Council Education Officer Emma Baker with the unwanted Christmas decorations at the recycling plant in Canning Vale.        d462798
Camera IconCouncil Education Officer Emma Baker with the unwanted Christmas decorations at the recycling plant in Canning Vale.        d462798 Credit: Supplied/Supplied

Christmas wastage warning

Bryce LuffCockburn Gazette

But the incredible amount of disposable decorations and other waste generated over Christmas has encouraged the Southern Metropolitan Regional Council to offer advice about how to dispose of rubbish once the fun of the festive period is over.

An SMRC spokesman said long, stringy items including tinsel and Christmas lights were particularly troublesome because they had the potential to become tangled in machinery at its processing facilities, leading to damage and downtime.

“Many items are made from a mixture of materials including cardboard and plastic and if they are not clearly separated they will not be able to sorted and recycled,” he said. “Longer stringy items can get caught in parts of the machinery, which then has to be manually removed.”

The message from the SMRC is to consider giving items in good condition to charity or family.

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“Amongst all of the celebrations this festive season, it’s important for people to consider exactly how much extra waste they are producing this festive season and give strong consideration to the three r’s: reduce, reuse, recycle,” he said.

For information, visit recycleright.wa.gov.au or download the Recycle Right app.