Let's get sorted

Let’s get sorted Your bin collection service

Waste collection—what you need to know Major changes in the recycling industry have impacted the way waste and recyclables are collected and processed in Australia.

We’ve been working hard to find innovative solutions and are transitioning towards a more sustainable and responsible collection service.

We now offer a collection service of up to four bins, including:

glass-only (purple lid)

recycling (yellow lid)

FOGO rubbish/general waste (lime green lid) (red or dark green lid)

Our commitment to reduce, reuse and recycle waste is just the start. We need your help too. By sorting your waste into the right bin you can reduce the likelihood of truckloads being contaminated and taken to landfill.

Putting your bins out correctly

• Put your bins out the night before your collection day.

• Leave a 1m gap between each bin and any obstructions (e.g trees, cars, power poles).

• Place bins close to the road with handles facing your property.

• Ensure bins are closed.

• Do not over–fill bins or leave rubbish beside them – this will not be collected.

• Remember, bins must not weigh more than 80 kilograms when collected.

1m

1m

gap

apart

Collection days

Your collection day and the bins you need to put out for collection each week depends on the area where you live. Please refer to your collection calendar for your bin collection day.

You can also view your collection days online mrsc.vic.gov.au/bin-days To request a new calendar, contact our customer service team on (03) 5422 0333.

Code Red fire danger days and public holidays

Bins are not collected on Code Red days and some public holidays. Bins may be collected earlier than usual on Total Fire Ban days. Please check bin collection arrangements closer to the date.

Damaged or missing bins

If your bins are damaged, lost or stolen we will repair or replace them for you at no charge.

Repairs and replacements are usually done during your next two collection days. Contact our customer service team on (03) 5422 0333 or visit mrsc.vic.gov.au/bins

Extra bins or sizes

If you regularly overfill your bins, you can take the extra material to your nearest transfer station. To order extra bins or discuss size options, contact our customer service team on (03) 5422 0333.

Waste collection—what you need to know

Glass-only bin Your glass-only bin will be collected every four weeks.

Please refer to your collection calendar for dates.

Why separate glass?

• Separating and sorting glass from recycling is an important step in ensuring all recyclables avoid being sent to landfill and can be turned into something new.

• When mixed with other materials, glass can break. Shards and small pieces of glass can become embedded in paper and cardboard and reduce the quality of these materials, making them harder to recycle or resulting in recyclables going to landfill.

What CAN go in your glass-only bin

✓Glass bottles – wine, beer

and spirits, olive oil bottles, etc.

✓Glass jars and containers –

jam, pasta sauce, condiments, etc.

Did you know?

Our new glass-only bins will ensure 1.7 million kilograms of glass per year will be reprocessed into new items or reused.

What CANNOT go in your glass-only bin

✗ General waste

✗ Lids and bottle ✗ Light globes, mirrors,

✗

Pyrex containers

caps

perfume bottles, drinking glasses and window glass

✗ Cigarette butts

✗ Ceramics

✗ Plastic bags

Handy hints

• Remove all lids and bottle caps.

• Labels can stay on.

• Empty and rinse glass; however, they don’t need to be spotless.

• If your glass-only bin is full, excess glass can be dropped at a transfer station. Do not put glass in your recycling bin (yellow lid).

Questions on the new glass-only service? Visit mrsc.vic.gov.au/glass or contact our customer service team 5422 0333.

Glass-only bin

Rubbish/general waste bin Your general waste bin will be collected fortnightly if you have a FOGO bin. If you do not have a FOGO bin, your collections will remain weekly. You will be notified when FOGO is coming to your area. Please refer to your collection calendar for dates or visit mrsc.vic.gov.au/bin-days • Using your general waste bin should be a last resort, check first to see if the item is recyclable or compostable and if so sort into your recycling, FOGO or glass-only bins.

• Let’s get sorted together so we can reduce the amount of waste going to landfill and support a better recycling system.

What CAN go in your general waste bin

✓ Household rubbish

✓ Nappies (wrapped)

✓ Soft plastics

✓ Polystyrene and foam

✓ Any items that

✓ Broken glassware, ✓ Damaged and old crockery and mirrors

✓ Tetra packs,

shoes, clothing and textiles

milk and juice cartons

can’t go in your FOGO, glass-only and recycling bin

What CANNOT go in your general waste bin

✗ Garden waste

✗ Food waste –

✗ Pesticides, oils

Building materials – see ‘transfer stations’

– see ‘FOGO’

and chemicals – see ‘other waste’

see ‘FOGO’

✗

Glass – see ‘glass-only’

✗

✗ Paints and

✗ Recyclable

Electrical/ e-waste – see ‘other waste’

items – see ‘recycling’

solvents–see ‘other waste’

✗

✗ Syringes and sharps – find a local needle exchange program For the most up-to-date information, visit mrsc.vic.gov.au/bins

Rubbish/general waste

Did you know?

