Planet Ark's National Recycling Week, which runs from November 10 to 16, highlights the environmental benefits of re-use and recycling programs, while making participation enjoyable and easy through a number of community events and programs.
Understanding which items can be recycled at the kerbside is the first step in establishing successful recycling habits.
Research suggests that contamination in recycling bins is not always due to a lack of care or concern, but rather due to genuine misunderstandings about what can be recycled.
A new report from Planet Ark, titled The Seven Secrets of Successful Recyclers and sponsored by the Australian Packaging Covenant, addresses the four materials that most confuse people and the common mistakes made.
Surprisingly, 50 per cent of people surveyed had at least one item wrong when asked if it is recyclable.
For example, only 34 per cent of Australians know that empty aerosol cans are recyclable in their kerbside bins.
One of the top explanations given for not recycling aerosols was a mistaken belief that they will explode in the recycling.
"It's surprising that more than half of Australians wrongly believe that aerosol cans can't be recycled," said Planet Ark's head of campaigns, Brad Gray.
"In fact, they are made from fully recyclable steel or aluminium. Even though many people use aerosols everyday for products like deodorants they still hold on to old ideas.
"The research shows people report having been told to keep aerosol cans out of the recycling, which is a hangover from the past. Once they are empty it is perfectly safe to put them in the recycling."
The survey also shows that 26 per cent of people sometimes or always put their recycling in a plastic bag, then into the bin. However, items contained within the plastic bags end up being sent to landfill as the systems in the sorting facility can't separate the various materials and the bags clog the machines. Recycling must be loose in the recycling bin to be sorted effectively.
