WHAT weighs close to 260 tonnes and is currently making itself at home on the city’s kerb?
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Your unwanted household items.
Tamworth Regional Council’s manager of water and waste, Dan Coe, estimated last year’s bulky waste collection saw about 260 tonnes unloaded in the Forest Rd landfill, on top of 50 tonnes of e-waste.
But it appears there’s plenty more where that came from.
Currently, Tamworth Regional Council does two bulky waste collections per year.
However, an online survey of The Leader’s readers found the majority of respondents were in favour of an additional bulky waste run each year.
Close to 65 per cent said it should happen three times a year.
This group was followed by about 22 per cent who thought the biannual system suited the region fine.
A further five per cent said the service should be provided on-request.
While it appears the residents have the need for an additional waste collection service, it might be worth double-checking to see if your old wares can be recycled.
Barring metal and e-waste, the items council picks up over the next two weeks will be compacted and put into landfill.
“Green waste that is normally recycled, cardboard, plastics that will go into landfill,” Mr Coe said.
“All of those things can be dropped off for free at our waste management facilities, so people should bring those to the landfill at another time.
“Anything that is brought to our facilities that we can recycle, we will recycle that and put it in our buy-back centre.”
As the saying goes, one man’s trash may be another’s treasure, but Mr Coe steered clear of encouraging locals to help themselves to their neighbours discarded goods.
“We don’t encourage it but people do it, if it can be recycled, that’s a good thing,” he said.
While it is a good chance to clear out some clutter, council is reminding residents it’s not a free-for-all.
Fridges, large white goods, motor parts, commercial waste, gas bottles, demolition materials and broken glass can’t be collected.
RELATED STORIES:
Furniture, small white goods, bedding, TVs, computers, printers and keyboards will be taken.
Bulky waste should be placed on your kerb on your regular bin night.
Tamworth Moonbi, Kootingal and Attunga pick-ups start on Monday, June 19.
Collections in Barraba, Manilla and Nundle kick-off on Monday, June 26.