Household Hazardous Waste (HHW)
This is one of the biggest contaminants of household waste. It comprises old chemicals, especially garden chemicals, paint and thinners, and batteries, including the ordinary household batteries.
RRC is a participant in the State government's Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) program. For further information about the HHW program and free collection days visit: WasteNet
Dry Cell Battery Collection and Recycling Program
On September 1st 2009, the Minister for the Environment, Hon Donna Faragher launched the Dry Cell Battery Collection and Recycling Program. The program, funded by the Western Australian Landfill Levy will operate across the Perth metropolitan area enabling people to safely dispose of unwanted household batteries
After collection, Rivers Regional Council will coordinate the transportation of collected batteries for reprocessing at a specialised facility in New South Wales, where they are conducting pilot trials. Once larger volumes of batteries are collected the facility will start commercial operations. The battery components will eventually be recycled into new products such as street lights, steel frames and car parts.
Click here to view the Battery Recycling Program Information
For further information contact the Waste Services Officer at your local council or visit the Waste Authority website.
MobileMuster
MobileMuster is the official recycling program of the mobile phone industry.
Initiated voluntarily by the Australian telecommunications industry in 1999, its overall aim is to prevent mobile phones ending up in landfill.
There are many MobileMuster collection points in RRC member councils. For further information, contact the Waste Services Officer at your local council or visit Mobile Muster
E-waste
Some local Councils previously participated in the free Apple-sponsored electronic waste collection and recycling days for residents. Although this collection day will not be held in 2011, your local Council will be either collecting e-waste as part of the verge bulk waste collection service or providing a drop-off centre to dispose of these unwanted items for recycling.
E-waste contains a significant amount of hazardous waste, particularly in old TVs and computers, and residents are asked to dispose of these items responsibly to reduce the contamination in landfills. Most of the components can be recovered and recycled for use in other products, conserving valuable resources.
For further information about e-waste recycling contact the Waste Services Officer at your local Council or visit the Australian Government's website National Waste Policy
Paint
Household paint can be hazardous and steps are required to protect your health and the environment when handling and disposing of it.
The Rivers Regional Council (RRC) has prepared this easy
disposal guide to assist householders with the correct way
to dispose of leftover household paint. Click here for more
information.
Compact Fluorescent Lamps and Tubes (CFLs)
CFLs are energy saving fluorescent globes that are designed to replace the traditional incandescent light globes. Because they contain mercury vapour, CFLs must be collected separately to prevent them from breaking and to ensure they are recycled. It is important that broken CFLs are handled carefully
Some FAQs about CFLs:
- CFLs use about 20% of electricity to produce the same amount of light as incandescent globes so energy bills are reduced
- CFLs have a longer life, about 6 – 10 times longer than regular globes
- CFLs are more expensive to buy but the saving in energy bills and replacement globes far outweighs this cost
- CFLs contain small amounts of mercury which can be hazardous if not disposed of correctly
- When disposed of correctly, 100% of CFLs can be recycled
- If sent to landfill, mercury vapours are released when the globes are broken
- CFLs require more energy to produce but power stations emit 5 times more mercury from burning coal to produce incandescent globes
- Incandescent globes waste 90% of energy used as heat which is lost to the atmosphere
It is important that CFLs are disposed of correctly for recycling and that broken CFLs are handled carefully. Click here for more information.
| Date | Name | Filesize |
|---|---|---|
| Dec 13, 2018 | 2018 Brochure - Battery Recycling Locations | (726.84 KB) |
| Aug 14, 2013 | CFL Brochure | (617.49 KB) |
| Dec 22, 2011 | Brochure - Leftover Paint | (972.18 KB) |
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