Public Place Recycling - Guidelines
Obligation of SWSA / BIEC:
- Coordinate the required elements of infrastructure, education and logistics.
- Provision of signage and an incentive payment of $750 per bin. Funding for this program is limited, hence the level of assistance available to each applicant will be prioritised by the Authority.
Obligation of Site Owner:
- Submissions for support under the program to include information regarding the use of the area (i.e. estimated annual number of users, activities etc), the number of recycling bins required, and the proposed recycling logistics (see application form).
- Installation of recycling bins, adjacent to their rubbish bins. The owner will provide the inner plastic bins.
BIEC littering research provides guidelines with respect to bin placement.
- Make the necessary servicing arrangements with a recycling contractor.
BIEC littering research indicates that improved littering behaviour is generally associated with more bins, although not in a simple manner. Systems should be designed to consider disposal behaviour, location and activities throughout the area. BIEC findings regarding bin spacing are shown in the Table below, depending on these activities.
| Site Type | Bin Distance (metres) |
| Transport Outdoor | 5 |
| Public Building | 7 |
| Mall | 3 |
| Shops | 4 |
| Market | 3 |
| Waterfront | 6 |
| Beach | 21 |
| Park | 9 |
| Indoor Centre | 8 |
| Event | 6 |
| Roadside | 17 |
| Tourist Spot | 19 |
| Transport Indoor | 2 |
| Festival | 6 |
The Table indicates the distance from a person to a bin, required for consistent binning behaviour, rather than littering.
(e.g. on a beach, if bins are no more than 40 metres apart, there will always be a bin within 21 metres, and littering will generally be reduced.)
Littering behaviour also varies according to the location, with areas such as beaches and parks generally having the the best disposal behaviour, and therefore being more suited to Public Place Recycling.
Areas with poor litter disposal behaviour typically include transition points such as bus malls. In such areas, the provision of adequate litter bins, signage and servicing should preceed the introduction of Public Place Recycling.
Adequate servicing is vital, with the 'clean = clean' catchcry most often repeated. Peak times for littering are around 4:00 pm, so consider whether bins can be serviced at or just before that time.