8 Surprising Items You Didn’t Realize You Could Recycle
Most homeowners know what items can be recycled daily, but occasionally items will stump even our most experienced recyclers.
Paint, gas bottles and car batteries may not be items we regularly throw out; but chances are we will eventually need to.
But this waste must not simply end up in our kerbside bins – this would not only harm us and the environment.
Many people do not realize they can recycle these items if they know where to take them.
In NSW, residents should visit either their Household Chemical CleanOut event or local Community Recycling Centres (CRCs), both of which offer free services for residents. Many other states and territories also have similar initiatives.
Here are a few items that can be recycled through these means.
1. Batteries
You would never think to throw away your car battery in the trash can; did you know all batteries should be brought directly to a recycling centre instead?
Most states provide recycling points for household and car batteries similar to the Community Recycling Centres or Chemical CleanOut events that take place in NSW.
Some stores, like Batteryworld and ALDI, provide bins where you can dispose of old AAs and AAAs (see here for the list in each state).
Of course, old mobile phone batteries can also be recycled through Officeworks or most mobile phone stores through MobileMuster recycling initiative.
Drop off items at: Community Recycling Centre and Chemical CleanOut events.
2. Household Cleaning Products Chemical CleanOut events provide free disposal of household chemical products such as:
Hobby chemicals (e.g photography chemicals), solvents and household cleaners, floor care products, ammonia-based cleaners and garden chemicals and poisons may pose significant hazards to both human health and the environment. Therefore, proper care must be taken when handling and disposing of them.
Drop off items only at Chemical CleanOut events.
3. Smoke Detectors
Did you know it’s essential to inspect and replace your smoke detector at least every ten years?
As most alarms contain an expiration date printed directly onto them, recycling may come sooner than you think.
At its conclusion, bring your smoke alarms and batteries for recycling to a Community Recycling Centre!
Drop off at Community Recycling Centres or Chemical CleanOut events.
4. Paint If your garage has old cans of paint sitting idly by, don’t feel guilty: many others do too! You are definitely not the only one.
