Home » Waste Management » Recycling in Cook Shire

RECYCLING IN COOK SHIRE

 

 

In Cook Shire, you can recycle a wide range of materials, helping to protect our environment and reduce landfill waste. Whilst some of the waste streams below are subject to product stewardship schemes and can be disposed of for free, others must be transported to Cairns for decommissioning and recycling.

Recyclable Materials:
  • Cooking oil*
  • Waste engine oil*
  • Concrete
  • Green waste
  • Scrap metal including white goods
  • Fridges, freezers and air-conditioners including the gas contained within*
  • Tyres*
  • Lead acid batteries*
  • Household batteries and power tool batteries
  • Unprocessed timber (raw timber)
  • E-waste (televisions, computers, accessories)
  • Gas bottles*
  • Fire extinguishers*
  • Mobile phones
  • Printer cartridges
  • Fluorescent tubes and bulbs*
  • Beverage containers that display the refund mark “10c refund at the collection depots/ points in participating State/ Territory of purchase”. Wine and pure spirit bottles are exempt from displaying the 10c mark until January 2027.

* Decommissioning, processing and/ or transport are subject to legislative requirements.

Frequently Asked Questions
Where Can I Recycle Packaging Materials?

Packaging materials for recycling refer to various materials used to enclose, protect, and present products during storage, transportation, and sale, which are then collected and processed for reuse or reprocessing into new products. Common packaging materials that can be recycled include:

  • Cardboard and Paperboard: Used for boxes, cartons, and packaging inserts. These materials are typically made from recycled paper fibres and can be easily recycled into new paper products.
  • Plastic: Includes types such as PET (polyethylene terephthalate, used in water and soft drink bottles), HDPE (high-density polyethylene, used in milk bottles, shampoo bottles etc) or PP (polypropylene, used in yogurt containers, cordial bottles). No styrofoam or soft plastics can be recycled.
  • Glass: Often used for bottles and jars.
  • Metal: Includes aluminium (used in beverage cans), steel (used in food cans and aerosol cans), and other metals used in packaging. Metals are highly valuable for recycling as they can be melted down and reused without losing quality.

Recycling skip bins provide a free, convenient way to dispose of your  mixed packaging (plastic containers, metal containers, cardboard, and paper) at any time. All  packaging materials must be clean and placed loose into the recycling bins.

Currently, all packaging is sent to the landfill. However, Council strongly encourages residents to maintain their recycling efforts. Efforts are underway to find a sustainable solution for managing all our packaging waste, and Council remains proactive in this regard. As an incentive for responsible recycling practices, subsidised disposal fees are offered to residents who adhere to proper recycling guidelines.

Where are the recycling skip bins located?
  • Cooktown Events Centre, 3 May Street, Cooktown
  • Behind Council Office, Walker Street, Cooktown
  • Hatfield Marketplace, Rossville / Bloomfield Road, Rossville
  • Next to Ayton Library, West Street, Ayton

Littering and illegal dumping is against the law and comes at a significant cost to the community.  Leaving your rubbish or recyclables next to overflowing bins is littering. If the bins are full, take your rubbish to the waste transfer station or home.

Where can I drop off dry cell batteries?
  • Cooktown IGA
  • Cooktown Library
  • Cook Shire Council Main Administration Building
  • Lakeland Roadhouse
  • All waste transfer stations.
Where does my recycling go?

Refundable Containers: Recovered and transferred to the local container exchange depot.

Cooking oil: Recycled into biodiesel

Waste engine oil: Purified and reused as diesel or alternative fuel

Concrete: Crushed for reusable grade product (various grades of crusher dust)

Green waste: Mulched

Scrap metal: Reprocessed into steel

Whitegoods: Gas recovered and recycled; remainder used for scrap metal

Tyres: Recycled into roads, playground mats, glues, and explosives

Lead acid batteries: Lead and acid extracted and reused

Unprocessed timber: Mulched

Gas bottles: Valves removed and used as scrap metal

Mobile phones, e-waste, printer cartridges, and fluorescent tubes: Disassembled and sorted into metals, plastics, and glass for recycling

Mixed packaging (paper, cardboard, plastics and glass) is currently sent to the landfill. Council is actively seeking a sustainable and environmentally friendly solution.

How much does it cost to recycle?

We welcome small volumes of clean mixed packaging be deposited free of charge into our recycling skip bins. For larger quantities of recyclable packaging, residents can deliver them to our waste transfer stations. Subsidized disposal fees for volumes over 500L apply to encourage responsible recycling practices.

Disposal of scrap metal is free of charge, except for items that contain gas, refrigerant gas, or other potentially harmful waste, such as fire extinguishers.

Green waste is accepted at a subsidised rate for mulching. Please be mindful that green waste is garden waste only.

The following items can be disposed of free at any of our waste transfer stations.  Disposal fees are incorporated into the purchase price of the items, this subsidises the disposal costs:

  • Printer cartridges (Planet Ark Close the Loop Program)
  • Household batteries (EcoCycle)
  • Mobile phones and accessories (MobileMuster)
  • Electronic waste such as TVs, computers, laptops, printers and accessories (E-Waste Recycling Australia under the National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme)