Townsville City Council will adopt a new on-call booking system for its popular kerbside collection program in 2020.
The booking system will replace the suburb-by-suburb approach of the past and is expected to reduce cluttered footpaths, minimise illegal dumping and relieve pressure on Council waste facilities.
Mayor Jenny Hill said the COVID-19 global pandemic had forced Council to re-think its approach to kerbside collection.
“In the past people have complained about kerbside waste sitting on footpaths for weeks but this new system will give residents set collection dates for their area,” Cr Hill said.
“The booking system will also cut truck movements across Townsville.
“More and more cities across the country are adopting booking systems and it has proved popular with residents.
“Our customer service centre will take phone bookings initially, but Council will shift to a user-friendly online system in the near future.”
Council Water and Waste Committee chairperson Russ Cook said he expected the new kerbside collection program to be more popular.
“Our team has reviewed the program and Council is confident residents will welcome a more efficient approach,” Cr Cook said.
“Council is making another important change in line with our improvements at our landfills. Kerbside collectors will separate recyclable and reusable items to cut the waste taken to landfill.
“An average of around 25,000 properties have used the service over the past two years and we collected 2,900 tonnes of material last year.”
Cr Cook said residents need to make sure their waste met Council’s kerbside guidelines.
“People need to be conscious of Council’s rules, staff won’t collect any hazardous or dangerous products or any liquid or food waste,” Cr Cook said.
“Council also can’t collect very heavy items as two people will collect kerbside waste by hand.
“Each home has a two cubic metre limit and green waste won’t be collected.”
Council will engage in a comprehensive communication campaign to inform the community of how kerbside collection will operate and when it will start.
