Container recycling program nears 500,000 units

Toowoomba region bulk chemical users continue to show enthusiastic support for the drumMUSTER container recycling program.

Regional residents have displayed their green credentials by travelling some distance to participate in the national scheme.

Recycling containers is an effective way to prevent this material and chemical residue harming the environment.

Since the local program started at Jondaryan tip in 1999, the scheme has expanded to 12 sites across the Toowoomba region.

In that time 456,678 chemical containers have been recycled instead of ending up at landfill sites.

Nationally, more than 16 million containers have been recycled. In total, more than 590 tonnes of recyclable material, including 425 tonnes of plastic and 165 tonnes of steel, have been recycled in the Toowoomba region.

If placed end-to-end, the recycled containers would stretch for 174km, or roughly the distance from Brisbane to Jondaryan.

As well as diverting around 11,286m³ of material from regional landfill sites, the scheme is designed to reduce environmental harm. Recycling containers also means less coal is needed to produce new plastic products.

The plastic is sent to Brisbane where it is used to make wheelie bins, plastic furniture and piping for various building and industrial uses, while the steel is recycled through regional and Brisbane scrap metal dealers.

Almost 35,000 containers were collected by the end of March in the current financial year.

This was down slightly on the 38,600 containers collected in the same period the year before.

Around 70,000 containers are sold in the Toowoomba region annually.

Council encourages residents to recycle containers where possible.

Residents with bulk stores of containers can arrange special collections by calling drumMUSTER regional consultant Colin Hoey on 0428 964 576.

Containers must be rinsed free of visible residue, be larger than one litre and up to 205 litres (with a drumMUSTER eligible logo).

Detailed advice about the range of eligible hazardous products and eligible non-hazardous products can be found at www.drummuster.com.au