Just over 4 years ago an online service called Recyclesmart was launched. Overtime it has grown and recently passed 40,000 regular users.
By using Recyclesmart to get rid of unwanted things that can’t go in the recycle bin, these people have saved over 1 million tons of CO2 emissions from entering the atmosphere and kept over 500,000 kilos of valuable resources in circulation rather than going to landfill.
So what kinds of things does recycle smart pick up for recycling or reuse you ask?
There is a big list but some of the main items are:
- batteries
- light globes
- clothing
- toys
- white polystyrene
- small electrical items
- soft plastics
- shoes / sneakers
New items are being added all the time like pillows and watches recently.
Recyclesmart has been available in some council areas of Melbourne and Sydney for a while as well as West Torrens in Adelaide.
Inner city Brisbane suburbs are a new addition to the pickup zone a few days ago.
If you signup to use Recyclesmart like I do and use the code ccea75, you’ll get $5 off your first pick up and I’ll get a $5 pickup credit as well 🙂
If you join Recyclesmart and your local council is one of their partners then you will occasionally get free pickups, otherwise there is a small fee per pickup that you book through the app. As an example my local government Inner West Council are Recyclesmart partners.
Leaving out your stuff for Recyclesmart is easy, they send you reminders for which morning you need to leave the bags on your doormat.
PS personally while Recyclesmart are doing a great job, recycling things like soft plastics shouldn’t rely on well meaning people to do it.
Industry players like supermarkets and FMCG companies should be forced to drastically reduce the amount of plastic they put their products in
