Eurobodalla residents can help the brewing environmental problem caused by coffee capsules by sending them off for free to be recycled. Recycling company TerraCycle offers a range of programs funded by manufacturing companies where residents can ship certain items not accepted in yellow-lidded home recycling bins to be recycled for free. These include oral care products such as toothbrushes and toothpaste tubes, kids’ food pouches, soft plastic mail satchels, beauty product packaging and coffee capsules. Some of the programs even offer reward points that can be redeemed for donations to non-profit organisations and schools. TerraCycle currently runs free collection programs on Aldi’s Expressi coffee pods, Nescafe’s Nespresso and Dolce Gusto capsules, and L’OR coffee capsules. Expressi and Dolce Gusto capsules, made of plastic, and L’OR’s aluminium capsules can be posted for free by printing a shipping label from TerraCycle’s website. Each brand of capsule must be posted separately in either a sealed plastic bag or be completely dry. The capsules are then shredded to separate the coffee grounds from the plastic/aluminium, which is reused to make new recycled products. Nespresso coffee capsules can be dropped off at a growing number of collection points. While the closest collection points are at Cooma, Canberra and Kiama, local garden centres, florists and nurseries can register as drop-off locations and post them free of charge. It is estimated Australians consume around three million single-serve coffee capsules every day and it can take up to 500 years for them to break down in landfill. Real espresso coffee or plunger coffee has none of the waste issues of coffee capsules and waste coffee grounds can be composted. For more information about TerraCycle’s programs visit the website at www.terracycle.com.au and click on ‘Recycle Your Waste’. What is Terracycle? TerraCycle is Eliminating the Idea of Waste® by recycling the "non-recyclable." Whether it's coffee capsules from your home, pens from a school, or plastic gloves from a manufacturing facility, TerraCycle can collect and recycle almost any form of waste material. We partner with individual collectors such as yourself, as well as major consumer product companies, retailers, manufacturers, municipalities, and small businesses across 20 different countries. With your help, we are able to divert millions of pounds of waste from landfills and incinerators each month.

Eurobodalla residents can help the brewing environmental problem caused by coffee capsules by sending them off for free to be recycled. Recycling company TerraCycle offers a range of programs funded by manufacturing companies where residents can ship certain items not accepted in yellow-lidded home recycling bins to be recycled for free. These include oral care products, such as toothbrushes and toothpaste tubes, kids’ food pouches, soft plastic mail satchels, beauty product packaging and coffee capsules. Some of the programs even offer reward points that can be redeemed for donations to non-profit organisations and schools. TerraCycle currently runs free collection programs on Aldi’s Expressi coffee pods, Nescafe’s Nespresso and Dolce Gusto capsules, and L’OR coffee capsules. Expressi and Dolce Gusto capsules, made of plastic, and L’OR’s aluminium capsules can be posted for free by printing a shipping label from TerraCycle’s website. Each brand of capsule must be posted separately in either a sealed plastic bag or be completely dry. The capsules are then shredded to separate the coffee grounds from the plastic/aluminium, which is reused to make new recycled products. Nespresso coffee capsules can be dropped off at a growing number of collection points. While the closest collection points are at Cooma, Canberra and Kiama, local garden centres, florists and nurseries can register as drop-off locations and post them free of charge. It is estimated Australians consume around three million single-serve coffee capsules every day and it can take up to 500 years for them to breakdown in landfill. Real espresso coffee or plunger coffee has none of the waste issues of coffee capsules and waste coffee grounds can be composted. For more information about TerraCycle’s programs visit www.terracycle.com.au and click on ‘Recycle Your Waste’.

In a world that’s so commercially focused, it’s nice to know there are a few online retailers out there who are trying to do more than sell things – they’re trying to make a positive difference in the world in day-to-day operations. Come, let’s meet some of them. Irene Falcone, Founder and CEO of Nourished Life If there’s a beacon for do-good in the “planet conscious” department then Nourished Life are right up there. In 2012, Sydney-based mum Irene Falcone founded the company for two main reasons – to sell organic and sustainable personal care products online, and secondly, she wasn’t seeing her kids enough with her then full-time position. Nourished Life’s online store, which has its showroom on the Northern Beaches of NSW, now sells thousands upon thousands of organic products, which they research with a team of environmentalists and scientists. Nourished Life has not only now grown to become a leader in the organic beauty and bodycare e-commerce space, it’s most certainly a leader when it comes to sustainable packaging and planet-friendly business operations. “The entire purpose of Nourished Life is to ensure our planet, people and furry friends are looked after. Everything from our plastic-free packaging, our commitment to low plastic and plastic free products to our recycling program partnership with Terracycle, we are dedicated to educating our customers and providing healthy and safe products. Our packages are all sent in beautiful recyclable boxes without unnecessary plastic and our customers are able to return all their nonrecyclable packaging to us to be turned into things like park benches and dog bowls! I built a conscious and responsible business to demonstrate that it is possible to be successful without compromising on the health of ourselves, our planet or our furry friends. Everything we sell is sustainably sourced; we have a positive global impact using fair trade suppliers, we support Aussie and local brands, local farmers and global communities. For our people, it’s making sure that we are healthy and putting safe natural products and support our customers’ wellbeing as well as our own staff, who are working mums who have flexible working hours.”

