Canberrans are great recyclers, but sometimes people mistake items as recyclable when they’re not.

Things you can put in your recycling (yellow) bin include:

• aluminium and steel cans
• glass bottles and jars
• paper and cardboard
• plastic bottles and containers.

However, plenty of other items turn up in yellow bins across the ACT every day. These include everything from coffee cups to clothing and computers to cat poo.

While some of these things can be recycled, your yellow bin is not the place for them. Visit the A to Z guide of waste and recycling to find out what to do with them.

Here are some items Canberrans commonly try to recycle through their yellow bin.

Bagged recycling

Plastic bags cannot go in your recycling bin. If you put items in your yellow bin inside a plastic bag, the whole bag will go to landfill. Waste sorting facilities will not open the bag as there may be other contamination inside.

Don’t let the bag cancel out what’s inside. Simply place recyclable items – loose and empty – into your recycling bin and reuse your bags another way.

Soft plastics

Soft plastics include things like chip and lolly packets and bread bags. Like plastic bags, these can’t go in your recycling bin.

The general rule is that if you can scrunch it up, it can’t go in your recycling bin. Put it in your landfill (red) bin instead.

Even though items like milk bottles and berry punnets may feel a bit soft, these are still considered hard plastics and can go in your household recycling.

Takeaway coffee cups

There is a lot of confusion around these. While many takeaway coffee cups are made from cardboard, they cannot go in recycling bins. This is due to the type of materials they’re made from, including the plastic coating often found on the inside.

You should also put the disposable lids in your landfill bin as they cannot be recycled either.

Timber

Timber can be reused but not via your household recycling bin.

You can dispose of reusable timber by dropping it off for free at second-hand locations like Goodies Junction. If the timber is valuable, you could try a local ‘buy nothing’ group or consider contacting places like Thor's Hammer or ACT Recycling.

Textiles

These include clothing, blankets, sheets, towels and fabrics.

These items can also be recycled but your recycling bin is not the place for them.

You can try giving them another home by:

• passing them on to a friend
• selling or giving them away online
• donating them to a charity
• dropping them off for free at Goodies Junction at either Mitchell or Mugga Lane.

Batteries and eWaste

It’s imperative batteries and eWaste are disposed of correctly. These items can cause fires and should not go in any of your household bins.

You can drop off batteries for free at over 50 locations across Canberra. These include most supermarkets and hardware stores.

Both eWaste and batteries can be disposed of for free at a resource management centre – either at Mitchell or Mugga Lane.

Animal waste

While this one may seem obvious, animal waste is not recyclable and must not go in household recycling bins. Animal waste should only be placed in landfill bins.

If you’re ever unsure about what can and cannot be recycled, check out the A to Z guide to waste and recycling.

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