Gungahlin Labor MLAs Deepak-Raj Gupta and Michael Pattersson with Minister for Recycling and Waste Reduction Chris Steel at a Crace residence preparing for the start of the bulky waste service. Photos: Supplied.
UPDATED: Tuggeranong and Gungahlin residents can now schedule a waste collection pickup to throw out their bulky waste free of charge after the ACT Government announced a contractor for its promised once-a-year kerbside collection service last month.
Collections will start from Wednesday, 15 July and are limited to two cubic metres (about the size of a small box trailer). The items will need to be put out 48 hours before the collection date.
The northern and southern suburbs will be the first to receive the bookings-based service, with Belconnen, Molonglo and Hall to follow in 2021-22, Woden and Weston Creek in 2022-23 and the inner north and inner south in 2023-24.
A long list of items including furniture, white goods, electronics and building materials will be accepted, but dangerous goods such as gas bottles, tyres, sheet glass, chemicals and sharps will not be collected.
Minister for Recycling and Waste Reduction Chris Steel said the aim was to maximise the amount of material that will not have to go to landfill, and charities will benefit from any items that can be re-used.
The contractor, recycling and waste management company Suez, is partnering with The Salvation Army and Vinnies to identify items that can be sold through their shopfronts.
It will also provide ‘last chance Saturdays’ for the community to retrieve items free of charge from Suez’s facility on nominated Saturdays.
Suez, which is already servicing Canberra, has been awarded the bulky waste collection contract.
Mr Steel said Suez would have to meet a 30 per cent recovery rate from material collected or have to pay gate fees at the Mugga Lane tip, creating a strong incentive for the company to maximise the amount diverted from landfill.
The scheme would also help prevent illegal dumping, particularly that which has plagued charity bins in recent years.
“The bulky waste service is designed to make it easier for Canberrans to dispose of unwanted household goods, saving time and money whilst also enabling better resource recovery, reducing illegal dumping and keeping our city clean,” Mr Steel said.
He said the government was looking at installing charity bins at recycling drop-off points so they could be monitored more closely.
Mr Steel said the staggered roll-out would help manage demand, and Gungahlin with its high number of multi-unit residences would provide a test case for how to deal with those households.
Unit dwellers will have to book through their strata manager so the system would not be overwhelmed.
The service will create 14 new jobs in 2020-21 and employment will increase as the service expands.
Suez will also be introducing an Indigenous driver training program.
The service, which will cost about $18 million over five years, will continue to be provided to concession cardholders across the ACT.
Mr Steel expects about 60 per cent of residents to use the service.
To learn more about the service, and what will and won’t be collected, visit City Services.
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