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 Transfer Stations in Mount Beauty, Myrtleford, and Porepunkah, 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
Cutting down on plastic pollution
Alpine Shire households that receive a kerbside waste collection service can recycle soft plastics from home thanks to Halve Waste's pilot Soft Plastic Program.
You can sign up for this optional program by visiting https://halvewaste.com.au/soft-plastics-recycling-trial.../
After signing up, collect your bags from Council Customer Service points. Fill them with crushable soft plastics, secure them, and add the bag to your kerbside recycling bin – it's really that easy!
For more information about the soft plastic stewardships scheme, visit: https://www.afgc.org.au/industry.../soft-plastic-recycling
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.
