Confusion equals contamination

In 2005 Planet Ark commissioned a recycling report that revealed 48.1 per cent of people were confused about what they can and can’t recycle - and not much has changed since.

An estimated 116,000 tonnes of recyclable material gets rejected from recycling plants each year because it is contaminated by non-recyclable material and ultimately ends up land-fill.

Many of us will be hitting our favourite beaches and parks this weekend to “Clean-Up Australia” - but doing the “right thing” and ensuring that recyclables aren’t contaminated should be high on the agenda everyday and not just for special events.

Ninety-nine per cent of Australians recycle on a regular basis says the Australian Bureau of statistics - so why is recyclable material still ending up as land-fill?

When it comes to public place recycling many venues and locations don’t have the facilities to handle recyclable material effectively. A large part of the problem however is education - people simply don’t know or understand the recycling process and it’s not hard to see why.

Cans, plastic, paper, cardboard, glass and food are all recyclable but lumped together they equal land-fill.

There are different types of recyclable material too. For example, of the 850,000 tonnes of glass Australians consume each year only 350,0000 or 1.4 billion bottles are actually recyclable. Knowing what can be recycled and through which bin or collection service isn’t always made easy for consumers.

The other half of the problem is motivation. Trying to work out which coloured bin to put your empty coke can into can be hassle and without an incentive many people simply think why bother when they’re out and on the move.

In the past few weeks several calls have been made to re-introduce the much loved and highly successful 1970’s cash-for-cans initiatives by green leaders like Clean-Up Australia Day founder, Ian Kiernan.

South Australia for example, has approved container deposit legislation (CDL) and enjoys recovery rates for beverage containers of close to 90 per cent - showing that small rewards can have a big impact on our environment. The rest of Australia lags behind with only a 38 per cent drink container recovery rate.

Governments and packaging companies, however, are stalling on discussions and still acting out of self-interest. Their refusal to come to an agreement however has resulted in the introduction of Envirobank reverse vending machines to Australia.

Envirobank reverse vending machines have been successfully tried in the US and Sweden and their introduction to public places in Australia will help to cut out the confusion for recyclers and reward people at the same time.

Reverse vending machines allow users to deposit an empty can or drink bottle in exchange for tokens or vouchers. The machines are currently being trialled in New South Wales shopping centres, schools and large outdoor events like Field Day.

The technology being used in the multi-commodity (reverse vending) machines that are being rolled out by Envirobank can be expected to have a significant affect on the recycling habits of Australians and our overall environmental impact by eliminating the confusion around what can and can’t be recycled and by offering incentives.

The machines accept aluminium cans (up to 1 litre) and PET bottles (up to 3 litres in size).

Each reverse vending machine can crush and store up to 3,000 cans, minimising collection frequency. Best of all they won’t accept non-recyclable material. Scanners in the machine identify what can and can’t be recycled - ensuring that all material gets recycled every time.

The machines are smart too. They can collect data to measure carbon offsets that may count towards eventual carbon offset legislation and can be branded in striking skins for effective advertising campaigns - making them a highly unique business tool.

Reverse vending machines offer an efficient and effective return solution in place of CDL that is both auditable and sustainable. Australians can be motivated to recycle and its time we started to deliver on our environmental sustainability promises and stop simply sitting on the fence.