PLANET FRIENDLY TIPS FOR DUMPING YOUR JUNK

By Nicola Saltman, Chief Environmental Officer - Waverley Council on June 15, 2017 in News

Whichever way you cut it, we always wind up with stuff we don’t need – in our garage, cupboards, attics, and elsewhere. It makes moving house a far more frustrating endeavour. For some it’s a buzz to offload unwanted junk from a declutter session. But where does it all go?

Unfortunately some of it winds up on our streets and in our parks. Dumped rubbish makes our beautiful neighbourhood a lot less awesome, causes havoc in our waterways, and costs stacks in clean-up costs. Dumping is also against the law, with fines of up to $1500 for repeat offenders.

According to recent NSW EPA research, most Council areas are dealing with up to 100 dumped rubbish incidents a year, and around one in 10 spend more than a whopping half a million dollars annually on prevention, monitoring, and enforcement of illegal dumping. That’s dosh that could instead be funnelled into better facilities and improved services locally.

It needn’t be this way. Check out these handy reuse and recycling options to dispose of your bulky waste sustainably. You never can tell what trash (for cash) will be someone else’s treasure!

FIND IT A NEW HOME
Sell, swap or give it away – Who doesn’t love a garage sale, with proceeds to go towards your next holiday?! Swap parties with friends are also loads of fun.
List online – Freecycle, Gumtree, or Ozrecycle are three of the best options.
Donate it – Look to a local charity like Vinnies.
Contact the Bower Re-homing Service – These guys collect your junk for free for reuse. They accept household furniture, bikes, electronic appliances, small quantities of building materials, bric-a-brac, kitchenware and books. Visit bower.org.au.

GIVE IT UP FOR RECYCLING
Mattresses – Call Soft Landings on 9083 8080 to organise a free collection to recycle these for free. This company works in partnership with Council to salvage the metal, foam, and timber to make into carpet underlay, animal bedding and boxing bags.
Second fridges and freezers – Recycle for free with Fridge Buyback, save energy bills, and score a $25 rebate! Get in quick as the program is officially closing at the end of June. Collection for Waverley and Randwick Council residents is on June 9. Call 1800 708 401.
TVs, laptops, and electronic equipment – Drop them off at Council’s e-waste collection day. They get melted down into valuable parts for recycling.
Community Recycling Centre – Your one-stop drop-off point (think whitegoods, cardboard, e-waste, and more). Grab a barbecued sausage at their community day, on Tuesday, June 4 from 12-3pm at 72 Perry Street, Matraville.
Household batteries, globes, and mobile phones – By July you’ll be able to drop these off in dedicated recycling bins at Waverley Library and the Customer Service Centre.

BOOK A CLEAN-UP COLLECTION
Each Waverley household is entitled to two free Your Call collections of household items each calendar year, plus a free scheduled collection. The only thing is that what gets picked up ends up in landfill, thereby missing the opportunity to give your old stuff a new eco-friendly life.

For more information about dumping your junk, there’s a free workshop about bulky waste solutions for apartment blocks on Thursday, June 15. You can RSVP at www.secondnature.org.au. To find out more about the Community Recycling Centre, visit www.randwick.nsw.gov.au. To learn how best to sort your rubbish, go to www.waverley.nsw.gov.au/waste. And if all else fails, call the Resource Recovery Hotline on 9083 8000.