Christmas. Have you looked at the calendar lately and realised it’s almost one month away?
While there’s nothing like a deadline, there are some things you can do ahead of time to make life easier for yourself ahead of that mad rush in the days up to 25 December.
We’ve put together a few suggestions of things that you can do early to make life easier, and to embrace the festive season without stress.
1. Donate to the Giving Tree early
Embrace the season of giving and consider donating an unwrapped gift to a child or teen in need through the City of Wollongong Giving Tree. This annual campaign will see gifts donate to Anglicare and St Vincent de Paul Society, and there are 12 locations across Wollongong to share goodwill. Unwrapped presents should be left before Monday 11 December. Find out the Giving Tree locations on Council’s website.
2. Get ready for a FOGO influx
With all the festive cooking and eating at this time of year, our FOGO caddies can get a real workout.
If you’re running very low on bin liners, make a note to pick up a new bundle next time you’re near our Burelli Street Customer Service Centre, or one of our libraries. They’re free, while stocks last.
You can also pick up extra liners from most supermarkets and hardware stores. Just be sure to buy the ones displaying the AS 4736 code and a seedling logo.
3. Write a note on the calendar – bins will NOT be collected on Christmas Day
One of the most common enquiries our Customer Service team gets in the lead up to Christmas is about bin collections and whether household bin collections happen on Christmas Day.
With Christmas Day on a Monday this year we can confirm bins will not be collected on 25 December.
Instead, we’re asking residents to pop their bins out, as normal, and we’ll collect as soon as possible.
If your bin isn’t collected on your usual day, rest assured it will be collected!
4. Spruce up around the house
There’s still time to spring clean before summer sets in.
Each household in Wollongong can get two free kerbside clean-ups every year. You must book your clean up in advance through the Wollongong Waste website. Items that may be collected include furniture items and small appliances, sporting and camping equipment, mattresses, computers, and microwaves.
If you’ve got e-waste, extra cardboard and paper, old car batteries, gas bottles, or paint and paint tins you want to get rid of – head to the Community Recycling Centre that’s part of the Wollongong Waste and Resource Recovery Park at Whyte’s Gully. There are a wide range items that can be dropped off here so that problem household waste can be recycled and kept out of landfill.
We’ve also got two free garden organics drop-offs in Helensburgh on 19 November and Corrimal on 26 November
