Here you will find a list of common items, and how to recycle or dispose of them.
Halve Waste is an initiative of Albury City Council, City of Wodonga, Federation Council and the Shires of Towong, Greater Hume, Indigo and Alpine Shire Councils. The goal of Halve Waste is to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill by 50%.
Batteries
Householders only. Quantities per person should not exceed a handful.
Drop off points for batteries have been set up at the Myrtleford, Mount Beauty and Bright libraries, Transfer Stations and the Alpine Shire Council Office in Bright.
Most batteries under 5kg can be dropped off, including all domestic alkaline (single use) and rechargeable batteries.
These batteries are found in many household appliances and personal devices such as:
- Cordless phones
- Cordless power tools
- Digital cameras
- Hearing aids
- Laptop computers
- Mobile phones
- Palm pilots
- Portable disc players
- Portable electric shavers
- Portable video games
- Remote controlled toys
- Video cameras
What about rechargeable batteries?
Approximately 70 per cent of batteries sold each year in Australia are single-use batteries, and most of them end up in landfill.
Rechargeable batteries can be recharged hundreds of times, making them an ideal choice because they:
- Save you money
- Reduce the use of finite natural resources in the production of batteries
- Reduce the release of greenhouse gasses associated with extraction of these resources
- Divert from landfill and resulting contamination of soil and groundwater
- Remember that it's also important to recycle your rechargeable batteries
Printer Cartridges
Drop off points for used ink, laser, fax and photocopier cartridges are at:
- Alpine Shire Council Office
- Mount Beauty Library
- Myrtleford Library
- Bright Library
- Bright Post Office
- Transfer Stations
Mobile Phones
Drop off points for old and damaged mobile phones are at:
- Alpine Shire Council Office
- Mount Beauty Library
- Myrtleford Library
- Bright Library
E-Waste (Electronic Waste)
Take electronic waste to one of Council’s three Transfer Stations. You can be sure it is electronic waste when it has a battery, a cord or a plug. Electronic waste cannot be put into any bin going to landfill.
Most E-waste items are FREE to dispose of except for some items such as whitegoods and heating and cooling devices that attract a fee.
Light Globes (CFLs, Fluorescent Tubes, LEDs and HIDs)
Importance of recycling these lights
- Energy-efficient alternatives to incandescent globes, like CFLs and LEDs, use much less energy and last much longer than old-style incandescent.
- Compact fluoros contain trace amounts of mercury and one third of the amount used in office fluoro tubes. By recycling, the small amount of mercury can be recovered, used again and kept out of landfill.
- Recycling fluorescent household globes can also recover other valuable materials like ceramic, glass, aluminium and phosphor that are used in products like fertilizer, aluminium cans and insulation batts.
How to dispose
CFLs, Fluorescent Tubes, LEDs and HIDs can be taken to one of Council’s three Transfer Stations.
Standard types of broken globes (incandescent) should be wrapped and placed in your landfill bin. They should never go in your household recycling bin.
Learn how to clean up a broken fluorescent tube or compact fluoros.
Soft Plastics
A company called ‘REDcycle’ collects soft plastics from various supermarkets and recycles it into various items such as outdoor furniture, asphalt additives for road infrastructure and other items.
Recently REDcycle ceased collections from Woolworths in Bright, leaving Coles Supermarket in Myrtleford as the only place within the Alpine Shire where residents can divert soft plastics from going to landfill.
We are currently working on finding a solution to this. If you are unable to take your soft plastics to Coles Supermarket, please dispose of this material in your red lid kerbside waste bin. Soft plastics should NEVER be placed in the yellow lid kerbside bin.
Cutting down on plastic pollution
Ahead of the legislative ban on lightweight, single-use plastic bags that comes into effect at the end of 2019, Sustainability Victoria has launched the Better Bag Habits campaign to remind and encourage all Victorians to bring a reusable bag when shopping, whether it be for food or non-food items.
Agricultural Chemicals (ChemClear)
ChemClear is a chemical waste disposal program for the safe management of unwanted rural chemicals.
Holders of unwanted rural chemicals should register for collection and disposal. You can do this:
- Online at www.chemclear.com.au
- Over the phone, by calling 1800 008182.
All registrations will be given a date, appointment time and location, and the collection process is quick and easy.
These days, with the introduction of best practice and environmental management systems, chemical users must make time to regularly sort through their chemical storage and make smart chemical disposal choices. This is an important element in managing risks on farms and within businesses that use pesticides and herbicides, among other chemicals.
ChemClear collects APVMA currently registered chemicals produced by 119 manufacturers supporting the Industry Waste Reduction Scheme. Chemicals classified as Group 1 are collected free-of-charge. A listing of these manufacturers is available on the ChemClear website.
As an additional service, ChemClear also collects Group 2 chemicals. This category covers deregistered, out-of-date, mixed, unlabelled, unknown, or, agvet chemicals produced by a manufacturer not signed to the ChemClear stewardship program.
There is a cost for disposal of Group 2 chemicals, which is quoted to the waste holder once their registration has been processed.
For more information contact Council's Waste Management Officer on (03) 5755 0555 or ChemClear on 1800 008 182.
Reusable Goods
If you want to get rid of unwanted goods that are in good condition, please take them to one of the opportunity shops in the Alpine Shire. Give your reusable goods a second life!
Silage Wrap and Baling Twine
It is illegal to burn plastic. Burying or putting in landfill is wasting a scarce resource and detrimental to the environment. It is preferred for silage wrap to be recycled and diverted from landfill. Currently there is one business in this region that accepts silage wrap for free. For full details please visit their website.
Burning silage wrap is not permitted because of the toxic materials produced, particularly dioxins and furans which are hormone-disrupting, cancer-causing substances that build up in water, soil, crops, humans and livestock. The Environment Protection Authority (EPA) may issue fines to farmers for incinerating plastic waste.
Please ensure silage wrap is clean (shake well) rolled up and presented in an appropriate outer bag and taken to one of Council’s three Transfer Stations. Current charges as of July 1, 2019 is $3.50/m3.
