Recycling Near You celebrates 15 years of helping Australians recycle right

The Planet Ark managed platform is Australia’s first and most comprehensive database of recycling and reuse information for households, helping almost 1.8 million people find reuse and recycling information in the last year.

Recycling Near You was originally started in 2006 with a grant from the Australian Government and by the end of that year it contained waste and recycling information for all Australian councils. By 2010, the platform had also added non-council recycling options such as product stewardship schemes and other organisations.

In the last ten years the platform has grown fourfold, increasing from 400,000 users and 1.2 million pageviews in 2010-11 to 1.8 million users and 4.1 million pageviews in 2020-21.

“We’re proud to have helped millions of Australians find reuse and recycling solutions for items that would have otherwise gone to landfill,” Planet Ark CEO Paul Klymenko said.

“Improvements such as merging the residential and commercial recycling search function and making it mobile device friendly have made Recycling Near You an information hub for all Australians, whether an individual or business.”

With the number of searches being carried out via the platform now numbering in the millions each year, the platform provides a snapshot of the recycling information Australians are seeking most often. In the last 12 months, clothing/textiles and e-products have been the most frequently searched items by those seeking reuse or recycling options.

Top 10 Items Searched (pageviews)

1. Clothing/textiles (238,408)

2. Computers (170,630)

3. Whitegoods (114,876)

4. Batteries (111,699)

5. Paper-cardboard (103,910)

6. Polystyrene (96,024)

7. Electrical appliances (86,459)

8. Mattresses (88,178)

9. X-rays (78,467)

10. Printer cartridges (76,360)

The platform also hosts information on product stewardship schemes for products ranging from computers and printer cartridges to mobile phones and paint. Over 200,000 people looked for recycling options for computers and televisions in the last year alone.

Top 5 Product Stewardship Searches

1. Computers (170,630)

2. Batteries (111,699)

3. Printer cartridges (76,360)

4. Televisions (53,826)

5. Mobile phones (51,411) 

Recycling Near You is updated regularly by the Planet Ark Information Centre team to ensure the accuracy of council recycling information, which wouldn’t be possible without the support of Australian councils. The program is made possible with thanks to sponsors Gumtree Australia, MobileMuster, Nespresso, Officeworks, Paintback and Tetra Pak.

For more information or to use the service, visit recyclingnearyou.com.au.