Recycling and Reducing Waste

1. Wet each individual sheet down with water to reduce dust generation and movement, ensuring water does not run off into drains
2. Wrap bundles of sheets in heavy duty builders plastic
3. Secure bundles with a heavy duty tape eg. Duct tape.
4. Notify landfill staff at the time of entry that you have asbestos. Commercial quantities require prior arrangement by phoning (02) 6670 2694.
5. Follow the direction of the weigh bridge staff to the appropriate location for disposal.

Landfill operators cannot accept unwrapped or inadequately wrapped, suspected asbestos material. Failing to comply with these measures will result in you being turned away. Heavy penalties also apply for the incorrect transportation and disposal of asbestos.

For more information see asbestosawareness.com.au, the NSW EPA brochure Safely disposing of Asbestos Waste from your home or Tweed Shire Council's Asbestos page under Environmental Health.

Clean concrete material can be brought in at a reduced rate as the material is processed on site for suitable re-use.

All enquiries relating to disposal of contaminated or acid sulfate soil are to be transferred to Waste Management Unit. Waste technical staff assess the acceptability of the material against guidelines and will advise if, and at what prescribed fee, the material will be accepted for disposal.

Distress signalling flares can help save lives in an emergency but are only as good as their use-by date. Out of date flares can be taken to:

NSW Roads and Maritime Service
Ballina West Shopping Centre
Shops 1-4
55 Quays Drive
Ballina NSW 2478
Phone: 13 22 13

Maritime Safety Queensland
Main Beach Maritime Safety Queensland Regional Office
40–44 Seaworld Drive, Main Beach
Phone: 07 5585 1810

For more information on the schedule and other collection locations across NSW visit rms.nsw.gov.au/flares or call 13 12 36.

Green waste and wood (non- treated) is accepted at Stotts Creek Resource Recovery. All green waste is processed and used on site for rehabilitation. Unfortunately, it is NOT for sale.

Alternatively, compost your garden pruning! Compost bins are available for sale at Stotts Creek Resource Recovery Centre or by previously arrangement at Tweed & Murwillumbah Civic Centres. Please note that the compost bin available is a 240L bin which is 80cm high and 85cm wide at the base (diagonal measurement). It may not fit into some cars for transporting home.

The green lid organics bin is a 240L service to urban houses and duplexes, with an optional user pay service available to residents and commercial properties if they are within the service area. To organise this service or find out if it is available in your area, phone Council on (02) 6670 2400. Tenants should note that Council requires the property owner’s or the Real Estate Agent’s permission before a green waste service can be placed on the property.

This bin is for all food scraps (including meat and bones), garden clippings and prunings, tissues, food-soiled raw paper products and newspaper. The compost is currently NOT available for purchase from Tweed Shire Council. Our organics are placed in a bunker at Stotts Creek until it is loaded in larger trucks and taken to Lismore and NuGrow (depending on Lismore’s capacity). Lismore does sell the product commercially and to residents but it is by pick up only.

Tyres can be taken to the Stotts Creek Resource Recovery Centre for a small fee, which covers Council's cost to recycle this product. Fees vary depending on the type or size of tyre.

Please see Council's Fees and Charges page for the cost of disposal of tyres.

If an aerosol is full or empty, please bring it to the Community Recycling Centre at Stotts Creek Resource Recovery.

Aerosols are a safety issue and do not belong in any bin.

Where can I recycle batteries?

• All household batteries, car and boat batteries can be taken free of charge to Stotts Creek Resource Recovery Centre.
• Small household batteries up to size 6V can be dropped off at Council's recycling stations located in the foyer of the Murwillumbah and Tweed Council offices.
• Battery World will accept any type of battery for recycling.
• Aldi Supermarkets accept household batteries for recycling - including AA, AAA, C, D & 9V.

Why should we recycle batteries?

Batteries contain non-renewable heavy metals that are toxic to human health and/or have eco-toxicity impacts if they exceed certain minimum concentrations in the natural environment. Lead, mercury and cadmium are particularly toxic, but other metals such as nickel can also be a concern if they leach into surface or ground water. Some batteries are less toxic but hazardous for other reasons. Lithium batteries can explode or catch fire in landfill, while button cells are dangerous if swallowed by children.

Batteries contain non-renewable materials such as lead, cadmium, steel, zinc, manganese, cobalt, silver, plastics and rare earth elements. Recycling of batteries will help conserve these non-renewable resources while offering a safe and environmentally responsible solution for end of life batteries.

What happens to batteries collected for recycling in Australia?