Eurobodalla residents can help the brewing environmental problem caused by coffee capsules by sending them off for free to be recycled. Recycling company TerraCycle offers a range of programs funded by manufacturing companies where residents can ship certain items not accepted in yellow-lidded home recycling bins to be recycled for free. These include oral care products such as toothbrushes and toothpaste tubes, kids’ food pouches, soft plastic mail satchels, beauty product packaging and coffee capsules. Some of the programs even offer reward points that can be redeemed for donations to non-profit organisations and schools. TerraCycle currently runs free collection programs on Aldi’s Expressi coffee pods, Nescafe’s Nespresso and Dolce Gusto capsules, and L’OR coffee capsules. Expressi and Dolce Gusto capsules, made of plastic, and L’OR’s aluminium capsules can be posted for free by printing a shipping label from TerraCycle’s website. Each brand of capsule must be posted separately in either a sealed plastic bag or be completely dry. The capsules are then shredded to separate the coffee grounds from the plastic/aluminium, which is reused to make new recycled products. Nespresso coffee capsules can be dropped off at a growing number of collection points. While the closest collection points are at Cooma, Canberra and Kiama, local garden centres, florists and nurseries can register as drop-off locations and post them free of charge. It is estimated Australians consume around three million single-serve coffee capsules every day and it can take up to 500 years for them to break down in landfill. Real espresso coffee or plunger coffee has none of the waste issues of coffee capsules and waste coffee grounds can be composted. For more information about TerraCycle’s programs visit the website at www.terracycle.com.au and click on ‘Recycle Your Waste’.

What is Terracycle?

TerraCycle is Eliminating the Idea of Waste® by recycling the "non-recyclable." Whether it's coffee capsules from your home, pens from a school, or plastic gloves from a manufacturing facility, TerraCycle can collect and recycle almost any form of waste material. We partner with individual collectors such as yourself, as well as major consumer product companies, retailers, manufacturers, municipalities, and small businesses across 20 different countries. With your help, we are able to divert millions of pounds of waste from landfills and incinerators each month.

Eurobodalla residents can help the brewing environmental problem caused by coffee capsules by sending them off for free to be recycled.

Recycling company TerraCycle offers a range of programs funded by manufacturing companies where residents can ship certain items not accepted in yellow-lidded home recycling bins to be recycled for free.

These include oral care products, such as toothbrushes and toothpaste tubes, kids’ food pouches, soft plastic mail satchels, beauty product packaging and coffee capsules.

Some of the programs even offer reward points that can be redeemed for donations to non-profit organisations and schools.

TerraCycle currently runs free collection programs on Aldi’s Expressi coffee pods, Nescafe’s Nespresso and Dolce Gusto capsules, and L’OR coffee capsules.

Expressi and Dolce Gusto capsules, made of plastic, and L’OR’s aluminium capsules can be posted for free by printing a shipping label from TerraCycle’s website. Each brand of capsule must be posted separately in either a sealed plastic bag or be completely dry. The capsules are then shredded to separate the coffee grounds from the plastic/aluminium, which is reused to make new recycled products.

Nespresso coffee capsules can be dropped off at a growing number of collection points. While the closest collection points are at Cooma, Canberra and Kiama, local garden centres, florists and nurseries can register as drop-off locations and post them free of charge.

It is estimated Australians consume around three million single-serve coffee capsules every day and it can take up to 500 years for them to breakdown in landfill.

Real espresso coffee or plunger coffee has none of the waste issues of coffee capsules and waste coffee grounds can be composted.

For more information about TerraCycle’s programs visit www.terracycle.com.au and click on ‘Recycle Your Waste’.

