March 18 is Global Recycling Day, an ideal time to reflect on the importance of recycling on the environment.
Bedford is directly involved with recycling through our backed-by-Bedford social enterprises, Electronic Recycling Australia and Bounce Back Mattress Recycling, as well as our partnerships with Blocktexx and Direct Collect. We are proud to showcase our significant contributions to e-waste management and environmental sustainability. These contributions not only reduce the environmental impact of electrical, mattress and textile waste but also create meaningful opportunities for people with disability.
Recycle your refundable cans and bottles AND support Bedford
Direct Collect is a bin delivery/collection service providing homes and businesses with a no cost blue bin for 10c refundable bottles, cans and containers. Drop your refundables into this dedicated bin, and not only are you participating in the circular economy, you also have the choice to donate the refund to Bedford, to help us to support people with disability to live the life they choose. This is a great outcome for the environment and the community!
A full bin of recyclable containers, bottles and cans is collected and exchanged with a clean empty blue bin.
Bedford and BlockTexx 'give a sheet' about the environment
Early last year Bedford teamed up with BlockTexx® Textile Recovery Technologies to help deliver a recycling initiative that was so successful, it has turned into an ongoing partnership.
Over the course of a weekend, South Australians were given the opportunity to donate their unwanted household linens to nearby drop off points, where they were collected and delivered to Bedford for 'de-commissioning.' Bedford employees removed all of the zips, buttons and tags from the linens before they were re-bundled and sent to BlockTexx for chemical reduction and recycling.
This initiative helps to reduce the linens going to landfill, contributes to the circular economy, and helps to support jobs for people with disability.
Decommissioning household linens for BlockTexx.
Sparking change with Electronic Recycling Australia
The mountain of unwanted electrical and electronic goods is an exponentially growing challenge that is harming our environment. There is a need to ensure these goods are properly collected and recycled, due to the toxic and hazardous materials. And when they go to landfill, they cause soil and water contamination that is harmful to our environment. What’s more, the vast majority – up to 95% – of the materials in these goods can be re-used or recycled.
That’s where Electronic Recycling Australia comes in. Electronic Recycling Australia leads the way in responsible electrical and electronic goods recycling.
Discarded electrical products for recycling being unloaded at the Electronic Recycling Australia Depot.
Bounce Back Mattress Recycling: Turning Old Mattresses into New Opportunities
Bounce Back Mattress Recycling recycles mattresses from councils, businesses and households around South Australia.
They use a manual separation method to achieve the highest available level of recovery, diverting a minimum of 75% of mattress components from landfill to recycling streams. This reduces the environmental impact caused by mattresses in landfill.
Find out how more, including how you can recycle your mattresses, here.
Bounce Back team members at work.