At Home
How to reduce waste at home when living in Tasmania by reusing and recycling
Tasmanians throw out over 451,000 tonnes of waste each year. About one third of this is household waste disposed of in our kerbside bins.
So, how to reduce waste at home? Councils, private businesses, not-for-profit organisations and charities provide a range of free or low-cost reuse and recycling services that can help us all to reduce waste. By learning about and using the wide range of services available, Tasmanians are taking another step towards positive change.
Landfill Waste
Information on why landfill is bad and how to reduce landfill by rethinking what we buy and choosing instead to repair and reuse.
Recycle Waste
Learn what types of recycle waste can go in your kerbside bin in Tasmania plus other free or low cost recycling services near me
Food and Garden Waste
Compost at home or use kerbside organic waste bins as a natural way for reducing food waste and reusing garden waste
Bulky Items
Fridges, car bodies, tyres, green waste and other bulky items can be safely disposed or recycled in Tasmania.
Renting in Tasmania
If you’re renting in Tasmania or a new resident in the state, this information is for you.
Landfill Waste
Sometimes it’s unavoidable that waste ends up in landfill. But why is landfill bad? Well, it’s not environmentally or economically sustainable to keep sending more waste for burial in landfill and it’s the last resort in the waste hierarchy.
By rethinking what we buy, choosing to repair or reuse, and taking note of what goes into our garbage bins, we can all make changes to reduce landfill waste.
Avoid creating waste:
- Choose products and produce with little or no packaging
- Borrow or hire instead of buying – think book, toy, and tool libraries
- Make the time to sit in rather than choosing takeaway
- Choose electronic bills, statements, and receipts where possible
- Display a ‘no junk mail’ sign on your letterbox
- Plan your meals in advance to avoid wasting food
Be inspired to take the Bread Bag Challenge!
Meet the Tasmanian family whose weekly garbage now fits in a bread bag just by reducing, reusing and recycling at home.
Recycle Waste
Recycling is more than just reducing the amount of waste being sent to landfills. It’s also about getting the most value out of our existing materials and reducing the need to extract more resources from the planet.
For the recycling system to work effectively, everyone needs to play their part. As consumers, you can choose products made from recycled materials and be a Good Sort by avoiding contamination and only putting recyclable materials in your kerbside recycling bin.
Learn more about Recycling in Tasmania here
Learn what types of recyclable waste can go in your kerbside recycling bin:
The contents are the same for Southern Tasmania, except in the South paperboard cartons such as milk and juice cartons are accepted for recycling.
There are many other free and low cost services to recycle waste in Tasmania, usually found at your local Waste Transfer Station or Council office, some retail outlets, schools or other community hubs.
Explore what other recycling services are available:
Did You Know?
A Plastics Identification Code (PIC) triangle on plastic packaging tells us what type of plastic it is made from and is not an indicator of whether the item can be recycled in your kerbside bin.
As the REDcycle program has been halted, please pop plastic bags and other soft plastic wrappers into your kerbside bin until further notice.
Food and Garden Waste
Composting organic waste in your own garden is a safe and natural way for reducing food waste and reusing your garden waste instead of sending it to landfill.
All you need to get started is a sunny spot in your garden and a container, like a large wooden box or a plastic tumbler.
Learn how to Home Compost in Hobart and across Tasmania
If space is limited or you live in a unit, you can also compost food scraps using a worm farm or bokashi bin or take part in a community composting program such as ShareWaste
More councils across Tasmania are introducing kerbside food and garden organics collection and composting services known as FOGO. Contact your local council to see what food, garden and other green waste services are available near you.
Learn more about commercial and home composting in Tasmania
Top tip to avoid food waste:
Composting is great, but it’s even better to avoid good food going to waste in the first place.
- Use left-overs and prepare meals from what you have.
- Make a meal plan and a shopping list and buy only what you need.
- Shop for in-season food so it’s at its freshest and will last longer.
Eat Well Tasmania has prepared handy guides for what’s in season in Tassie, including delicious recipes and tips for how to Love your Leftovers! View each guide below.
Or, you can head to their Too Good To Waste page to hear from top local chefs for their recommendations on how to reduce food wastage – because Tasmanian food is too good to waste!
Hazardous Waste
Hazardous waste has the potential to harm you and the environment. In the home, hazardous waste includes items such as oils, chemicals, old batteries, and even old computers and mobile phones.
It can be dangerous to discard hazardous waste in your household bins. These items are not accepted in household garbage or recycling bins:
- Agricultural chemicals and drums
- Batteries (for example car, mobile phone or regular household batteries)
- Cleaning and polishing chemicals
- Motor oils (for example from cars or mowers)
- Obsolete computer equipment, TVs (e-waste)
- Out of date or unwanted pharmaceuticals (all medicines)
- Pesticides and other garden chemicals
- Petrol and kerosene
- Solvent-based paints
- Swimming pool or spa bath chemicals
- Thermometers, barometers, thermostats, fluorescent tubes and compact fluorescent globes
- Tyres
Some councils offer recycling and disposal services for certain hazardous wastes. Contact your local council to safely dispose of:
- Car batteries
- Computers and TVs (e-waste)
- Fluorescent tubes and compact fluorescent globes
- Gas cylinders
- Household batteries
- Paint
- Used motor oils
- Used cooking oil
If you are unsure if the materials you have to dispose of are hazardous, give the EPA hotline a call on 1300 135 513.
Many council offices, mobile phone retailers and other retail stores will accept used mobile phones and accessories for recycling via the Mobile Muster recycling service.
Did You Know?
- ChemClear accepts agricultural and veterinary chemicals for safe disposal and drumMUSTER accepts empty chemical drums for recycling.
- Serviceable gas cylinders (LPG) can be returned through swap programs provided by retailers for replacement or refilling.
- Laser and printer inkjet cartridges can be taken to numerous retail outlets for recycling, including Australia Post, Harvey Norman and Officeworks outlets. The City of Launceston Recycle Hub and the City of Hobart Recycle Bank also collect these items for recycling (found at the council offices)
Bulky Items
Fridges, car bodies, tyres, green waste and other bulky items can be safely disposed or recycled in Tasmania. Some councils also offer Hard Waste Collection days or Free Tip Disposal days to help with household clean-ups. Contact your council to see what services and assistance are available.
Here’s a summary of the bulk item waste services in your region:
Waste Services for Bulky Items in Northern Tasmania
Renting in Tasmania
If you’re renting in Tasmania, new to the state, or moving in to a new area, we’re here to help with information on waste services.