Batteries are sorted and then transported to recyclers here and overseas. At present only lead acid, mercury and silver batteries are recycled in Australia. Local reprocessing of alkaline and lithium batteries may become more viable as collection volumes increase.

If batteries are exported, do the transport impacts cancel out any environmental benefit?

We would need to do a full life cycle assessment (LCA) to know for sure, but LCAs of other products generally show that sea transport contributes a very small percentage of total energy costs. Batteries which need to be sent overseas are transported in large diesel-powered ships, which are very efficient.

Do we need to recycle ALL types of batteries, or just rechargeable batteries?

used batteries should be recycled to conserve valuable metals and to reduce environmental impacts in landfill.

Who should be responsible for recycling batteries?

Battery recycling is a shared responsibility between consumers, battery manufacturers, retailers, governments and recyclers.

Unfortunately CD's and DVD's cannot be recycled at our facility and need to be placed in the red lid rubbish bin. Tweed Heads and Murwillumbah Civic Centres no longer accept CD's and DVD's at their Recycling Stations as it is no longer feasible for our collectors.

Tweed residents can take up to 20 L of household chemicals to the permanent chemical collection facility at Stotts Creek Resource Recovery Centre for free, Monday to Fridays before 3pm.

To bring unwanted chemicals to this facility, phone ahead on 02 6670 7400 to advise what is being brought out and ensure trained staff are available to accept the chemicals. In the interest of safety, all items MUST be labelled or they will be rejected.

Products such as pesticides, herbicides and poisons, solvents and household cleaners, pool chemicals, acids and alkalis and hobby chemicals, are accepted.

These chemicals are sent away to be processed safely and some broken down and recycled for use in other products.

Sign up for TerraCycle's the Nespresso Coffee Capsule Recycling Program. Every time you enjoy Nespresso save the capsule and recycle it with TerraCycle. There is no limit to the amount of Nespresso capsules you can collect and send in or drop off for FREE at your closest Brigade location.

TerraCycle's NESCAFÉ Dolce Gusto Coffee Capsule Recycling Program. Every time you enjoy Nespresso save the capsule and recycle it with TerraCycle. There is no limit to the amount of Nescafe capsules you can collect and send in or drop off for FREE at your closest Brigade location.

TerraCycle's Expressi Coffee Capsule Recycling Program is currently under review due to its popularity.

For more information on any of TerraCycle's programs go to www.terracycle.com.au.

Residents can bring their used fluorescent light bulbs to the Stott’s Creek Resource Recovery Centre free of charge. The glass must be intact and preferably in packaging (use the packaging from the replacement bulb). These bulbs are broken down under controlled conditions and recycled.

For further information including collection points in Tweed Shire please go to www.returnandearn.org.au.

Farmers and residents in the Tweed Shire can bring their empty plastic and metal drums displaying the DrumMuster logo along to the Stotts Creek Resource Recovery Centre for inspection and collection, Wednesdays between 7am – 12:00pm. The facility does not collect drums on weekends and public holidays. (Closed Good Friday and Christmas Day).

All drums must be correctly cleaned both inside and out (including caps and threads) and allowed to drain or air dry to ensure no rinse water or dry chemical residue remains (in line with Agsafe Standard for Effective Rinsing of Farm Chemical Containers brochure available from chemical retail outlets). Lids must be removed and steel drums punctured at the base. Council has the right not to accept any items that do not meet this criteria.

Unclean or partly filled containers will not be accepted and will remain the property of the chemical user.

For more information phone Council's Waste Management Unit (02) 6670 2400.

Items that can be accepted in E-waste include:

• personal and laptop computers and all cables
• tablets, notebooks and palmtops
• computer monitors and parts (e.g. internal hard drives and CD drives)
• computer peripherals and accessories (e.g. mice, keyboards, web cameras, USBs and modems)
• printers, faxes, scanners and multi-functional devices
• all televisions
• mobile phones (and accessories: headphones, earbuds, smartwatches)

Tweed residents can take their e-waste items into the Stotts Creek Resource Recovery Centre collection point for free, all year round. Items such as audio systems, and other electrical items are not accepted. Businesses wishing to bring out large amounts of e-waste need to advise Stotts Creek Resource Recovery centre before arrival by phoning the landfill supervisor on (02) 6670 7400. Fees may apply.

