Recycling 101: From Batteries to Bread Tags - Surprising Items You Can Recycle

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Recycling can feel confusing, but staying informed and making the right choices can make a big difference.

To go beyond just our kerbside bins, let’s explore some recycling options that are available in Australia for items like running shoes, tennis balls, blister packs, coffee cups and even bread tags! These items have specific collection points and recycling programs to ensure they don’t end up in landfill.

Here’s how you can join the circular economy and help reduce waste:

SPORTING EQUIPMENT
Game on Recycling is a national pilot program for recycling sports gear. Instead of throwing away used tennis balls, basketballs, and even ski equipment, drop them off at participating locations, like your local tennis club, so they can be turned into something new. Australia’s love for sports generates a huge amount of equipment waste, so let’s recycle it responsibly!

B-cycle is Australia’s government-backed battery recycling scheme, designed to keep harmful metals out of landfills and recover valuable minerals like lithium and cobalt. Just drop off your used batteries at B-cycle locations near you and help power a greener future.

Did you know you can now recycle blister packs? Pharmacycle makes it easy with collection bins at over 110 Blooms The Chemist stores, plus other locations. This allows materials to be recovered locally, ensuring they stay in Australia.

Those little bread bag tags aren’t suitable for kerbside recycling, but Aussie Bread Tags for Wheelchairs can take them! This charity recycles bread tags to fund wheelchairs for those in need. Collect your tags and drop them off at a nearby collection point, or even start one in your community.

For those days you forget your reusable cup, Simply Cups offers drop-off points for disposable coffee cups at over 1,400 locations. Cups collected are transformed into items like asphalt and car park bumpers. And remember, lids can go in your yellow bin!

E-waste like keyboards and computer mice contain heavy metals that don’t belong in landfills. Many Officeworks stores accept these items for safe recycling, keeping harmful chemicals out of our soil and water.

If your council offers FOGO (Food Organics and Garden Organics) bins, you can recycle food scraps curbside. Only about 30% of Australians have this service, but you can compost food scraps at home, or use the Share Waste app to donate your compostables to neighbours with worm farms or compost bins.

Plastic bottle caps can’t be recycled in kerbside bins, but Lids4Kids turns them into useful community items, like benches and park equipment. Currently, collections are active in NSW, ACT, and VIC, and volunteers are needed to sort and deliver lids. Check out their Facebook page for drop-off locations.

Before upgrading, consider donating or recycling your old mobile phone through Mobile Muster. Every component can be reused—metals like gold and aluminium, as well as plastic and glass—to make something new.

Recycling your plant pots and seed trays has never been easier with PP5, a program that recycles garden plastics into new pots and trays. Drop them off at participating nurseries and garden centres.

Treadlightly recycles unwanted sports shoes, turning them into gym flooring and anti-fatigue mats. Accepted items include athletic shoes, football boots, and hiking boots. Collection points are located at participating sports and active-wear stores.

In partnership with Specsavers, Opticycle collect pre loved glasses to be repurposed for those in need overseas. Just bring your pre loved glasses into your local Specsavers store and place them in the glasses recycling box or hand them to a team member.

Recycling doesn’t have to be overwhelming - there are so many ways to make a difference with items you might not have thought about. If you know of any other recycling programs for unique items, we’d love to hear from you! Just drop us a message using our contact form, and we’ll make sure to keep this list updated with every helpful resource.

Let’s work together to keep materials out of landfill and support a cleaner, healthier future.

PS - did you know that your Clemence Organics packaging is recyclable? Watch the video below to find out how easily you can recycle it and earn rewards points for a discount off your next order!

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