AN audit of Tamworth’s rubbish found two-thirds of commercial and industrial waste sent to landfill could have been recycled.
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Tamworth Regional Council undertook the review last winter and could look to roll out further education to keep more recyclables out of the trash.
It was the first council-wide waste audit conducted using NSW EPA guidelines and came at a cost of $110,000.
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The review sifted through rubbish from kerbside collections, transfer stations and commercial and industrial waste.
The recurring theme across the audit was the amount of missed opportunities to recycle with materials disposed incorrectly.
The audit identified up to 67 per cent of all commercial and industrial waste material could be recycled with further resource recovery investment and practices being implemented.
The audit found 18 per cent of the contents of the red-lidded bins could have been recycled.
Tamworth fared slightly better in this measure compared to the benchmark of 22 per cent.
It’s markedly down from an audit council undertook in late 2016, which found more than a quarter of waste sent to the landfill could have been recycled.
Council manager of water and waste operations, Dan Coe, said a focus for council, going forward, was looking at what services could be introduced to improve recycling rates in the commercial and industrial sector.
“It is something were looking to improve,” he said.
“The organic waste recycling facility will take a significant portion of that because the abattoir waste is included in that.”
Overall, Mr Coe said the figures were what the waste department expected and with a detailed review under it’s belt, he said council could now deliver more tailored education to improve the region’s recycling stats.
He said non-recyclable plastics were the main menace contaminating recycling bins while potential organic waste was finding it’s way into the region’s red-lidded bins.
He said there was “really low” contamination in green waste bins.