In 2018, households in the Macedon Ranges threw away 2.3 million kilograms of food waste.

Recycling bin Your recycling bin will be collected fortnightly.

Please refer to your collection calendar for dates or visit mrsc.vic.gov.au/bin-days • Council is committed to providing sustainable, economical and secure solutions for the collection and processing of waste and recyclables. This means that from time to time the items that can go in your recycling bin will change as we search for more innovative solutions. For the most up-to-date information, visit mrsc.vic.gov.au/bins • While an item might carry a recycling symbol, this does not always mean it can be recycled here in Australia.

Please ensure the items in your recycling bin are from the list below to avoid unnecessary bin contamination.

What CAN go in your recycling bin

✓

Paper, newspapers, office paper, magazines and envelopes

✓ Aluminium and

✓ Cardboard boxes, egg cartons, cereal box (NO milk cartons, juice cartons or tetra packs)

✓

Rigid plastics, biscuit trays, margarine tubs and ice-cream tubs

steel tins, cans, aerosols and foil (scrunched)

✓ Soft drink bottles, milk bottles and detergents

What CANNOT go in your recycling bin

Bagged recyclables – items must be loose

✗

Plastic bags, soft plastics – see ‘other waste’

✗ General waste

✗ Polystyrene or

✗ Light globes

✗ Glass and

✗ Food waste

✗ Garden waste

✗ Clothing, shoes

✗ Syringes

✗ Tetra packs,

✗ Electrical/E-waste –

and textiles

✗

ceramics

and sharps

milk and juice cartons

Handy hints

foam

see ‘other waste’

• Please do not put your recyclables in plastic bags before placing in recycling bins. The recyclables must be loose or they will end up in landfill due to the soft plastic enclosing the recyclables.

• Keep things clean–if in doubt, rinse it out.

For the most up-to-date information, visit

Recycling bin

mrsc.vic.gov.au/bins

FOGO bin Your FOGO bin will be collected weekly.

If you do not have a FOGO bin, you will be notified when FOGO is coming to your area. Please refer to your collection calendar for dates or visit mrsc.vic.gov.au/bin-days • FOGO (Food Organics Garden Organics) is a convenient and environmentally-friendly way to dispose of your organic waste.

By collecting nutrient-rich food waste alongside garden waste, we can generate a high-quality compost to use on farms, parks and gardens. We can avoid valuable organic waste going to landfill where it produces methane, a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change.

What CAN go in your FOGO bin

✓ Fruit and vegetable scraps; e.g. onion, garlic and citrus

✓

Dairy products; e.g. cheese, yogurt and butter

✓ Coffee grounds

✓

food-soiled paper

✓ Bread, pasta

and tea leaves

Lawn clippings, weeds, leaves, small plants and roses

✓ Pizza boxes and

✓

Meat, bones, seafood and egg shells

and cereals

✓

Bark and sawdust

✓ Compostable kitty litter, animal droppings, hair and animal fur

✓ Cooked and uncooked food

✓ Prunings and small branches (less than 3cm in diameter and less than 30cm long}

✓

Compostable plantbased packaging and items (cutlery, plates, cups, etc.)

!

✓ Wooden icy pole sticks, toothpicks, cold ash

IMPORTANT: Certified Compostable is different to biodegradable. Always look for these symbols on packaging. If it doesn’t have them, it doesn’t go in FOGO.

✓

Used paper towel and tissues, shredded paper

What CANNOT go in your FOGO bin

plastic bags. ✗ General waste Fruit stickers ✗ Plastic bags and ✗UseNocompostable ✗ and ✗ Magazines, and liquids labels soft plastics (e.g. catalogues and liners only

cling wrap)

waxed paper

Coffee pods, pots, garden ✗coffee ✗ Nappies, incontinence ✗ Baby wipes and make- hose, ✗ Plant cups garden tools, etc. products and aids

up removal wipes

✗ Nonkittycompostable ✗ Large logs, soil, stumps and branches (greater litters than 3cm diameter or longer than 30cm)

Handy hints

Treated and ✗ painted woods

• Remove stickers from fruit peels and skins.

• Allow hot food to cool before putting in your caddy or FOGO bin.

• Remember to put your FOGO bin out for collection weekly, even if it’s not full.

Questions on the new FOGO service? mrsc.vic.gov.au/FOGO or contact our customer service team visit 5422 0333.

FOGO bin

Transfer stations and other waste We operate three transfer stations in the shire, which are your local drop-off points for all kind of items for recycling, excess waste and some materials which cannot go in your waste and recycling bins. Proof of residence is required for use of transfer stations.

