What Can and Cannot Be Recycled in the Central West

Recycling gets confusing fast, especially for businesses juggling more materials than a household ever would. Here is a clear guide to what can be recycled in the Central West, what needs special handling, and how to make sure the right thing ends up in the right place.

The easy wins: materials almost every business can recycle

These are the everyday materials that are widely recycled and usually make up the bulk of what a business throws out. Kept clean and separated, they should almost never go to landfill.

• Cardboard and paper. Flatten boxes to save space. Keep them dry and free of food.
• Glass bottles and jars. Rinsed, with lids removed.
• Rigid plastics. Bottles, containers and tubs, empty and rinsed.
• Aluminium and steel. Cans, foil and tins.
• Eligible drink containers. Many are worth 10 cents each through the NSW Return and Earn scheme.

The tricky ones: recyclable, but not in your kerbside bin

Plenty of materials are recyclable but cannot go in a standard mixed recycling bin. They need to be collected separately and taken to the right facility, which is where a dedicated collection service earns its keep.

• Soft plastics. Bread bags, wrappers and satchels. These jam standard recycling machinery, so they need their own stream.
• E-waste. Old computers, phones, cables and batteries. These are banned from landfill in many cases and contain valuable, recoverable materials.
• Organics. Food scraps and garden waste, which can be composted instead of rotting in landfill and producing methane.
• Polystyrene, textiles, coffee pods and cartons. All recyclable through the right specialist channels, none suited to a general recycling bin.

What usually cannot be recycled

Some materials genuinely have no easy recycling path yet, and pretending otherwise just contaminates everything else. Common examples include heavily food-soiled paper and cardboard, certain mixed-material packaging, and some compostable plastics that only break down in industrial facilities. When in doubt, it is better to keep it out of the recycling bin than to risk contaminating a whole load.

One contaminated item can send an entire bin of otherwise good recycling to landfill. When you are not sure, check rather than guess.

The golden rule: separate at the source

The single most important habit is separating materials where they are created, into clearly labelled bins, rather than trying to sort a mixed bin later. Clean, separated material is worth more, is far less likely to be rejected, and keeps your costs down. Good signage and a little staff training make this almost automatic.

Not sure about a specific material your business produces? That is normal. Part of what we do is work out a plan for every material you generate, including the tricky ones, so nothing recyclable ends up in landfill by default.

Frequently asked questions