An audit of kerbside collection across the Mid-Western region has revealed that 8 per cent of the contents in an average recycling bin is actually general waste.

On top of that, 16 per cent of the contents of general waste were recyclables that should have been placed in the blue and yellow bins that are provided.

This mix-up of what is and isn’t recyclable waste is seeing entire truck loads of recycling rejected because of ‘contamination’ and many workers on the recycling sorting belt are having to suffer through disgusting and uncomfortable working conditions.

Peter Cotterill, Manager for Environmental Services at Mudgee Recycling, is desperate to see people do the right thing when it comes to waste disposal, especially for the people who “cop the brunt of the problems”.

“We have a lot of people that the council supports working on the sorting belt, and we actually had to send a few of them home recently when a load of dog faeces came through the machine,” he said.

“It confuses me a bit that we have people who think that it’s fine to put filled nappies or dog poo into the recycling bin, just assuming that it goes off to some big machine in Sydney that magically takes it away.

“There’s people here at the centre that have to deal with what goes in to those bins, and no one wants to be sifting through poo at work, no matter where you are.”

His final message is simple.

“Do the right thing when it comes to putting things in the bin, and everyone in the process doesn’t have a problem,” he said.

“You don’t want to have your recycling heading to landfill, or wasting a chance to recycle so much due to contamination, and no one wants to have the centre operating inefficiently.”

More guides on how to separate waste and managed it correctly is available online at http://www.midwestern.nsw.gov.au/resident-services/Wastemanagement/Collection-Days-for-Residents/.