By Goya Dmytryshchak
The biggest recycling overhaul in Hobsons Bay’s history comes into effect in February.
Hobsons Bay’s new four-bin waste and recycling collection his scheduled to start next Monday.
The new service will have weekly food organics and garden organics (FOGO) collection, fortnightly garbage and recycling collections, and monthly glass collection.
Hobsons Bay mayor Colleen Gates said residents were being encouraged to talk to the council if they weren’t sure what went in each bin or if they had concerns.
“Many people have been sharing their waste reduction and waste management tips and tricks with us and we want to share more of this with all residents via our social media channels and our new app currently under development,” she said.
“The new Recycling 2.0 app will also help everyone out with bin reminders each week. We ask that people please give the new system a go for a couple of cycles, and we’re here to help.”
Multi-unit dwellings, particularly those with limited space, may have special arrangements such as sharing bins or choosing between council and contractor collection.
Cr Gates said the council was working on a solution for nappies, with an estimated 3500 families with children in that age range.
The council will continue to make additional bins available on request for a fee.
Radio-frequency identification tags are fitted to the new bins, which the council said made it “easier to return lost or stolen bins”.
Environmental sustainability portfolio holder, Cr Jonathon Marsden, said the new service would separate food waste from household rubbish going to landfill.
“This includes food waste such as fruit, vegetables, eggshells, bones, rice, dairy and seafood, aiming to reduce the volume of waste Hobsons Bay residents send to landfill by at least 20 per cent (approximately 8000 tonnes per year),” he said.
“With four bins per household, glass will also be taken out of the commingled yellow bin, resulting in much better recycling outcomes when broken glass doesn’t become embedded into other recyclable material.
“Changes to the types of plastic that can go in the yellow recycling bin will be another big change local residents need to adapt to, but we are confident they can.”
