Lottie Dalziel is a sustainability expert who founded Banish.au, a shopping and retail brand dedicated to giving Aussies tips and tools to live more responsibly.

She has gained popularity online for sharing her tips and tricks on living a more environmentally-conscious life. In her TikTok videos, the 28-year-old pointed out the top three mistakes Aussies make with their rubbish bins.

Do you make them too?

Photos from Instagram / @lottiedl (left) and TikTok / @lottiedalziel (right).​

Putting recyclable rubbish inside a plastic bin bag

The first mistake is putting recyclable materials inside a plastic bin bag. Plastic bin bags cannot be recycled; therefore, they should go straight inside the red general waste bin.

Lottie suggests placing all of your recyclables inside a carton box. Before the day ends, empty all the contents into the yellow bin all at once.

Putting greasy pizza boxes into the yellow recycling bin

The second mistake that many Aussies make is putting greasy pizza boxes (sometimes, with leftovers too!) into the yellow recycling bin.

Lottie pointed out that once cardboard boxes get wet or greasy, they cannot be recycled anymore. They get stuck inside the ‘sorting machine’ and may also contaminate other recyclable materials.

Putting ‘e-waste’ into the yellow recycling bin

The third mistake often made by Aussies is when they place ‘e-waste’ products such as phones, laptops, monitors, speakers, and other electronics, into the yellow recycling bin.

According to Lottie, electronic objects contain toxic substances such as lead and mercury; that’s why they cannot be recycled. Not only are these substances harmful to the environment, but they are also toxic to humans too.

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Several users who have watched Lottie’s video on TikTok commented that they were not aware of these mistakes.

“I thought you could recycle pizza boxes! Whoops!” said one user.

Lottie also suggested consulting with your local council to know more about how they segregate their bins.

Many fellow Aussies have expressed how thankful they are to Lottie and her recycling tips.

“We need more people like you who know the right way to recycle,” wrote one mum on TikTok.


Better to be safe than sorry! We hope these tips will help you, folks!

 

[Dot]

We have 2 bins and barely fill the food one and the recycle one is generally only half full (2 person family)....I do however object to a point of doing their job for them....surely there can be compromise on both sides.

 

[Ricci]

Being a single person household it can take me weeks to fill my rubbish bins so they only go kerbside maybe every 6-8 weeks. I use composting to reduce my waste wherever possible. What bugs me is that I have to pay the same in rates as a family that are putting out bulging bins every collection day. If they put a code reader on the trucks and codes on the bins you could be charged on a user pays system.

 

[Alan W]

Yes, plastic bags cannot be put in the recycling bin, but can and should be recycled at any Coles or Woolworths store, along with any other "soft" plastics (bread bags, bubble wrap, food packaging, etc). Other items commonly put in General Waste or Recycling bins include styrofoam, batteries, e-waste, mattresses and so many more, can be recycled through the Resource Recovery Centres in Brisbane.

 

[Liz]

I live in a unit complex and although most of us do the right thing you are never going to get the majority to do it, they are either too lazy or just don't care. I have seen greasy pizza boxes in our recycle bins. How do you educate the uncaring and lazy people.

 

[Alan W]

The confusion arises as advertising on recycling says it is OK to recycle Pizza Boxes with some food left on it. Mixed messages yet again!!

 

[Liz]

The confusion arises as advertising on recycling says it is OK to recycle Pizza Boxes with some food left on it. Mixed messages yet again!!

If you look on the Brisbane City Council it does say pizza boxes are okay for recycling, you are right about mixed messages, Alan.

 

[Hieme]

Interesting how e-waste is toxic and NOT for the recycle bin. Therefore it goes into landfill??? I was also under the impression that packaging was to be recyclable. I find that most Councils wont accept Styro-foam packaging from your microwaves, hot plates, ovens, fridges, freezers, washing machines, TV's etc. etc.etc., even though it is marked as '6' recyclable??? Why wont they accept this extremely common and plentiful packaging??

 

[Alan W]

It would depend on what facilities are available to recycle the styrofoam. It is only in the last couple of years Brisbane and Redlands has started offering recycling of styrofoam through their dumps (although not widely promoted), but the high density foam which is also used in packaging of appliances is not recyclable at this time.

