ALMOST 30 tonnes of waste was diverted from landfill during the City of Wanneroo’s recent drop-off event, including about 1000 tyres.
Mayor Tracey Roberts said statistics from the two-day “De-stash your trash” weekend held at the Ashby Operations Centre in February saved almost 30 tonnes of waste going to landfill.
“Residents from 34 of the City’s 36 suburbs took the opportunity to drop off their unwanted goods for free, knowing they would all be either re-used or recycled,” she said.
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READ NOWMrs Roberts said the City collected about 1000 tyres, weighing 11.66 tonnes, during the event.
“If these tyres were stacked on top of each other, they would reach over 200m tall – about the same height as Perth’s tallest building, Central Park,” she said.
“By bringing in their tyres to be recycled, residents were able to save 1500kg of steel, 500kg of textile and 7000kg of rubber from being sent to landfill.”
Residents also dropped off 5.32 tonnes of cardboard and polystyrene, which would have filled at least 220 yellow-top recycling bins.
They also dropped off 7.7 tonnes of e-waste, which the mayor said was “about the same weight as an African elephant”.
“These items will be manually disassembled by Total Green Recycling, where about 95 per cent of components (mixed metals, steel, glass and plastic) can be recovered and sold for reprocessing into new products,” she said.
People also took 4.8 tonnes of clothes to the collection, which would have filled 110 hatchback car boots.
“The drop-off event was another step in the right direction for the City’s goal of achieving a 65 per cent diversion rate by 2020,” Mrs Roberts said.
“Residents still needing to responsibly dispose of their waste can drop off their e-waste, bulky polystyrene, cardboard and clothing for free all year round to Tamala Park or Balcatta recycling centres.
“Wangara Greens Recycling Centre also accepts bulk cardboard for recycling on weekends and clothing can also be donated to your local charity store.
“Fees apply for the disposal of tyres at Tamala Park.”
For more information, visit www.wanneroo.wa.gov.au.
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