Alice Springs houses have one bin. Anything in that bin goes into landfill.

There may not be kerbside recycling, but residents can still recycle.

Here’s everything you need to know about how to recycle in Alice Springs.

How do you recycle?

You need to collect your own recyclable rubbish and take it to the Alice Springs Regional Waste Management Facility (RWMF).

At the waste transfer station, you can separate your recyclables into the right skips.

Hint: If you want to be efficient, you can sort your recyclables at home as you discard items.

A woman holds a folded box of cardboard that she is about to feed into a skip bin.

Cardboard can be recycled. (ABC Alice Springs: Victoria Ellis)

What can be recycled?Household and car batteriesCardboardClean chemical containersClean fillConstruction and demolition waste if materials are separatedE-wasteFood wasteGreen wasteHousehold items and furniture, including good quality mattresses, can be taken to the ReDiscovery Centre or “tip shop” to be resold Metal Wet paintTimberWhitegoodsCans, tins, glass bottles, plastic bottles and containersWine and spirits bottlesWhat can’t be recycled?Asbestos — contact the RWMF for safe disposalUnseparated construction and demolition wasteOld mattressesDry paintUp to 5 litres of hazardous liquids can be taken to hazardous waste storage area — contact the RWMF for safe disposalTyres

Any waste that goes in your kerbside bin will be transferred directly to landfill. It will not be recycled, even if there are materials inside the bin that can be recycled.

A man looks into a skip bin.

A man looks into a skip bin. (ABC Alice Springs: Victoria Ellis)

Where is the Regional Waste Management Centre?

The Regional Waste Management Facility is at 80 Commonage Road in Ilparpa.

If you head south on the Stuart Highway, it is about four minutes south of the Gap on your right.

When can you recycle?

The Waste Management Centre is open 8am to 4pm, seven days a week.

Most items can be recycled during this time.

Wine and spirits bottles can be recycled for a 10 cent refund on Saturday mornings.

One whitegood per person can be dropped off for free on the first Saturday of every month.

A dog looks out the window of white landcruiser, there is a green skip bin in the background.

A dog waits in the car at the waste transfer station. (ABC Alice Springs: Victoria Ellis)

What are the costs?

Nothing. It is free to recycle at the RWMF.

For large dumps of recycling, contact the RWMF to ensure the facility has enough space to store all of the recycled materials.

There are costs for some things that can’t be recycled. Prices go up and down. Contact the RWMF for more information.

Can I get a 10c refund on my cans and bottles?

You can recycle wine and spirits bottles at the RWMC for a 10 cent refund on Saturday mornings.

The RWMF does not offer a 10 cent refund on cans and bottles, but Envirobank does.

A man with glasses wears a fluro yellow vest and holds an empty milk bottle at the waste transfer station.

Oliver Eclipse manages the Regional Waste Management Centre in Alice Springs. (ABC Alice Springs: Victoria Ellis)

What is Envirobank?

Bottles and cans with a 10c refund symbol can be recycled with Envirobank if they are liquid-free and uncrushed with the barcode intact. Lids must be removed.

You can take them to Envirobank’s depot at 309 Santa Teresa Road or deliver them to the “drop and go” pods at the Alice Springs Public Library car park or Hartley Street car park.

The depot on Santa Teresa Road is open Monday to Friday 9am to 4pm and on the first and third Saturday of each month from 8am-12pm.

Here is a list of what you can recycle with Envirobank.

Does your recycling need to be clean?

No.

Oliver Eclipse, who manages the Regional Waste Management Facility, said it does not matter if your used cans are clean.

“It helps a little bit, but it doesn’t really make any difference … they melt it all anyway,” he said.

What happens to the recycling after you drop it off?

The different materials are collected until there is enough built up to be sent on a truck to Adelaide.

In Adelaide, the materials are taken to warehouses where they are recycled.

Green waste is composted into a mulch that can be bought at the ReDiscovery Centre, which is at the entrance to the Regional Waste Management Centre.

Up to six cubic metres of mulch can also be delivered around Alice Springs.

What are the costs for the RWMF to recycle?

As an example, Mr Eclipse said usually one truck carrying up to 45 tonnes of cardboard was sent to Adelaide each month for recycling.

“That’s generally around about $1,500 to send it south, and it’s cheaper to send it south than north,” he said.

Mr Eclipse said the income from recycling just covered the costs.

A blue clean-away truck on a dirt road at the waste management centre.

Everything in kerbside rubbish bins in Alice Springs goes straight into landfill. (ABC Alice Springs: Victoria Ellis)

He said it was too expensive for recycled materials to be repurposed on site instead of transported south to recycling warehouses.

“You need massive machinery, you need equipment, you need everything … we want to, but then it’s going to cost quite a considerable amount of money more, which will of course raise the rates, which people might not be too happy with,” he said.

How much is recycled in Alice each year?

About 3,500 tonnes of materials are recycled at the RWMF each year.

How much waste goes into landfill in Alice each year?

RWMF manager Oliver Eclipse said about 40,000 tonnes of materials go into landfill in Alice Springs each year.

A truck with a blue trailer tips rubbish into a huge mountain of waste under a vast blue sky.

A truck empties waste into landfill. (ABC Alice Springs: Victoria Ellis)

How long will it take for the RWMF to run out of space for landfill?

Mr Eclipse said at the current rate, there was enough space in landfill to store Alice Springs residents’ waste for about 50 more years.

“If we haven’t found out what to do with waste in the next 50 years, I think we’re all in a lot of rubbish, quite literally,” he said.