 

[Elbe]

For those of us with time to spare like me, I did a trip to my local recycling centre to learn first hand what goes where, etc. It was very educational so what I do now is have a box in my garage for anything which can't go in my council bins and occasionally do a 'tip run' to the recycling centre where I can put everything into the collection crates myself. Weird, I know, but I really enjoy it

 

[Alan W]

Also worth knowing 'Indiscapes' in Redlands will recycle CD's and X-Ray film, and Ikea stores will recycle Fluorescent Lights (Tubes and CFL's) and household batteries (also any BatteryWorld or Aldi store)..

 

[Evans 2 Betsy]

The confusion arises as advertising on recycling says it is OK to recycle Pizza Boxes with some food left on it. Mixed messages yet again!!

In Adelaide , we have a 3 bin system and put greasy pizza boxes in the green bin with food scraps and green waste !

 

[LesleyAnne]

Being a single person household it can take me weeks to fill my rubbish bins so they only go kerbside maybe every 6-8 weeks. I use composting to reduce my waste wherever possible. What bugs me is that I have to pay the same in rates as a family that are putting out bulging bins every collection day. If they put a code reader on the trucks and codes on the bins you could be charged on a user pays system.

I don't know about your local council area but some councils offer smaller bins and you are charged a smaller amount on your annual rates notice. You could check it out. We are with Blacktown LGA and they offer the smaller bins.

 

[Evans 2 Betsy]

Being a single person household it can take me weeks to fill my rubbish bins so they only go kerbside maybe every 6-8 weeks. I use composting to reduce my waste wherever possible. What bugs me is that I have to pay the same in rates as a family that are putting out bulging bins every collection day. If they put a code reader on the trucks and codes on the bins you could be charged on a user pays system.

Totally agree , we spend time sorting between all our bins and pay the same council rates as people who just can’t be bothered . A council in NZ (Taupo) have a system where residents buy plastic bags for their rubbish , the more they throw out , the more it costs , seems fair ! Waste for recycling is free and collected weekly !

 

[Sunshine45]

Being a single person household it can take me weeks to fill my rubbish bins so they only go kerbside maybe every 6-8 weeks. I use composting to reduce my waste wherever possible. What bugs me is that I have to pay the same in rates as a family that are putting out bulging bins every collection day. If they put a code reader on the trucks and codes on the bins you could be charged on a user pays system.

Great idea.

 

[Itene]

In Tweed Shire we have three bins, red, green & yellow. In the red bin goes non-recyclable rubbish. It’s collected fortnightly. In the yellow bin goes recyclables with no plastic wraps or soft plastic. It’s collected alternately fortnightly. In the green bin goes leaves, tree waste, lawn clippings plus food waste including pizza boxes, fish & chip wrapping & remains etc. it’s collected weekly & turned into compost to be sold or for Council use. The above mentioned soft plastic goes to Coles or Woolworths. E-waste may be taken to the Council Tip as well as batteries etc. Simples.

 

[Linde]

Being a single person household it can take me weeks to fill my rubbish bins so they only go kerbside maybe every 6-8 weeks. I use composting to reduce my waste wherever possible. What bugs me is that I have to pay the same in rates as a family that are putting out bulging bins every collection day. If they put a code reader on the trucks and codes on the bins you could be charged on a user pays system.

What a great idea .Ricci

 

[Pamela Mcclintock]

Being a single person household it can take me weeks to fill my rubbish bins so they only go kerbside maybe every 6-8 weeks. I use composting to reduce my waste wherever possible. What bugs me is that I have to pay the same in rates as a family that are putting out bulging bins every collection day. If they put a code reader on the trucks and codes on the bins you could be charged on a user pays system.

Maybe the people with bulging bins have a large family and that is why their bins are so full

 

[Athole]

I live in a unit complex and although most of us do the right thing you are never going to get the majority to do it, they are either too lazy or just don't care. I have seen greasy pizza boxes in our recycle bins. How do you educate the uncaring and lazy people.

I know exactly what you mean! To make it worse, the local council couldn't answer my question about shredded paper in the recycling!

 

[Liz]

I know exactly what you mean! To make it worse, the local council couldn't answer my question about shredded paper in the recycling!

As I understand it, and I could be wrong, shredded paper in a bag has to go in the normal every day bins even if is in a recycle bag.