Hard waste finds a new purpose

More than a third of all material collected through the City’s book-in hard waste service trial has been recycled.

The City’s contractor, Cleanaway, recycled about 37 per cent of all material it picked up from Greater Geelong households during the first six months of the trial.

The figure is well above the average 25 per cent recycling rate for the service, which is also offered by most metropolitan Melbourne councils.

Hard waste was collected from a total of 12,309 Greater Geelong residential properties from April to September, City’s data shows.

That represents almost one in every nine households across the municipality.

The trial, which began 1 April, is continuing until 30 June 2020.

The City is encouraging residents who haven’t accessed the service this financial year to book a ‘Spring Clean’ hard waste collection.

Residents who accessed the service from April to June this year are eligible to receive another hard waste collection during 2019-20.

The service allows you to easily dispose of bulky items that are not accepted or don’t fit into the three residential kerbside bins.

This includes couches and other furniture; white goods; computers; carpets and rugs.

Small amounts of timber, scrap metal, roofing and guttering – all less than 1.5 metres in length – are also allowed.

Recyclable material is retained and directed to recycling businesses.

The amount of hard waste put out for collection must be less than three cubic metres in volume – equal to a pile three metres long, one metre high and one metre wide.

You can find more information and book a collection via www.geelongaustralia.com.au/hardwaste

You can also book by calling 03 5272 5444 from Monday to Friday, between 8:30am and 5:00pm.

City of Greater Geelong Mayor Bruce Harwood
“More than 35,000 cubic metres of material has been collected through the hard waste trial.

“To be able to recycle more than a third of that material is a great result and reflects our commitment to limit the amount of waste that ends up in landfill.

“We encourage residents who are looking to do a Spring clean to consider their disposal options and to check out what can be accepted through the book-in hard waste collection.”