Hunter Resource Recovery: Stop 'wishcycling' ruining your efforts

How to stop your waste being wasted

This is branded content for Hunter Resource Recovery.. It's bin night.. It's late..

You're packing recycling into your yellow bin.. You come across a couple of takeaway containers.. This is the moment Hunter Resource Recovery (HRR) wants you to stop and think twice..

Including items that seem recyclable but are not accepted is known as "wishcycling." Common examples include coffee cups, textiles, and cardboard-style takeaway containers.. While most of these items will simply be diverted to landfill, textiles in particular can cause problems if they reach sorting facilities, as they can interfere with machinery and pose safety risks to workers.. It's not from a place of not caring about the environment or people..

The sheer number of bins to be collected across HRR's jurisdictions (Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Cessnock and Singleton Council LGAs) means not all residents get feedback on the items that weren't processed.. A new community campaign is calling on residents to get the word out.. To encourage people to stop WishCycling..

To do the opposite:. take deliberate steps to make sure what goes in actually can and will get processed.. It's called RealCycling..

Glass, cardboard and rigid plastic bottles and food container, steel and aluminium cans, foil and empty aerosols can all be repurposed into new objects.. In the Hunter, it's HRR's estimation that around 15 per cent of what goes into our red bins is actually recyclable.. As a result, this material ends up waste or buried in landfill, and harms the environment..

The frustration runs in both directions.. When the wrong items make it into the yellow bin, the consequences flow through to HRR's sorting facility.. Soft plastics, like bread bags, cling film and shopping bags, wrap around machinery and clog conveyor belts..

Any bags filled with recyclable material are pulled from the system entirely, unopened, because sorting staff can't risk what might be inside.. Hazardous e-waste, including batteries, laptops and vapes, can ignite, and compromise entire loads in one go.. HRR's REAL (Recycling Education And Liaison) team knows first hand how hard it is to stay vigilant..

This overhaul is a big ask.. To get started, the campaign offers three practical behaviours at your bin:. Other easy items to exclude straight away include styrofoam, takeaway cups, textiles, and e-waste..

While the message is serious, the method doesn't have to be.. The campaign introduces us to Barry (or Bazza to his mates).. Barry is an ibis who has made a career out of knowing his way around a bin..

Presented as the O.G.. binfluencer, Barry lends RealCycling a distinctly Hunter sense of humour while keeping the message grounded.. Since its establishment by Cessnock, Lake Macquarie, Maitland, and Singleton Councils, HRR has helped the Hunter community recycle more than 820,000 tonnes of material..

Today, the service reaches more than 166,500 homes and businesses across the region.. RealCycling represents HRR's push to protect that track record, and to ensure the infrastructure residents rely on can keep doing its job.. Residents are encouraged to visit hrr.com.au to download the A-Z Recycling Guide and find out exactly what belongs in their yellow bin..

For more information, visit Hunter Resource Recovery or call 1800 838 884..