Green light for waste bin collection service – Bendigo Weekly

A BENDIGO company giving locals their first chance to recycle green waste has been able to do what the local council can’t – find a cost-effective way to dispose of the waste.

Greenaway Bins will start offering the fortnightly collection in early May, at a cost of $120, which includes the bin.

The first 500 who jump on board will get the service for $99 in their first year.

The City of Greater Bendigo council intended rolling out a green-waste collection two years ago, but failed to find a cost-effective way to dispose of it.

Greenaway’s Anthony Janssen said the program would be launched in the next week or so.

“The green waste will be recycled locally by a local company,” he said.

“Greenaway Bins will provide you with a kerb-side collection service on the opposite week to your paper recycling service.

“The 240-litre bins will accommodate your leaves, lawn clippings, garden prunings, up to 50 millimetre branches.

“These will still be taken away, to be recycled into compost and mulch and returned to the environment.”

Mr Janssen issued a challenge to the Bendigo community to use the service and limit the amount of waste going to landfill.

“We all generate waste, either directly via what we generate at home or in the workplace, or indirectly by purchasing goods and services where waste is also
generated,” he said.

“The majority of this waste ends up in landfills.

“Landfill is becoming a huge problem all over the world and also here in Bendigo.”

Mr Janssen said Bendigo’s waste woes could be easily reduced.

“We need to move towards a zero-waste strategy, where we are aiming at reducing our all of our waste,” he said.

“It is estimated 26 per cent of our throw-away rubbish is garden clippings and organics.

“Green waste is one resource, which should not be going into landfill. It is estimated that 11,000 tones of green waste is going into the Eaglehawk landfill site per year. This is double the state average.”

The company is starting the Go Green for Bendigo campaign.

“We hope to reduce green waste going into the Eaglehawk Landfill by 1500 tones in the first six months,” mr Janssen said.

“We plan to keep increasing our target with the help of Bendigo residents.

“It is hard to believe that by walking to the front gate once every two weeks with your green bin you will save on trips to the tip and you will be actually helping the environment by recycling green waste and reducing landfill.

It is illegal to conduct backyard burning off in residential areas of Bendigo without a special-use permit.

To register for the service, or to find out more, call 1300 033 606