The City of Whittlesea’s new household glass recycling service will soon be rolled out to meet the Victorian Government’s requirement of a standardised four-bin waste and recycling system for all Councils.
At the Council meeting on Monday 27 June, Council awarded the contract for the collection of glass bins to J.J. Richards & Sons Pty Ltd while Visy Recycling Pty Ltd was awarded the contract for the processing the collected glass waste.
From August, all households that currently have a Council-provided rubbish and recycling bin will start to receive a new 120lt purple-lidded bin to be used for glass.
Chair Administrator Lydia Wilson said that the City of Whittlesea’s strong commitment to sustainability and delivering improved recycling services led to fast-tracking the introduction of the service ahead of many other Councils across the state.
Ms Wilson said a separate bin was needed as glass often broke during the collection process, making it difficult to separate from other materials.
“We know our community is committed to reducing waste and by providing a separate bin for glass, we can more effectively recycle the glass products,” Ms Wilson said.
“Earlier this year, we consulted with our community to inform our roll-out and education ahead of the service commencement. The survey showed majority support for glass recycling however we will continue to work with the community to address any concerns they may have with the new bin.”
“When it’s not mixed in with other recyclables, the quality of the material collected is superior, which means that more of this valuable product is kept out of landfill,” she said.
“Reducing the amount of waste sent to landfill by 68,000 tonnes each year and the amount of waste generated per person by 20 per cent are just some of the targets set out in Council’s Rethinking Waste Plan. Our new glass recycling service is just one step that will help us work towards that goal.”
“We’re excited to have both J.J. Richards and Sons and Visy Recycling on board to ensure that the glass products collected from our residents will be recycled into valuable products such as new glass bottles and jars or road base,” said Ms Wilson.
