23 December 2009
The post Christmas throwout is one of the biggest of the year for council garbage services but residents can do the right thing for the environment by recycling what they can from the Santa sacks.
Tamworth Regional Council says Christmas is a huge paper generator but a lot of what goes into the garbage bin can be recycled instead.
Senior waste officer with TRC Jason Stratford says a lot of big boxes and cardboard sheets can be dropped off at the Challenge recycling depot in Forest Rd and other bins at other landfills but many other smaller wrappings can be put into your yellow-lidded recycling bin.
“Christmas can deliver more than twice the normal household rubbish collected across TRC and sometimes triple so there’s a huge amount of material that can be diverted from landfill into recycling,” Mr Stratford said.
“We’re encouraging everyone to look at recycling what they can to lessen the impact on our tips.”
That includes using recycled paper or fabrics to wrap presents.
And there are a couple of big Chrissie no-no’s when it comes to what can go into your yellow bin.
Metallic wrapping paper and ribbons, Styrofoam packing and plastic wrapping are NOT suitable for recycling and should be disposed of in the garbage bin.
Cards, boxes and paper wrappings can be put in the recycling – but don’t jam it in too tight or the garbos won’t be able to get it out.
And Christmas also presents a huge throwout of food – but wasted bits and leftovers can be used for something else. You can compost vegies and organic matter or use most foods to feed worm farms or animals – so consider how to best recycle that too.
All council landfills are closed on Christmas Day but Boxing Day services operate at Barraba, Bendemeer, Kootingal, Manilla and Tamworth and are as normal at all 11 landfills for the rest of the festive and New Year period.