Common mistakes when it comes to being green We love to be as eco-friendly as possible, and recycling is a big part of that. However sometimes it can be hard to know what you should recycle, and what should go in the trash. Are plastic bags okay? Cling wrap? Glass? It can be hard to know, and it’s important to get it right, as sometimes putting in the incorrect item can pollute an entire section of recycling. We’ve put together some answers to these commonly asked questions when it comes to what can go in your recycle bin. But make sure you check with your local council as the answers aren’t always black and white, and can differ from state to state, and from country to country. I can recycle glass bottles – does that mean all types of glass is okay? You can recycle glass bottles – beer, wine and soft drink. Glass jars and pill bottles too, are good for recycling. But, if they’re broken they shouldn’t be recycled. Unfortunately, drinking glasses and window glass are made from a different kind of material, one that can’t always be melted down and reused. So you can’t recycle those. Do I need to wash what I’m recycling? Not necessarily! But all items must be empty and free of food scraps. Do I have to remove the plastic windows from envelopes? No, you can recycle paper envelopes without removing the window. A few staples are alright too! Can I recycle coffee cups? Not always. Sadly most coffee cups have a plastic waterproof lining on the inside, which means they can’t be recycled and also have the potential to contaminate a load of recycling. If you need your caffeine fix but want to do the right thing by the environment, make sure to bring your own keep cup from home, or visit a café with bio-degradable cups (however, these need to be composted – not put into the recycling). Take it a step further and make your own coffee at home to save on money and rubbish. Plastic bags? Soft plastics are actually the number one form of contamination in the recycling systems. They can often get tangled in the machinery at recycling plants, forcing the conveyor belts to stop. Plastic bags are the main cause of this, and should not be put in the recycling bin. So then what do I do with these ‘scrunchable plastics’ like plastic bags and cling wrap? While you can’t put cling wrap in your recycling, there are some great recycling programs like REDcycle that recycle them for you. Bubble wrap, chip packets, bread bags, and the plastic film that covers your magazine and newspaper subscriptions; none of these can go in the recycling, but REDcycle can turn them into new products! Simply collect up all the soft plastics that can’t be recycled at home, and then drop them into the REDcycle collection bins at participating supermarkets. There are drop-off bins near the checkouts in 480 Coles stores and 100 Woolworths stores around the country, and you can find your closest drop-off point using the store locator on REDcycle’s website. Generally speaking, if the plastic can be scrunched up into a ball, it can be placed in a REDcycle collection bin. How about plastic bottles? Nearly all plastic bottles can be recycled, however, their tops cannot be. Make sure you remove all plastic bottle tops before putting the actual bottle in the recycling bin – otherwise the air inside the bottle can cause problems at the recycling plant. When they’re crushed, the air cannot escape from the bottle and builds pressure. A good rule of thumb when it comes to bottle tops/lids is to measure it against a business card – if it’s bigger than the card than put it in recycling, if it’s smaller than pop it in the trash. Bottle beer caps are too small to get collected in the recycling process, however they can be recycled if they are placed inside a can of a similar material. That way they can’t jam the machinery! I just threw an awesome party. What do I do with my plastic cutlery and bowls/plates? Plastic forks, spoons and knives cannot go in your recycle bin because the utensils are the wrong shape to be properly separated by the sorting machines. But some councils will accept plastic plates. If you don’t want this waste, next time, borrow a few sets of cutlery and plates from your neighbours or some friends who are coming along so you don’t have anything you need to through out! Can bathroom products be recycled? Absolutely! Most households rarely have a recycle bin in the bathroom, yet shampoo bottles, cream containers and other plastic toiletry products can all be recycled. Not to mention non-electric toothbrushes, toothpaste tubes and dental floss containers. So make sure you collect these up and pop them into your recycling bin in the kitchen. When it comes to make-up products and toothpaste containers, Terracycle has some really cool recycling programs you should check out. Their mission is eliminate the idea of waste by recycling the “non-recyclable.” Take a look at their programs here. Paper towels & Tissues In this case, the fact that they’re made out of paper actually disqualifies them from recycling. Paper towels and tissues are produced using a method that improves the “wet strength” of the paper. Typically water breaks up the hydrogen bonds holding together cellulose fibres in the paper; the addition of certain chemicals can improve this, causing the paper to hold together better. This is why a paper towel doesn’t melt in your hands – but it’s also why the fibres are then much harder to recycle, so typically have to be put in the trash or organic waste for composting, unless your council is an exception. What’s the go with foil? Aluminium foil is 100 percent recyclable, but this is another case where it differs per council. Some councils don’t allow used foil as sometimes it isn’t cleaned properly, but as long as it’s cleaned then you’re good to go! Try to make sure there are no tiny pieces of foil though, and if there are, squeeze the separate pieces into a ball and then put it in recycling. I just had pizza for dinner – what do I do with the boxes? This varies a lot based on where you are – some councils accept pizza boxes and some do not. This is because people frequently leave food on the cardboard, which contaminates the recycling load. But if you make sure the box is completely free of food, then recycle away! How about those soy sauce fishes from my local sushi place? Nope! They’re too small, and so they can potentially jam machinery. However, just like beer bottle tops, you can put them in a container made of the same material, and then recycle it. Aerosal cans? Yes, aerosol cans can definitely be recycled! This is potentially the biggest misconception around recycling in Australia. Guess what? They won’t explode when put in recycling; they’re made out of steel and aluminium, and most councils can absolutely recycle aerosols. However! The can must be empty. Still got more recycling questions but feel like this article is getting pretty long? Me too! Let’s smash out the rest of this with…. Can I recycle it?: The Lightening Round Glossy magazines? Yes! Receipts? Yes! Junk mail? Yes! Banana peels? No! Tea bags? Nope! Easter egg foil? Yes! Take out containers? Yes! Juice cartons? Yes! Foil inside cigarette boxes? Yes! Mirrors? No, but you can still donate them (if they’re not broken)! Nails? No! Tin cans? Yes! Of course, as we’ve stated, this is just a general guide, and your council may have slightly different rules. Always check with your council when you’re not sure!

