RECYCLING

Household Batteries

Household dry cell batteries contain metals such as zinc, manganese and steel which, like many natural resources, are found in limited supply. Separating your batteries and recycling them reduces the incidence of these valuable metals becoming designated to landfill and contributing to contamination of land and water. Up to 95% of a battery can be recovered and recycled. Your recycling actions recover metals that provide components for the following: 

What batteries can I recycle?

The types of batteries accepted in the battery bin at the Waroona Community Resource Centre include:

• AA and AAA cells (single use & rechargeable batteries);
• C and D sized batteries;
• Button batteries (e.g. from watches);
• 9V batteries; and
• 6V batteries (e.g. lantern/torch batteries).

Automotive & sealed lead-based can be taken to the Buller Road Refuse and Disposal Site, dropped off to the closest Household Hazardous Waste collection point, being the Mandurah Waste Management Centre, or are accepted for recycling by the majority of battery retailers.  

Where can I recycle?

You can recycle your batteries at designated battery storing facilities at the following locations:

• Waroona Community Resource Centre, 42 Henning Street, Waroona;
• Waroona Mitre 10, cnr South Western Highway and Thatcher Street, Waroona
• Buller Road Refuse and Disposal Site, 702 Buller Road, Waroona; or
• Mandurah Waste Management Centre, 80 Corsican Place, Parklands  

What else can I do to help - Reduce - Reuse – Recycle?

Consider purchasing rechargeable batteries. These can be used up to 1000 times, making them a cost effective and long life alternative to single use batteries.

Ink Cartridges 

'Cartridges 4 Planet Art' is an innovative recycling program that provides Australians with a free, easy and environmentally-accredited way to recycle their used printer cartridges.

Why recycle printer cartridges?

• Diverting waste from landfill: Over 30 million cartridges have been diverted from landfill through ‘Cartridges 4 Planet Ark’.
• Recovering resources: By collecting cartridges and sending them for reprocessing or recycling we recover plastics, metals and inks that can then be used to make new
• Saving water and energy: In most cases, making products from recycled materials uses less water and energy than making them from new
• Reducing greenhouse gases: Based on a life cycle analysis of Close the Loop’s processes, the ‘Cartridges 4 Planet Ark' program has prevented over 133,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases from being released into the atmosphere.  

What can I recycle?

All inkjet cartridges, toner cartridges and toner bottles from participating brands can be placed in the Cartridges 4 Planet Ark box.

 Other accepted items include: 

• Mixed cartridges
• Inkjet cartridges

• Laser cartridges
• Unused cartridges
• Toner cartridges
• Toner bottles
• Fuser and drum units
• Print heads and
• Waste hoppers / containers collectors & kits

Where can I recycle?

 You can recycle your ink cartridges in the Cartridges 4 Planet Ark box at the following locations:

• Shire of Waroona Community Resource Centre;
• Australia Post Office, Waroona; and
• Any participating Officeworks, Harvey Norman, JB Hi-Fi, or The Good Guys

 For further information about what happens to your recycled printer cartridges, please click the link.

Mobile Muster

MobileMuster provides a free mobile phone recycling program that accepts all brands and types of mobile phones, plus their batteries, chargers and accessories. It is the mobile phone industry’s way of ensuring old mobile phone products don’t end up in landfill - but instead are recycled in a safe, secure and ethical way.

Why recycle mobile phones and accessories?

Through MobileMusters recycling and recovery process, over 99% of the materials in a mobile phone are recovered. This process reduces the impact of hazardous materials entering the environment, avoids future greenhouse gas emissions, saves energy, diverts waste from landfill, and conserves natural resources through recovery of re- usable materials and subsequently promotes the development of a circular economy.

The materials recovered in the recycling process can be used in the manufacturing of new products. For example the recycled plastic from the mobile phone cases is used to make shipping pallets and the lithium extracted from mobile phone batteries can be reused to make new batteries. 

What can I recycle?

• All makes and models of mobile phones
• All mobile phone batteries
• All mobile chargers and accessories
• All mobile wireless internet devices
• All smart watches

Where can I recycle?

 There are a number of ways you can recycle your mobile phone through MobileMuster. Remember to remove any data that you would like to keep before you recycle. You can drop you mobile phone off at the following locations:

• MobileMuster container located at the Waroona Community Resource Centre;
• Mobile recycling bin at Australia Post Office, Waroona;
• Use a free MobileMuster satchel available from your nearest AusPost outlet; or
• Any participating Telstra, Optus, Vodafone, Samsung, or Officeworks

Have you ever wondered how your mobile phone is made and what materials are used to make it function? The MobileMuster website takes a look at some of the important materials that go into making your phone and why we need to make sure they are recovered and used again when the phone reaches the end of its life.

Online Resources

Recycle Right is the education arm of the Southern Metropolitan Regional Council in Perth, Western Australia. The team from Recycle Right have created the Recycle Right app for simple and convenient way of finding which bin to put your waste in. The app is free to download for your iPhone, iPad or Android device by searching ‘Recycle Right’ in the App Store or Google Play.

Alternatively their website has a variety of resources available for use including the A-Z waste guide for a 2-bin system.

Visit https://recycleright.wa.gov.au for more information.