Did you know some items that can’t be put into our home yellow bins CAN be recycled through specialised programs?

Check out some of the ways waste can be turned into opportunity:

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  • Officeworks Fairy Meadow have launched a pen and marker recycle program.

    The following is accepted:

    • Pens
    • Felt tips
    • Highlighters
    • Markers
    • Mechanical pencils
    • Correction tape
    • Liquid paper (empty)
    • Fountain pens / ink cartridges​​​​​​​

    The writing instruments are cleaned and melted into hard plastic that can be remoulded to make new recycled products.

  • Attention surfers and divers! Give your wetsuit a second life. Drop off for recycling at Rip Curl in North Wollongong and it will be turned into things such as soft fall matting for playgrounds.

  • Any type of battery (including lithium) cannot go into your household bins.

    B-cycle your batteries at your local Woolworths, Coles, Aldi, Battery World, JB HI-FI, Total Tools, The Good Guys or at Dunmore Depot.

    All handheld batteries regardless of type or brand, including button batteries, AAA, AA, A, C, D and 9V are accepted.

    When we recycle a battery, the B-cycle program are able to use 95% of the contents inside it.

  • Give your preloved footwear a new life and take them to the Tread Lightly drop off points at Rebel Sport or Athlete’s Foot in Shellharbour. Accepted footwear can include:

    • Athletic lifestyle shoes
    • Any sports branded shoes
    • Thongs and slides
    • Football boots
    • Leather sports shoes
    • Hiking boots
    • Sneakers
    • Trainers
    • Runners
    • Golf shoes
    • Gumboots

    Reusable components are extracted from the footwear including rubber, leather and fibres at the recycling facility. These materials are then used to manufacture new products such as gym mats, floors and playgrounds.

    The Tread Lightly program aims to recycle one million pairs of footwear over the next two years.

  • Collect your empty makeup packaging and drop it off at Priceline Shellharbour to be recycled and given a second life! Makeup packaging can include:

    • Empty glass and plastic bottles
    • Pumps, caps, tubes and droppers
    • Compacts and palettes
    • Lipsticks and gloss
    • Mascara and wands
    • Eye and brow liners
    • Soft and rigid makeup packaging including sheet mask & wipe packaging

    The makeup packaging is then separated into different plastic categories, cleaned and then turned into plastic pellets to make new recycled products.

  • Mecca Wollongong are recycling empty beauty packaging! Any brand of cosmetic, hair care or skin care packaging such as:

    • Shampoo bottles and caps
    • Conditioner bottles and caps
    • Hair gel tubes and caps
    • Hair spray bottles and triggers
    • Hair paste plastic jars and caps
    • Lip balm tubes
    • Face soap dispensers and tubes
    • Lotion bottles, tubes, dispensers, and jars
    • Shaving foam tubes (no cans)
    • Lip gloss tubes
    • Mascara tubes
    • Eye liner pencils and cases
    • Eye Shadow tubes
    • Concealer tubes and sticks

    Plastics are separated into different plastic categories, cleaned, melted down, and turned into pellets that can be moulded to produce new products. Metals are separated by type and melted for reuse. Glass is cleaned and sorted by colour for processing. It is then crushed and melted to be used in new glass products.

  • Clean and empty pet food packaging (dry food bags and wet food pouches can be recycled at Best Friends Shellharbour & Petstock Albion Park.

    The collected waste is mechanically and/or manually separated into metals, fibres, and plastics. Metals are melted so they may be recycled. The fibres (such as paper or wood based products) are recycled or composted. The plastics are separated into different plastic categories, cleaned and then turned into plastic pellets to make new recycled products.