New kerbside service leading recycling rates

Published on 27 October 2016

The first month of kerbside rubbish and recycling collections at Nangiloc, Colignan and Iraak, has shown that residents are leading our community with their recycling efforts.

The kerbside rubbish and recycling services which began for the first time in early September, have yielded some impressive results.

“Of all the kerbside waste for the entire Council area collected in September, thirty-four percent of it was from recycling bins. For the Nangiloc, Colignan and Iraak area specifically, forty-three percent of waste collected was from the recycling bins,” Parks and Waste Services Manager, Matt George said.

“This is a fantastic effort for a community that are first time users of the service. Putting bins out on bin night isn’t a habit yet,” Mr George said.

“I’m hoping we’ll see growth in collection rates as the community use the service and it becomes a part of their routine,” Mr George said.

The new service has seen sixty-two percent of the bins that were delivered to residents put out for collection. The average across Council’s kerbside pickup points is around eighty percent.

Recycling contamination rates for the new service are in line with the rest of our community.

“It’s important to put the correct items in your bin. Approximately fifteen percent of all items that get put in kerbside recycling bins are not recyclable and equates to about 833 tonnes of waste per year, which ultimately ends up in landfill,” Mr George said.

“Putting non-recyclable items in with your recycling, can potentially contaminate an entire truck load of recyclables, undoing all the hard work and effort people make to do the right thing,” Mr George said.

“The new kerbside service provides residents with a convenient way to dispose of waste and recycling and at the same time supports our work to reduce our environmental impact.”

For more information about kerbside rubbish and recycling services, go to www.mildura.vic.gov.au/recycle

Items that can go in your kerbside recycling bin include:

  • Cardboard
  • Glass bottles and jars
  • Milk and juice cartons
  • Aluminium and steel cans, foil trays and aerosols
  • Rigid plastic containers and bottles
  • Newspapers and magazines
  • Letters, envelopes and office paper
  • Advertising material
  • Telephone books

    Items that cannot go in your kerbside recycling bin include:

  • Food scraps
  • Green waste
  • Nappies
  • Plastic bags
  • Medical waste including syringes and syringe disposal containers
  • Crockery
  • Clothing
  • Polystyrene foam
  • Household rubbish

 

Media enquiries 
Rebecca Wells 
p) (03) 5018 8195 
e) rebecca.wells@mildura.vic.gov.au

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