Other options for Mobile Phones to be recycled:

• Mobile phones and accessories can be dropped off at Stotts Creek Resource Recovery Centre and Council Civic Centres: Tweed & Murwillumbah (recycled through Mobile Muster)
• Post mobile phones for free using Mobile Muster’s mailing label. Follow the instructions and attach the label to a padded envelope or box
• Use a free Mobile Muster satchel available from your nearest post office
• Drop off at any participating mobile phone retailer including your local Telstra, Optus, Vodafone and Samsung store

FREE recycling programs available to homes, offices, schools and organisations through Terracycle. These programs are free, national recycling solutions for a variety of waste streams such as kids pouch and snack packaging, beauty products, coffee capsules etc . Points and rewards for some programs under TerraCycle. For more information on the waste streams that you can recycle with TerraCycle for FREE or to sign up go to www.terracycle.com.au..

Everything we put in our yellow lid recycling bins is sorted and baled at a recycling facility in Chinderah - the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF).

This facility was opened in 2011 and currently sorts some 300 tonnes of recyclables from Tweed, Byron, Kyogle and Beaudesert every week.

To see how this MRF sorts your recyclables and what items should not go in the recycling please see the How Your Recycling is Sorted Video (12mB MP4). Educational and community groups are also able to book a visit to the MRF through Tweed Shire Council's Educational Tours.

Whilst the majority of items are mechanically sorted, staff are also employed to manually remove contamination - items that should not be put into the recycling bin.

There are only five types of materials that this facility can accept:

1. Plastic Bottles and Containers (1.45mB PDF)
2. Steel Cans and Tins (1.2mB PDF)
3. Aluminium Cans and Tins (1.2mB PDF)
4. Paper and Cardboard (1.37mB PDF)
5. Glass Bottles and Jars (1.04mB PDF)

Because this facility is only set up to sort these five types of recyclables, other recyclable items need to be collected separately and therefore cannot go into your yellow lid bin. The list below details where these items can be taken for recycling.

Sign up for TerraCycle's Kids Pouch and Snack Recycling Program, a FREE recycling program that provides a second life for Whole Kids pouches and caps, food bar wrappers, snack food bags and other packaging waste. To sign up or for more information go to www.terracycle.com.au.

Soft plastic mailing satchels can be brought to supermarkets participating in the RedCycle program. Please remove labels.

All metal items such as derelict motor vehicles, unwanted farm machinery and unwanted white goods (old washing machines, fridges and freezers) can be taken to Stotts Creek Resource Recovery Centre for free and placed at the metal recycling collection point.

Due to operational issues the free metal collection service is currently not available. Council is investigating future options for this service however items can still be taken to Stotts Creek Resource Recovery Centre for free.

Where can I recycle my mobile phone?

• Mobile phones and accessories can be dropped off at Stotts Creek Resource Recovery Centre and Council Civic Centres: Tweed & Murwillumbah (recycled through Mobile Muster)
• Post mobile phones for free using Mobile Muster’s mailing label. Follow the instructions and attach the label to a padded envelope or box
• Use a free Mobile Muster satchel available from your nearest post office
• Drop off at any participating mobile phone retailer including your local Telstra, Optus, Vodafone and Samsung store

Why should we recycle mobile phones?

Mobile phones are not biodegradable and contain some materials that can potentially harm the environment if not handled correctly. They are made from many non-renewable materials which have been extracted from the earth - such as metals, plastics, glass and ceramics. These are precious resources that only exist in finite quantities so it's important to conserve them. By recycling phones, 90% of these materials can be reused to make other products such as stainless steel items and plastic fence posts.

This means that by recycling your phone you are avoiding future greenhouse gas emissions, saving energy, protecting the environment and conserving scarce natural resources.

What happens to mobile phones collected for recycling in Australia?

The phones are sorted and the parts separated. The batteries, circuits and accessories are recycled overseas while the plastic casings are recycled here in Australia.

Can all mobile phones be recycled?

Yes, all mobile phones have materials that can be recycled and doing so will keep them out of landfill. By creating the opportunity to reuse non renewable materials we can greatly reduce greenhouse gas emissions; for every tonne of mobile phone materials recovered, 10 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions are avoided.

Can I recycle phone chargers/cords?

Yes. Chargers/cords can be recycled with our collectors, Mobile Muster.

Tyres can be taken to the Stotts Creek Resource Recovery Centre for a small fee, which covers Council's cost to recycle this product. Fees vary depending on the type or size of tyre.

Please see Council's Stotts Creek Resource Recovery Centre Charges (29kB PDF) for the cost of disposal of tyres.

Sign up for TerraCycle's Bright Smiles, Bright Future Programs to recycle oral care waste (toothbrushes, toothpaste tube, packaging). This is FREE and points can be redeemed for your school under the program. For more information or to sign up go to www.terracycle.com.au.

