Keep bulk waste under the limit to ensure collection

12 January 2018

New on-call kerbside service now working at full capacity

Residents who book on-call bulk waste collection services are being asked to ensure they are not presenting too much rubbish or putting the material out too early.

Tweed Shire Council has received a number of calls in recent weeks from residents upset that some of the items they put out for collection had been left behind, or that the material left behind was not theirs.

Council Coordinator - Waste Management Rod Dawson said everyone is informed of the acceptable load size at the time of booking and the service is working well.

“Everyone with red lid wheelie bin services gets two collections a year of up to two cubic metres, which is about the size that would fit into a small trailer,” Mr Dawson said.

“That is actually twice as much as was allowable in previous years, although we acknowledge there was a fair bit of leniency with the old system.

“Under the new system though our contractor needs to be strict so they can get to all of the booked customers on the day they are booked.”

Material left at the kerb after a collection has taken place is the responsibility of the resident and must be removed or will be treated as illegal dumping by Council Rangers.

Some residents have claimed the excess material on their pile is not theirs and has been illegally dumped by neighbours or others taking advantage of their booking.

“The best way to make sure nobody adds to your pile is to minimise the time it is at the kerb,” Mr Dawson said.

“If you put things out the night before collection they will be collected within 24 hours which makes it difficult for opportunists to take advantage.

“If you do observe anyone adding to your pile take as much detail as possible - car registration, colour, model, time, date and type of waste as a minimum - and then you can make an anonymous call to the Environmental Protection Agency who will issue them with a clean-up notice and potentially significant fines.”

The NSW EPA operates an Illegal Dumping hotline on 131 555.

Other tips for minimising the amount of waste at kerbside collections include disposing of smaller items in the red lid landfill bin or taking items such as electronic goods, chemicals and gas bottles directly to the tip where they can be disposed of free of charge.

For more information or to make a booking visit www.tweed.nsw.gov.au/householdcleanup or call 02 6670 2400.

Please note available collection dates may be up to four weeks from the date of booking.

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Caption: On-call kerbside collection allows for two cubic metres of rubbish.