Check before you bin it: Waste collection dates to change over Christmas

BIN collection days across Greater Geelong will shift by one day over the Christmas and New Year period, with changes affecting Thursday and Friday services across the two-week festive fortnight.

The temporary adjustments are in place to allow waste collection crews time off on public holidays, while ensuring services continue with minimal disruption.

People who usually have their rubbish collected on Thursday, December 25 will instead have their bins emptied on Friday, December 26, while services scheduled for Thursday, January 1 will move to Friday, January 2.

Friday collections will also shift, with bins normally collected on December 26 picked up on Saturday, December 27, and the regular Friday, January 2 service moving to Saturday, January 3.

“Christmas and New Year are the only times that we change our bin collection days to allow drivers the opportunity for some time off,” Geelong mayor Stretch Kontelj said.

“However, people with a change to their bin collection days will only see a difference of one day, and our resource recovery centres will open for residents except for Christmas and New Year’s Day.”

Residents are reminded to place their bins out the night before their scheduled collection to ensure they are collected during morning runs.

Cr Elise Wilkinson, chair of the city’s environment and circular economy portfolio, encouraged residents to think about reducing waste over the festive period.

“With a bit of pre-planning, it’s easy to reduce the amount of waste produced at Christmas, making clean up easier to handle and reducing your impact on the environment,” she said.

“Think about cooking from scratch, reducing packaging and sustainable gift-giving like giving experiences or edible gifts.”

For more information on bin collection changes, head to geelongaustralia.com.au