How to Recycle ‘Right’: Our Guide for Common Tricky-to-Recycle Items
11/15/2024
At Bared, we're all about making footwear better for the planet. That’s why we always look to team up with innovators to help us ditch plastic components and cut down our impact. While we're improving our products, we're also getting smarter about how we operate.
That’s why this National Recycling Week, the Bared team wants to give you the tools to help you recycle better. So we’ve put together a list of tricky-to-recycle items that usually end up in landfill and whipped up a quick guide on how and where you can recycle these things to keep them out of your general waste bins.
Well-loved Shoes
Solution:
Drop them off at any Bared store to be recycled by Save Our Soles. We’ll take any style from any brand—Bared or not.
Since 2019, we have recycled 28,960 shoes (and counting!) with Save Our Soles.
More than 50% of Australians are throwing their well-loved shoes into landfill. But you don’t have to! Instead, drop them off at any Bared store. Your shoes will be mechanically recycled and turned into rubber matting for using in gyms and playgrounds.
We know there’s only so much rubber matting the world needs and recycling shoes this way is not a solution we can rely on forever. That’s why at Bared, we are on a mission to improve every component in our footwear - both on the inside and out. You can read more about our sustainability journey here.
Well-Loved Clothing
Solution:
Find your local textile recycler. At Bared, we use Upparel, BlockTexx, or RecycleSmart.
When clothes are beyond repair and donation, they usually end up in landfill. Did you know that about 60% of the world’s apparel is made from synthetic fibers that won’t biodegrade?
Save your clothes from a long-life in landfill by finding your local textile recycler. Ensure your clothes are clean and dry, and check what items the recycler accepts, as some don't take undergarments.
You can also book a home pickup from Upparel or RecycleSmart—making it so easy, there’s no excuse!
Beauty Packaging
Skin care, makeup compacts, mascara tubes, perfume bottles, and more
Solution:
Drop off for free at TerraCycle’s partners—Mecca, Priceline, L’Occitane, or Sephora. Or book a pickup with RecycleSmart.
The small size and complexity of makeup products mean they need special handling to disassemble and recycle each material. Many big beauty retailers now offer free drop-off points. Just make sure to clean out as much old product as possible before recycling.
Electrical Items
Computers, hair dryers, phones, light bulbs, batteries, phones and more.
Solution:
Free electrical waste drop-off points can be found at major tech chains like The Good Guys or JB Hi Fi - you can find a full list here. At Bared we use RecycleSmart pickups or take a trip to OfficeWorks to their free e-waste bins.
Never put e-waste in your home recycling bin. Properly recycling E-Waste is crucial because the metals in electronics can leach into waterways and soil. Always remove batteries from electrical appliances and recycle them separately at designated battery collection points.
Soft Plastics
To identify soft plastic, do the scrunch test: if it doesn’t bounce back into its original shape, it’s soft plastic.
Solution:
Check with your local council for a drop-off point, book a RecycleSmart pickup, or encourage your workplace to set up a TerraCycle bin.
Soft plastics generally cannot be recycled in your kerbside recycling bin because they get stuck in the machinery. As of 2024, there is still no national recycling program for soft plastics in Australia, however, some councils do offer specialised soft plastic drop off points.
If you can’t find a local solution, consider encouraging your workplace to get involved. At Bared, we’ve introduced RecycleSmart bins in all our Australian stores and head office to collect soft plastics from our offices and our team’s homes.