This week's BIG question ..... Are coffee cups recyclable in the Eurobodalla? Council confirms...... YES. Unlined cardboard and plastic-lined coffee cups, including the plastic lids, are to be placed into the yellow-lidded recycling bins within Eurobodalla. Council’s contractor SUEZ bales them and then transports the cardboard for recycling to companies within Australia. Polystyrene coffee cups should not be placed in yellow-lidded recycling bins. The materials recycling facility in Moruya does not process polystyrene as a recyclable, because it is difficult to manage in this environment. However, clean polystyrene is recyclable and can be separated and delivered to Council’s waste management facilities for recycling, free of charge. Used coffee pods cannot be recycled in Eurobodalla's yellow-lidded recycling bins. However, there is an option for the keen recycler. Terracycle currently accepts Expressi coffee pods and Nespresso coffee pods at present. For more information about Terracycle and what they offer you can visit their website at http://bit.ly/2sG8Mqw It may also be a way to raise funds through Terracycle’s incentive points system for a sports club or organisation while closing the loop on a problem waste item.

Unilever is a household name and a brand most of us a probably familiar with. As a company they are committed to circular economy thinking and are continually looking at new ways to prevent their packaging ending up in landfill. As an organisation, Unilever has pledged to make 100% of packaging recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025. In line with this way of thinking, a brand new technology has been unveiled by Unilever which will recycle single-use plastic sachets. The type of sachets include single use toiletries and cosmetics, (for example samples you might find in magazines), and food/beverage packets (for example sauces etc). Single use toiletry sachets such as shampoo and conditioner are common and popular in developing countries  where people may not be able to afford the larger bottled options. The sachets are typically made up of a laminated film of plastic and aluminium therefore deeming them a difficult item to recycle and hence ending up in landfill (or worse in the waterways or  oceans). The new recycling technology is called CreaSolv and will work by recovering the plastic from the sachet and then using this plastic to create new sachets for Unilever products (therefore aligning with the vision of the circular economy). A pilot plant will be opened up and the technology trialled in Indonesia this year. Indonesia being a country that consumes a high number of the sachets and is estimated to produce 64 million tonnes of waste per year – with 1.3 tonnes ending up in the ocean. While these types of plastic sachets may not be as prevalent in Australia as in some developing countries it does bring to light the issue of packaging once again and how important it is to consider the impact packaging has on the environment. Here are six things to consider packaging wise when making your next purchase: 1.  Buy the larger container or in bulk if possible. It might sound obvious but the larger the container, the longer it will last (more convenient) and it is usually the more economical way to purchase. After you have finished with your product, can you reuse the container in anyway? 2.  Buy locally made products if possible. By avoiding aircraft and minimising road transportation, means fewer kilometres traveled and therefore fewer transport related emissions. 3.  Check out what the packaging is made of. Has it got a recycling code on it? 4.  Choose lighter packs that use less material (less resources are used). 5.  Avoid buying single use products and instead opt for bulk alternatives. For example, a single use microwave rice could be replaced with a large packet of rice that will last for many servings (or better yet take a container into a bulk supermarket and fill with rice). Instead of buying individual yoghurt pots, purchase a large tub and decant as needed 6.  If you are purchasing single use pouches for children’s snacks, consider buying the Whole Kids range which can be recycled through a Terracycle programme. In the workplace if you have any type of packaging in bulk that you are currently throwing away in your general waste, please contact us to see if it could be recycled. KS Environmental have many waste management solutions available and are abreast with new recycling technologies emerging in Australia.