Brisbane household wheelie bins could be made completely from recycled material in future, Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner announced today.
Lord Mayor Schrinner said a trial that uses more recycled material in the manufacturing of bins was now underway.
“Brisbane is renowned for being clean, green and sustainable and our Council team is committed to enhancing that reputation,” he said.
“There are more than one million wheelie bins in service across Brisbane while about 25,000 are replaced or repaired each year.
“If this trial is successful, it would be a win-win for the environment because it would help encourage recycling while lowering the production of new plastic.”
The trial is being conducted by long-serving contractor Sulo in conjunction with Council.
Brisbane household wheelie bins currently contain about 40% recycled material from old bins.
The trial is testing whether bins made out of 60% recycled material can meet Australian Standards.
Common household plastics, such as shampoo bottles and soft drink lids, are being trialled along with additional material from old wheelie bins.
Shredded material from damaged Brisbane wheelie bins is being used in the trial.
“The next step for the trial will be increasing the amount of recycled material to 100 per cent,” Lord Mayor Schrinner said.
“That means in the future, every new Brisbane bin could be made completely out of items that residents have put in their yellow-top bin, or their old bin itself, which would be a great outcome.”
The Lord Mayor welcomed the trial while visiting the Brisbane-based warehouse of long-serving Council contractor Sulo in Sumner with local councillor, Sarah Hutton.
The warehouse is used daily to distribute truckloads of new, repair and replacement wheelie bins to households across Brisbane.
