Waste Wise Events - Frequently Asked Questions
Topics:
| What can be done with food soiled paper plates? |
Do not place these items in the paper and cardboard bin if there is one. This material will be suitable for a compost/worm farm or if this collection service is not available, it is to be placed in the general garbage. |
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| What are commonly used packaging materials that could be eliminated? |
- straws
- pre-wrapped straws
- promotional literature
- pre-packaged sugar
- coffee cup lids
- disposable food trays
- industrial films (shrink wrap)
- condiments in single serve packaging
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| What do I do with the street litter bins during an event? |
| If you do not want the street litter bins to be used ans avoid overflowing of litter you can cover them up with a hessian bag, place a lid on them or attach a notice to direct the public to the recycling stations. |
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| What is the best form to store recyclables in and why? |
- Plastic bottles & Aluminium cans
Plastic bottles should be emptied, rinsed and squashed with the lids off. Emptying the bottles will reduce the weight of the load and avoid liquid spraying out of the bottles once they are baled. Recyclers prefer to receive the plastic bottles clean and without contamination from leftover contents. Rinsing the bottles will lessen the drink contamination. Squashing the bottles will create more room in the bin, allowing for a greater volume to be collected and less chance for littering. Lids are not made of a recyclable plastic and can also cause accidents by exploding under the pressure of baling the bottles. Aluminium Cans should also be emptied and flattened for the reasons listed above.
Cardboard boxes should be flattened and emptied and stacked neatly. Flattening and emptying the boxes will ensure that ONLY cardboard is to be collected and flattening them will allow for more boxes to fit in the bin. Most collections by a commercial recycler and waste contractor are charged by volume and not weight. This means that you will be paying to transport air if your boxes are not flattened.
- PET plastic food containers
Eg lunch boxes, sandwich triangles, salad containers etc. All containers should be emptied of food before placing into the recycling bin with plastic bottles. If there is a sauce or liquid remaining in the container it is ideal to rinse it clean. Food contamination is difficult for plastics recyclers to handle and should be avoided at all costs.
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Page last updated: 26 February 2011
