycling has many benefits, such as:
- Reduces disposal costs because less waste is sent to landfill
- 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
- Creates new jobs
Recycling materials collected from the South Burnett region are sent to the Materials Recovery Facility of Cherbourg Aboriginal Shire Council for processing. The comingled load is segregated into different material tyres and then baled. These bales are then sent to respective industries to manufacture fresh materials from the recycled materials.
Make sure you put the right thing in the right bin! See what can go in your yellow lid Recycling bin Recycling bin.