16 July, 2019

Taking care of the waste for a Shire of more than 12,000 people requires careful management, but the Shire becomes cleaner and greener if residents follow a few simple guidelines.

Gunnedah Shire Council’s Manager of Waste Sheridan Cameron said those residents living in areas with kerbside bin collection could get confused about exactly what goes into each bin, particularly as services and requirements differ from Council to Council.

“There are some factsheets available on our website or from Council that make it easier to determine what should go in each bin,” Mrs Cameron said.

“The average person produces 1.5 tonnes of waste per year which, for a Shire our size, is approximately 18,000 tonnes. That’s a lot of garbarge.”

“As a Council we’re considering how best to move forward with waste in our Shire, taking into account environmental concerns and liveability. For the time being, these guidelines should assist in understanding where waste should go.”

“Don’t miss the opportunity to use less, reuse and upcycle when you can. We’ve got the Waste to Art Exhibition coming up, so that’s the perfect opportunity to start thinking about waste a little differently.”

Your guide to bin use:

What goes in my red waste?
YES: General food waste, General household waste, nappies, polystyrene, soft plastics
NO: Builders materials, motor oil, mobile phones and electronics, chemicals, paint, batteries

What goes in my yellow recycling bin?
YES: Clean glass jars and bottles, Plastics with number 1,2,3,4 or 5, Tin and Aluminium, Paper and cardboard, clean formula tins
NO: Nappies, Cigarette butts in any container, syringes, ceramics/crockery/china, plastic bags, electrical appliances, polystyrene

What goes in my green waste bin?
YES: Lawn clippings; dry leaves and prunings; small sticks and twigs; fresh leaves and prunings.
NO: plastic bags and liners; construction waste; food waste and garbage; potting mix bags and pots.
Green waste becomes high quality mulch products.

Where can sharps be disposed of?
Needles are a risk to workers at the Gunnedah Recyclit Centre, and they should not be disposed of in general waste. 

Public sharp bins are available at: Vernados Carpark, Little Barber Street; Pump House opposite Rugby Park on Wandobah Road; Gunnedah Waste Management Facility. 

Single-use sharp bins are available at: Brocks Court, Wolseley Park (mounted on toilet block wall); O’Keefe Pavilion, Wolseley Park; Mornington Park, Anzac Parade (mounted on toilet block wall); Gunnedah Community Health Centre, Marquis Street; Gunnedah Hospital, Marquis Street; Discount Drug Store and Karen Carter Chemist (both in Conadilly Street).

For more information about safe needle disposal: search “needle” on the council website; call Gunnedah Shire Council Customer Service on (02) 6740 2100 or call NSW Health Needle Clean Up Hotline on 1800 633 353.

Flyers featuring information about bin use and sharps disposal can be found in the Waste Services section of our website.

What do I do with potentially hazardous materials?
There is a free drop-off at the Gunnedah Waste Management Facility on Quia Road, Gunnedah for:

• gas bottles and fire extinguishers
• paint
• flouro globes and tubes
• car batteries
• household batteries
• motor oils
• other oils
• smoke detectors.

The Gunnedah Waste Management Facility on Quia Road, Gunnedah, is open Monday- Sunday from 9:00am to 4:00pm. The community recycling centre is open from Tuesday - Sunday.

For more information about waste disposal, call 02 6742 3943.

ENDS

Media Contact: Eliza Gallen 6740 2100.