Opening times

Our transfer stations are open from 10am−4pm on the following days:

Kyneton 140 Redesdale Rd Tel: 5422 3661

Monday Tuesday

Romsey 21 Johnston Crt Tel: 5429 3608

✓

Thursday

✗

Friday

✓ ✗ ✓ ✗ ✓ ✗ ✓ ✗

✗ ✗

Wednesday

Woodend 149 Quarry Rd Tel: 5427 4195

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

✓ Saturday ✓ Sunday ✓

Transfer stations are closed on Total Fire Ban days and on some, but not all public holidays. To be sure of opening hours, call ahead.

Items ACCEPTED at transfer stations

✓

General waste/household rubbish

✓

✓

Glass

✓ Gas bottles

✓ Paper and cardboard

Recyclable plastics and bottles

✓ Mattresses

✓ Car parts

✓ Building

✓ E-waste (including

✓ Light globes

✓ Scrap metal

✓ Batteries

✓ Engine oil

Garden waste (excess garden waste or branches not accepted in your FOGO bin)

✓ Clean fill

waste

✓

Tyres

white-goods such as fridges, etc.)

(florescent and CFL’s only)

✓

Some items are free to drop off, while others incur a small fee.

Handy hints

• Sort your load and save.

• If you’re looking for free or cheap second-hand furniture, bikes, books and other pre-loved items, you can find a bargain at a tip shop. For locations, see mrsc.vic.gov.au/tip-shop • Check ahead to find out what can be recycled, as most recyclables are free to drop off.

• Pack your trailer so the attendant can easily see what’s in your load.

• Secure your load before you head to the transfer station.

For more information on our transfer stations, items accepted, fees and charges, visit mrsc.vic.gov.au/transfer-stations

Transfer stations and other waste

Other waste There are recycling drop-off points across the shire for a variety of different waste items.

Plastic bag/soft plastic recycling

Soft plastics such as plastic bags, produce bags, bread bags, rice and pasta bags cannot be recycled through your kerbside recycling bin. Soft plastics can be recycled through the REDcycle program, with drop off points at most Coles and Woolworths stores.

For more information and to find locations visit redcycle.net.au

Handy hint

Have you done the scrunch test to identify soft plastics?

If it can be scrunched into a ball, it can be placed in a REDcycle drop-off bin. If you can’t scrunch it into a ball, it is not a soft plastic.

E-waste

The Victorian Government has banned all e-waste from landfill, which means no electronic item can go in any bin. There’s a better place for your e-waste than in your bins. Electronic waste (e-waste) is any item with a plug, battery or power cord that is no longer working or wanted. It covers a whole range of items from phones, computers and refrigerators to fluorescent light tubes.

Why recycle e-waste?

• It’s good for us and the environment.

• E-waste can contain hazardous materials.

• E-waste contains valuable materials.

• It reduces landfill.

How to recycle e-waste

You can drop all e-waste off at our transfer stations. Some items are free to drop off. Batteries and mobile phones can also be dropped off at all of our customer service centres. To learn more about e-waste, visit ewaste.vic.gov.au

Mobile phones—MobileMuster

MobileMuster, the official recycling program of the mobile phone industry, is calling on residents to recycle their old mobile phone handsets, batteries, charges and accessories at collection points throughout the Macedon Ranges or posting free of charge to MobileMuster. mobilemuster.com.au

Ink cartridges—Cartridges 4 PlanetArk

To help you make your home or office a little greener, you can drop off your used laser and ink jet cartridges at all of our customer service centres. Any toner or ink cartridge from a fax, photocopier or printer will be accepted in the Cartridges 4 Planet Ark Program.

Look for the collection box in our customer service centre foyers. planetark.org/campaigns/cartridges

Household chemicals—Detox Your Home

Unwanted chemicals may harm the environment when you pour them down the sink, and they can go in the rubbish bin.

Sustainability Victoria’s Detox Your Home service allows you to dispose of these chemicals safely. sustainability.vic.gov.au/detoxyourhome

drumMUSTER

drumMUSTER is a national recycling program that allows you to dispose of empty chemical containers. Eligible containers and drums marked with the drumMUSTER symbol that are dry and triple-rinsed are accepted at our Kyneton Transfer Station. drummuster.org.au

ChemClear

ChemClear provides a safe and reliable collection and disposal service for all agricultural and veterinary chemical users across Australia. chemclear.org.au

Clothing, shoes, textiles and household items

Give clothing, shoes, textiles and other household items that aren’t broken and are still in good condition a second life. Visit your local op shop and see what items they accept for donation or check online for local buy, swap and sell groups to find a new home for that once loved item.

Other waste

Contact us

Macedon Ranges Shire Council PO Box 151, Kyneton VIC 3444 Tel: (03) 5422 0333 Fax: (03) 5422 3623 mrsc@mrsc.vic.gov.au

mrsc.vic.gov.au/bins

General Waste Recycling FOGO Glass