Recycling at home

With the community encouraged to stay at home, we have pulled together a list of what can be recycled from home and what you should hold onto until restrictions are lifted. Don’t forget to check in with your local council and individual programs for the most up-to-date information.

Mobile Phone Recycling

MobileMuster wants you to stay at home while we bring our recycling service to you. Households are able to request a reply paid label via our online form which we will post to you. Simply package up your old mobile phones and accessories, attach the label and drop off at your local AusPost box.

Kerbside recycling

Councils continue to provide their essential kerbside recycling and waste services to households. So we encourage you to continue to sort and recycle your cardboard, paper, metal, glass and plastic this way. With additional time at home it might be an opportunity to learn more about what can and can’t be recycled in your kerbside collection, along with setting up a sorting system in the home to make it easier. Planet Ark have some great resources to help you navigate your household recycling.

Community recycling centres

It is a good idea to check with your local council as a number of community recycling centres and council facilities are currently closed.  Some councils are taking bookings for households and small businesses to remove waste so that their residents can continue to maintain social distancing restrictions.  Others are asking residents to avoid going to facilities unless it is essential or urgent. Households may need to safely store their problem household wastes until facilities are reopened.

Retail stores

Shopping for food and essentials is one of the only reasons you can leave the house. When going to the supermarket there are a couple of household items that can be recycled there. Soft plastics, such as biscuit packets, cling film and plastic bags, can be dropped off for recycling at a REDcycle bin located at your nearest Coles or Woolworths. Household batteries can be dropped off for recycling your local ALDI store.  Officeworks stores are currently open and provide recycling for some electronic and office supplies.

Clothing and household item

Charity organisations need items that are in good, used condition, so they can support people in need. If you’ve got unwanted items that are still in good condition you may be able to drop them to a charity organisation or collection bin if they are open. However, check with organisations as there are changes in opening hours and services. Salvos Stores, who partner with MobileMuster and have collection units in their stores, have decided to temporarily close all their stores from Wednesday 1st April.

Food and garden waste

Around half of our household garbage is made up of food and garden waste. There are some great online resources on how you can reduce food waste as we’ll all be preparing and enjoying more meals at home. If you have the space or backyard now might be the perfect time to set up a home composting unit. They can be easily purchased online and home delivered so you don’t need to leave the house.  Some councils and apartments have food and garden waste collections or subsidies, so check in with them to see if this is something you could access.

Other programs

• Most Return and Earn drink container collections are still operating, some are even collecting from home, but they are advising the collectors to check the status of local drop off point online before visiting. They are also encouraging the community to follow social distancing and health advice when and staying home if you’re feeling unwell.
• You can join a Terracycle recycling program for a variety of products from tooth brushes to bread bag tags. Some of them can be undertaken at home and posted back to Terracycle for recycling.
• Paintback is available through local councils and waste transfer stations. Some of their services are impacted so use the search location function on their website for details.
• TechCollect provide 250 collection points around the country for the recycling electronic waste including computers, laptops, computer accessories, printers and TVs. Some sites are closing and they advise to check in with local collection points.