Lockdown has seen Sydneysiders turning to the City of Sydney's RecycleSmart pilot program, which recycles tricky items like soft plastics and polystyrene.
According to City of Sydney figures, the pilot program has increased by almost 50 per cent since the state government issued stay-at-home orders in June. Eight tonnes of waste have been diverted from landfill since the start of the year, with three tonnes collected in the past two months alone.
The City is trialling the household collection service for 12 months, and the service provides contactless pick-up of items direct from the doorstep or apartments' building lobby, meaning people don’t have to leave their home to recycle items like soft plastics, polystyrene, batteries, light bulbs, small electronics and wearables clothes.
A representative of the City told PKN: “The City of Sydney doesn’t work directly with organisations who repurpose the soft plastics. RecycleSmart makes sure they go to manufacturers like Replas, who shred and melt plastics into moulds [for items like park benches].”
Since the trial started late last year, more than 3050 bags have been collected in almost 1300 pick-ups, diverting more than eight tonnes of waste away from landfill, with soft plastics the most popular item recycled.
The aim of the trial is to make it more convenient for people to recycle common household items the City of Sydney doesn’t currently collect from the kerbside bins.
Georgio Baracchi, CEO and co-founder of RecycleSmart, said he was pleased to see more people signing up to the free subscription service.
“RecycleSmart’s free subscription has removed all barriers to recycling tricky waste and we’re so excited to see City of Sydney residents jump on board,” Baracchio said.
“Our contactless power pick-up service offers residents peace of mind even during lockdown restrictions, knowing they are diverting waste from landfill in a Covid-safe way.”
The City of Sydney is subsiding the scheme for its residents, who can book using an app or by heading to the RecycleSmart website.
