Lismore City Council is marking National Recycling Week by showing where local recycling goes, what residents can do to cut contamination, and how services are improving.
In Lismore, kerbside collections have delivered 3,562 tonnes of mixed recycling for processing, plus about 200 tonnes of cardboard locally since the closure of Lismore's Materials Recovery Facility in 2024. That equals roughly 231,299 full 240 litre bins of material.
Those figures mean the Lismore Local Government Area on average has recycled 6.8 million milk bottles, 5.9 million aluminium cans and 2 million glass bottles. That is the scale of what residents have already delivered since 2024.
This shows the system is working and why clear sorting at home matters.
Since the 2024 closure of Lismore's Materials Recovery Facility, mixed recycling collected at the kerb is transferred to Re.Group's Materials Recovery Facility at Chinderah for sorting, while cardboard is processed locally by Richmond Waste. Recoverable material is then sent on to reprocessors, for the items to be made into new products.
Lismore City Mayor Steve Krieg said it is a great opportunity to educate the community on how the system operates, and the positive recycling outcomes it delivers.
"Our community takes recycling seriously and the results speak for themselves," he said.
"Lismore recycles at scale. We have collected 3,562 tonnes of mixed recycling and about 200 tonnes of cardboard. That is roughly 231,000 full yellow-lid bins. It shows households are doing the right thing and real material is being recovered.
"Put simply, your effort shows up in the numbers. That haul is about 1,700 tonnes of paper and cardboard and 1,000 tonnes of glass, plus plastics, steel and aluminium. Cleaner sorting at home lowers costs and lifts recovery, and this week we are showing people how the system works from kerb to processor."
The good news continues for regular users of the Return and Earn bulk site at the Lismore Recycling & Recovery Centre. It is open this week and will close next week from Monday, 17 November to Saturday, 22 November for an upgrade, then reopen Monday, 24 November with a community BBQ.
The works add a second singulator to create two service lines, plus clearer directions and better traffic flow so throughput lifts and queues fall.
Acting Waste Operations Coordinator Kadijah Runge said National Recycling Week is about turning good intent into clear action and educating our community on how we recycle.
"We are showing users of our waste system where Lismore's recycling goes and giving residents simple steps that cut contamination and lift recovery," she said.
"This week we are publishing via our social media channels myth busters, a what goes where tip, and a short explainer video from kerb to processor. The goal is fewer mistakes at the bin and more material back to work.
"For tricky items people can use Council's A to Z guide and Planet Ark's Recycling Near You. Those tools save residents guesswork, reduce costs and improve outcomes across the city.
"Residents want proof that the system works. This week we are laying out the pathway and the results so people can see the impact of their effort."
National Recycling Week is Planet Ark's annual education campaign, established in 1996 and now in its 29th year. It focuses on practical actions so households and businesses reduce, reuse and recycle correctly.
To keep up to date with recycling, or to download Council's A to Z Recycling Guide, go to https://www.lismore.nsw.gov.au/Households/Waste-and-recycling/Bin-guide-what-goes-in-which-bin
