Fortnightly Column
M: 0419 106 461
F: 03 5494 3491
Loddon Mallee Waste and Resource Recovery Group
13/05/2015
Be Proud to Recycle
A friend recently confided in me. He told me that one evening, instead of emptying some containers and
recycling them, he threw them out with the rubbish.
After a night spent tossing and turning the guilt got too much; he leapt from bed and retrieved the
containers from the rubbish bin!
After emptying them, he placed them in the recycle bin with a smile and a great sigh of relief.
He takes pride in recycling!
Recycling at home is now completely normal. People make sure they know exactly what goes in each bin
and they are keeping as much out of the general waste bin as possible.
Why then is recycling such a dirty word as soon as we leave the safety of our own homes?
Recycling at work and in public places are rare events. Only last week I watched a young, educated Bendigo
resident place a used coffee cup in the general waste bin on Hargreaves Mall, even though there was a shiny
new recycling bin right next to it.
Yesterday a colleague of mine placed a plastic bottle in the general waste bin under their desk when I know
that they are fastidious recyclers at home.
Is recycling and ‘being green’ still a taboo that we are welcome to enjoy in the privacy of our own homes but
must be avoided in public, whatever the cost to the environment?
Businesses reducing their waste makes business sense. The cost of general waste collection is
phenomenally higher than the cost of a recycling collection.
Using the public place recycling bins available in towns throughout the Loddon Mallee region helps Councils
keep rates down as they aren’t having to pay to take waste from the public bins to landfill.
Kerbside Pride is a free program that helps businesses cut costs by reducing waste going to landfill and
increasing recycling. Starting the conversation about recycling in the workplace allows it to move beyond the
home and reduces the amount of waste Victorians are sending to landfill.
My friend is thrilled, he can now start taking pride in his recycling at work and when he’s out and about without
feeling embarrassed.
For more information on Kerbside Pride please contact Rachel McConville, Projects Officer for the LMWRRG,
on 0419106461 or email her at rachel.mcconville@lmwrrg.vic.gov.au
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