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30% upsurge in recyclables in first days of waste service

Latrobe City Mayor, Councillor Darrell White, said that the community is to be congratulated on the way it has embraced the introduction of the new three-bin garbage collection service.

By Latrobe Shire Council - 5th July 2004 - Back to News

An initial 30% increase in the volume of recyclable material flowing into the Materials Recovery Facility in Morwell and the relatively low levels of contamination being experienced, have been welcomed by Latrobe City Council following introduction of the new recycling and waste service on Thursday.

Latrobe City Mayor, Councillor Darrell White, said that the community is to be congratulated on the way it has embraced the introduction of the new three-bin garbage collection service.

"The community’s participation in the new green waste collection has also been excellent, with only a small proportion of residents still placing green waste material in plastic bags," Cr White said.

"Early indications following Thursday’s and Friday’s collections indicate that there is a thirty percent reduction in material previously being sent to the Maryvale Rd landfill site.

"This suggests the vast majority of residents are making the most of the new system. It is great to see that residents of Latrobe are working towards a more sustainable future for the region," Cr White said.

"It is not an easy task for anyone to change their established habits overnight. We expect it will still take some time before residents are completely comfortable with the new system, but this is a very encouraging start for the new service," Cr White said.

Latrobe City’s Manager Waste Services, Mike McCaughan, said the latest Roy Morgan research has shown that 99% of Australians agree that recycling is good for the environment.

"By making it easier for people to recycle through the new three-bin service, we are helping the community turn that overwhelming vote for the environment into action," Mr McCaughan said.

"Latrobe City intends with the assistance of the community, to gradually improve the rate of materials being diverted from landfill. This will help Latrobe meet the challenging new targets that we have been set by the Victorian State Government," Mr McCaughan said.

"The ‘Towards Zero Waste’ Strategy aims to increase the recovery rate in household waste to 45% by 2008 and 65% by 2013. The increase in recycled material identified in the first two days of the new service is a very encouraging indication that those targets will be achieved."

Mr McCaughan said there had been a large number of enquiries from residents in the week leading up to the implementation of the new service, mostly from residents who were awaiting delivery of their new bins.

"The roll out of the 55,000 new bins has been a huge undertaking and there are still a small number of residents who have not received their bins. We are doing everything we can to ensure that these residents are supplied with their new bins prior to their next collection day," Mr McCaughan said.

Latrobe City Waste Education Officer, Peter Collins said one thing residents needed to remember with the new service is that all recyclable materials should be placed together loosely in their recycling bin and not contained inside plastic bags.

"This makes the different recyclable containers a lot easier to separate at the Materials Recovery Facility and reduces unwanted contamination. Plastic bags should either be placed in the garbage bin or returned to the local supermarket. Better still, try to avoid the use of plastic bags at all," Mr Collins said.

"Residents are also requested not to use plastic bags for green waste, as they contaminate the final mulched and composted product," Mr Collins added.

Source: www.gippsland.com

Published by: news@gippsland.com

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