What you can do

Living Sustainably

Recycling

Where do I start?

Make the most of public recycling facilities when you're out and about. By actively supporting public place recycling you will help make resource recovery a visible part of contemporary life.

If you're planning an event or managing a public space, you'll find a wealth of guidelines and great ideas are readily available to help you plan and execute an efficient recycling program.

It's all in the planning

Venue selection

Planning a day out with friends or family? Or organising an outdoor event? Add "recycling facilities" to your list of venue requirements. Contact the venue owner or local council to find out what recycling facilities are available at the event or venue.

If there are none at the location, ask the local council, event managers or venue owners to consider setting up recycling facilities. Find out what arrangements could be made in the interim – through proactiveness you are helping to divert material away from landfill.

Organising a 'Waste Wise' event

Outdoor events are a special case for recycling. They generate a high volume of disposable materials and the community expects them to be 'clean and green'.

This can be achieved through careful waste planning that diverts as much material as possible away from landfill. Follow the comprehensive guidelines – 7 Steps to a Waste Wise Event to find out how to effectively manage waste at your event. You will also find sample waste management plans, useful ideas and information about:

contractual arrangements with service providers
controlling packaging used at the event
markets and requirements for recycled materials
equipment required (e.g. types of bins and crates) and storage requirements
how to locate bins and how often to clear them
standard signage, symbols and colours
how to promote your recycling and waste facilities, and
the 'how and why' of evaluating your efforts after the event.