The way Australians have been recycling is all wrong

But it’s not all bad news for sustainability, as saving money is motivating more sustainable lifestyle choices, according to a new report by Cleanaway.Eight in 10 Aussies are opting to repair items rather than replace them, and six in 10 are buying secondhand, motivated primarily by saving money rather than by environmental concerns.Ruby Dwyer says the current crisis has encouraged her and the family to look at second-hand purchasing from online sites like Facebook Marketplace.“I go to more op shops for toys and books for my son. These sorts of behaviours wouldn’t have been at the forefront of my mind prior to this financial crunch,” she says.“Since the cost of living has risen, I’ve found myself repairing items. In the past, I may have thrown it out or taken it to the op shop. Now I’m finding that I’m learning to repair things like pillowcases and baby clothes. That’s definitely a behaviour change.”SORT IT OUTThe report also lifts the lid on our everyday recycling behaviours, proving we’re still getting simple sorting wrong, despite our good intentions.And a lack of understanding is leading to errors, with more than half not correctly placing takeaway coffee cups in the general waste bin and 32 per cent wrongly placing soft plastics in their recycling bins.Of more concern, 81 per cent misidentified a common recycling symbol, with serious implications for kerbside recycling.Over a third don’t take batteries to specialised disposal and 38 per cent aren’t disposing of mobile phones in specialised recycling. This can lead to “fires or explosions in garbage trucks and at waste facilities”, says Cleanaway sustainability manager Rebecca Evered.BIN THE CONFUSIONDwyer is among many Aussies who find recycling products confusing.“The main thing is the labelling that’s on the packaging. It’s hard to determine if it can be recycled or not, and often it means it takes an extra step on if I can recycle it,” she says.“It means looking up the local website and discovering what’s actually recyclable or not. Things that don’t even have labelling like batteries, light globes and random household items I find really confusing.”But Dwyer is making a better effort for her family.“In our local council area, we don’t have a FOGO bin so I took it upon myself to buy a compost bin and I have a vegetable garden, so all of our food waste goes in that,” she says.“I would really like to teach my family and my children about recycling and how to do that properly and efficiently. What would help us roll that out within my family would be really clear guidelines, resources and labelling on packaging, especially across different local council areas.“I know they all have quite different systems. I think unifying that and having a packaging and labelling system that reflects that would be really helpful.”Clean Up Australia chairwoman Pip Kiernan says confusion is still a leading cause of our recycling and waste disposal mistakes.“We are keen to demystify recycling, because in reality there’s only a small amount of effort required from each of us to create sustainable change,” she says.“We hope these findings spark curiosity and conversation, and encourage us all to reflect on our behaviours to implement the everyday small changes that have lasting impacts.”Cleanaway has a dedicated Recycling Hub with answers to common questions and is encouraging all Australians to visit the website and check their knowledge, or alternatively seek information from their local council. Via news.com.au — Australia’s leading news site https://www.news.com.au