Tweed residents can drop off up to 20 L of paints at the Community Recycling Centre at Stotts Creek Resource Recovery Centre for free, all-year-round.

The paints are sent away where they are mixed with other waste solvents and used as an alternative fuel in cement kilns. The metal containers are also recycled.

Sign up for TerraCycle's Beauty Products Recycling Program. There are two ways to collect used beauty products in this program. You can either drop off waste at your nearest public drop-off point, or you can sign up to the program and start collecting in your home, office, school or any other organisation. To sign up or for more information go to www.terracycle.com.au.

Where can I recycle household printer cartridges?

• All printer cartridges can be dropped off at Council's recycling stations located in the foyer of the Murwillumbah and Tweed Council offices.
• Planet Ark offer printer cartridge recycling depots at stores such as: Australia Post, JB Hi Fi, Dick Smith, Office National, Harvey Norman, Office works and Leading Edge Telecoms. Visit recyclingnearyou.com.au for store locations.

Why should we recycle printer cartridges?

Printer cartridges contain plastics, metals, ink and toner. The landfilling of these materials results in the loss of the materials, environmental harm if the inks leach into waterways and prevents recycling taking place. Many cartridges also use engineering grade plastics which will take hundreds of years to break down in a landfill environment. For every tonne of print consumables collected, recycled and recovered, over 10 times more carbon is saved through the avoided use of virgin materials.

What happens to printer cartridges collected for recycling in Australia?

All the parts are recycled in Australia; the metals are smelted and sold in Australia. The plastics are sorted by plastic type, refined and used to make different products such as pens, rulers and landscaping materials. The inkjet plastics and inkjet ink are recycled into pens while reclaimed ink is reused as printing ink.

Setting up a recycling system at your school is one of the best ways to teach your students about managing waste and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

To find out more, contact Council's Environmental Education Officer on (02) 6670 2523 or email waste@tweed.nsw.gov.au.

All items must be in immediately sellable condition, not stained and not in need of repair.

Contact numbers for possible pick up of large sellable items/furniture are shown below.

Tweed Heads

Op Shops
Lifeline - Lifeline Shop on 07 5524 6486 (no baby items)
Salvos - 13 72 58 (press 2 for collection)
ADRA (Seventh Day Adventist) Op Shop - 07 5523 2442
Re-Psychlers – 07 5536 2537 (working white goods)

Metal
Scrap Metal Dealers (pick up non-working white goods, other scrap metal)
Adrian’s Metal Recyclers – 07 5564 6866

Murwillumbah

Op Shops
Salvos - 13 72 58 (press 2 for collection)
Tweed Palliative Support – 6672 8459

Metal
Scrap Metal Dealers (pick up non-working white goods, other scrap metal)
A&N Morris – 0407 154 566

Lifeline
9 Greenway Dr, Tweed Heads South NSW 2486
www.lifeline.org.au/about-lifeline/lifeline-locations

RSPCA
48 Boyd St, Tweed Heads NSW 2485
www.rspcansw.org.au

Salvos
2/45 Greenway Dr, Tweed Heads South NSW 2486
or 104 Murwillumbah St, Murwillumbah NSW 2484
salvosstores.salvos.org.au/find-a-store

St Vincent De Paul Society
9/25 Industry Dr, Tweed Heads South NSW
or 138 Murwillumbah St, Murwillumbah NSW 2484
www.vinnies.org.au/shops

Tweed Palliative Support Op Shop
Queen Street, Murwillumbah 2484

Tweed Valley ADVENTIST Op Shop
5 Machinery Drive TWEED HEADS SOUTH NSW 2486
(07) 5523 2442

VHS tape can no longer be accepted at the recycling facility.

Place in red bin.

Items can be taken to Stotts Creek Resource Recovery Centre for free all year round. Place items in the designated collection points to be recycled.

Waste oil: up to 20 litres accepted

Gas bottles: bottles must be empty

Fire extinguishers: Up to 20 litres accepted

Where can I recycle X-rays?

Unfortunately X-rays are not recyclable at our Council’s recycling stations (in the foyer of the Murwillumbah and Tweed Council offices) at this time. Xrays films are no longer made using silver therefore Xrays are no longer viable for our previous providers to collect. The plastic film is not recyclable at our recycling facility.

We are currently trying to find solution for our Council’s recycling stations.

If you have a small quantity of x-rays then place them in an envelope and post to:

Quantum Technical Services
'X-Ray Recycling'
7/220 Barry Road
Campbellfield, VIC 3061

If you have large quantities:

Call Quantum Technical Services to see if they can organise recycling at 1 300 247 266.
Or place them in the red landfill bin.