The 12 DOs of Christmas: Sunshine Coast Edition
Over the Christmas period we buy, eat and party more than at any other time of the year, which leads to a big increase in the amount of waste we produce.
Australians generate up to 30% more waste at Christmas than any other time of year. Common gifts like tech devices, clothing, and toys often lead to old items being discarded.
Add in parties and Christmas lunch, and the amount of packaging and food waste skyrockets.
The 12 DOs of Christmas
1. Plan Your Feast
Write a shopping list and stick to it. Over half of Australians save leftovers for Boxing Day—make it a tradition! Compost unavoidable scraps in your garden or worm farm. Sunshine Coast residents can also drop green waste at Council Resource Recovery Centres.
2. Give Experiences, Not Stuff
Swap physical gifts for experiences like local tours, cooking classes, or charity donations. They create memories without creating waste.
3. Choose Second-Hand or Recycled
Support the circular economy by buying pre-loved items or gifts made from recycled materials. Visit local op shops or Sunshine Coast Recycle Markets at Council waste facilities.
4. Wrap Smart
Avoid single-use wrapping. Use fabric, old newspapers, or reusable gift bags. If you use paper, remove sticky tape before recycling. Only plain paper wrap is recyclable.
5. Recycle Right
Use your yellow-lid bin for clean paper, cardboard, glass jars, steel and aluminium cans, and hard plastic containers.
Tip: Nothing smaller than a yogurt tub—tiny items fall through recycling machinery.
6. Use Recycle Mate
Not sure where something goes? Download the Recycle Mate app. Snap a photo or scan a barcode to get disposal advice specific to the Sunshine Coast. It even finds drop-off points for tricky items like batteries and e-waste.
7. Declutter responsibly
Renovating or clearing out? Take items to Council’s Resource Recovery Centres. Many items—like white goods, scrap metal, and paint—can be disposed of for free or resold at Recycle Markets.
8. Avoid soft plastics
REDcycle is no longer operating, so soft plastics (chip packets, cling wrap) go in your general waste bin. Better yet, avoid buying products with excess packaging.
9. Recycle electronics
Upgrading tech? Drop old phones, tablets, and printer cartridges at Council facilities or participating retailers like Officeworks. Never put batteries in kerbside bins—use B-cycle drop-off points.
10. Scrunch foil, flatten Boxes
Aluminium foil can be recycled if scrunched into a ball larger than a golf ball. Flatten cardboard boxes to save space in your bin.
11. Keep It Clean and Loose
Empty food and drink containers before recycling. Never bag recyclables—items must go in the bin loose.
12. Rethink Before You Buy
The best way to reduce waste is to avoid creating it. Choose quality over quantity, buy local, and skip unnecessary packaging.
Further reading
Recycle Mate helps you recycle across Australia – whether at home, at a friend's house or when on holiday. Just upload a photo or type the name of your item
