Kerbside recycling set to return

The two councils, along with the Golden Plains Shire and the Borough of Queenscliffe, signed an agreement with Cleanway on Friday last week.

Recyclables will now be processed for the first time since SKM Recycling’s closure in late July.

Surf Coast Shire mayor Rose Hodge said this was great news for the community.

“Getting our recyclables out of landfill and back into the recycling stream will help limit the new resources we draw on.

“A huge thank you to everyone who went that extra mile by taking their sorted items to the transfer stations for recycling. I really appreciate your wonderful efforts.”

The new contract brings with it some new restrictions on what can and cannot be recycled. These changes can be viewed at surfcoast.vic.gov.au/RecyclingUpdate.

The shire is also likely to implement a fourth bin for glass after trialling it at 30 households across the shire.

Surf Coast Shire general manager of governance and infrastructure Anne Howard said while the council was still reviewing the trial, what they had learnt was encouraging.

The participants were selected to give a sample representative of the wider community. Cr Hodge, Cr Clive Goldsworthy and Cr David Bell all took part in the trial.

The shire will also introduce a food organics and garden organics service after a trial in Anglesea earlier in the year, and is running drop-in sessions for rural residents to help inform them about their plans for kerbside recycling in 2020.

Rural property owners presently apply for their waste services (which consists of fortnightly landfill and recycling collection) and the council is aiming to align rural waste services more closely with urban ones.

Drop-in sessions will be held outside the IGA supermarket in Winchelsea on Tuesday, December 17 from 11am-2pm, and at Bellbrae Public Hall on Wednesday, December 18 from 3-6pm.

To find out if you qualify as a rural resident, head to surfcoast.vic.gov.au/Property/Waste-and-recycling/Kerbside-bins/Kerbside-collection-dates.