Locally

This is a common question we are asked and Tamworth Regional Council is proud to say that the following diverted materials at our landfill are reprocessed on site:

• garden organics – reprocessed into mulch and compost and available for purchase
• clean concrete – reprocessed into roadbase and drainage rubble and available for purchase
• clean brick and tile – reprocessed into decorative gravel and bedding sand and available for purchase

What about the items that aren’t reprocessed on site

For those diverted items that aren’t reprocessed on site, when there is sufficient stock pile, they are sent to facilities around the country that have the means to recycle them appropriately. These include:

Household Recyclables

Once collected either through the kerbside collection or rural sites, these items are brought back to Challenge Recycling Services in Tamworth. All recyclable materials (except for glass products) are baled in their appropriate bundles and stock piled until there is enough material to transport them to a processing facility around the country.

What are some examples of items made out of recycled materials

Where possible Tamworth Regional Council tries to utilise recycled material products. Some of the best examples of this are with the seating at some of its pools and in the bird aviary in Endeavour Park Tamworth. These seats are made out of recycled milk bottles. There is about 150 milk bottles in one seat.

Another example is at the skate park in Tamworth, there have been a series of bollards that have been erected to prevent vehicle access to the skate park for safety reasons. These bollards are also made out of a recycled plastic.

The other benefits of these products are that they are durable, more vandal proof and fire resistant.

What can I buy that is made out of recycled materials

• some of the supermarkets have the small reusable bags for sale that have been made out of three milk bottles
• some of the local hardware centres have garden stakes and tent peg made out of recycled plastic
• some of the local camping stores have clothing made out of recycled PET
• if you do a bit of investigation about what you are buying, you will be surprised how many products are out there that are made from entirely or have a percentage of recycled materials in them
• building blocks have a percentage of recycled material in them