The recycling business is a constantly changing environment for Wimmera Wastebusters.
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The Horsham-based business has been around since the early 1980s, beginning as a predominantly cardboard recycling business.
The company branched out, now handling contracts for councils and running the local transfer stations, and offering businesses personalised advice on recycling with the aim of saving money and preventing recyclable items ending up in landfill.
Owner-director Mick Morris said he encouraged people to recycle.
“We really encourage people to recycle, therefore minimising waste,” he said.
He said Wimmera Wastebusters handled recycling in polystyrene and cardboard and the goal was to look for items in the waste stream that did not break down in landfill and find a recycling solution.
One recent example of finding a recycling solution for a local business involved preventing a huge amount of string from hay bale packaging going to landfill by finding a recycling market for it – not only saving the environment but also leading to a huge cost saving for that particular business.
Mr Morris said Wimmera Wastebusters had also just started offering a skip bin service, where people could request a bin be dropped off and collected, with Wastebusters then sorting the contents into recycling and rubbish.
While the business is based in Horsham, Mr Morris said they travelled to all surrounding areas as well when required, including Nhill. Mr Morris’ top recycling tips for residents included keeping recycling clean – it’s important to rinse out items such as milk cartons and bottles.
Also, it was vital to ensure items were actually recyclable before placing it in the yellow-lidded bins.
“If in doubt, leave it out,” Mr Morris said.
“Or people can call us and ask and we can help them.”
One example Mr Morris gave was glass.
He said while glass drink containers were recyclable, broken window glass was not and should not be placed in recycling bins.
Also, labels should be removed from items such as plastic drink bottles and leftover food residue from pizza boxes.
Plastics marked with numbers 1 to 7 can go into recycling bins.
Takeaway coffee cups should be left out of recycling bins.
The Wimmera Mail-Times reported last week that cafe owners were offering a discount for customers who used reusable takeaway cups to reduce and eliminate disposable coffee cups.
The ABC’s documentary War on Waste promoted the responsible cafe initiative, which is building a culture of reuse. Several businesses across the WImmera had registered with the responsible cafes list.
We really encourage people to recycle, therefore minimising waste.
- Mick Morris, Wimmera Wastebusters