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Waste and Recycling
The City of Perth Waste and Recycling Guide for Residents 2010 has been released. The guide includes dates that your waste and recyclables are collected and also provides lots of tips on how to reduce, reuse and recycle. To check out the guide please click the link to your right.
To go direct to your area of interest within this page, please click on the relevant link below.
Ways to Reduce Your Household Waste
Where Does Your Waste Go?
Other Recycling
Garden and Organic Waste
Ways to Reduce Your Household Waste
Why not try and reduce the amount of waste you produce in your household? Reducing waste is the most important part of waste management. The aim is to eliminate waste before it is produced and to reduce both the quantity and toxicity of waste. You can do this by:
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Shopping more carefully - avoid over packaged goods;
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Try making gifts instead of buying them;
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Repair clothes, toys, appliances and tools rather than buying new ones;
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Hire things rather than buying them, where possible use libraries and book exchanges, share magazines;
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Take lunch to work or school in a re-useable container;
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Stick a ‘no junk mail’ sign on your letter box;
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When shopping take a bag, basket or box with you;
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Buy bulk and you’ll also save money;
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Buy concentrates or refillable items; and
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Think before you shop, can any of the disposable items you buy be replaced?
For details about the City's Waste Services see the Waste Services link right.
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Where Does Your Waste Go?
All municipal waste collected by the City of Perth is taken to the Tamala Park landfill site for disposal (See Mindarie Regional Council link at right).
Tamala Park also operates a Recycling Centre, and Waste Disposal Centre where residents can drop off waste (See Waste Services link at right).
The Recycling Centre offers pre-owned goods for sale, at bargain prices. The Tamala Park facility is operated by Mindarie Regional Council (MRC). The City of Perth, along with six other local governments, is a member Council of the MRC.Waste-to-Energy Greenpower
Tamala Park is also Western Australia's largest landfill Waste-to-Energy operation. Methane gas is extracted from the landfill site and used to produce electricity which is sold into the State electricity grid for use by private consumers. Landfill gas is considered to be a renewable energy source, and the electricity produced on-site at Tamala Park is termed 'green power'. The Waste-to-Energy operation at Tamala Park is operated by Landfill Gas and Power (see link at right)
Resource Recovery
The Mindarie Regional Council is also progressing plans to establish a Resources Recovery Facility at Neerabup (see Resource Recovery Facility link at right). This will enable the organic component of municipal waste to be separated and treated. This will become market-quality compost, and will reduce the amount of domestic waste going to landfill by about 70%.
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Other Recycling
Many items are recyclable but end up in landfill because they cannot be recycled through the kerbside recycling collection. This includes mobile phones, fluorescent lights, vegetable oil, motor oil, computers, corks, plastic bags, printer cartridges, x-rays, tyres, glasses (sight and reading), cars, and construction and demolition materials. Many of these items can be dropped off free of charge at the Tamala Park Recycling Centre – see the Waste Services link at right. Mobile phones can also be dropped off at the City of Perth Library (see link at right) For information on other recycling services:
- Call the National Recycling Hotline on 1300 733 712. This service has been developed by Planet Ark in collaboration with the Australian Government and Sensis.
- Go to Recycling Near You (see link at right) – developed by Planet Ark in collaboration with the Australian Government and Sensis.
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Garden and Organic Waste
Organic waste, including grass clippings and small prunings, can be placed in the general waste Green Bin. Larger quantities of Garden and Organic Waste will be collected in the annual Special Household Rubbish Collection. See the Waste Services link right for further detail.
Alternatively, you could turn your garden waste and kitchen scraps into compost at home.
Composting can help the environment in several ways. When organic waste ends up in landfill, it decays and releases methane – a potent greenhouse gas. By properly composting organic waste in an aerated environment (such as a well-managed compost bin or heap), you will be reducing your impact on global warming.
Adding compost to your garden also improves soil quality – it increases water infiltration, reduces need for fertilisers, and reduces the leaching of nutrients into groundwater by holding onto them. Compost bins and worm farms can be purchased from many hardware stores and garden centres, or you can make your own container.
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