Roll-out of glass-only purple bins begins in Yarriambiack

Published on 06 May 2022

Roll-out of glass-only purple bins begins in Yarriambiack

Yarriambiack residents will notice a new purple bin start to appear in their communities over the coming months as part of Council’s Resource Recovery and Waste Management Strategy. A short trial will begin in Beulah and Minyip in the second half of May as a measure to assist implementation and identify any gaps in the implementation process and education material.

Yarriambiack Shire Council Chief Executive Officer Tammy Smith said, “Broken glass in mixed recycling bins contaminates paper, cardboard, plastic and metal, making them less valuable and more difficult to recycle. Separating glass has a huge impact on the quality of other recyclable materials and will help create a more efficient, cost effective and environmentally responsible collection service for our community.”

The purple glass-only bin will be picked up every four weeks on the existing recycling bin day.  The introduction of the purple bin will see the yellow recycling bin’s schedule extend to being picked up every four weeks, alternating on a fortnightly basis to the purple glass bin. Residents will receive a new waste calendar which will highlight the relevant purple bin pick-up day in the month relating to your property, please refer to your waste calendar and the waste section of the council website.

“The roll out of the kerbside glass collection is just the first part of improving our recycling. In the second half of 2022, we will be commissioning a glass crusher, which will process the glass collected in our shire and our neighbouring shires. The crushed glass will then be available for use in council maintenance and construction projects instead of sand”, said Ms Smith.

The glass collection and processing is the first waste project that focusses on re-localising recycling and ensuring that recycled material can be used for another purpose in the local environment.

The main things for residents to remember with kerbside bin collections are:

• The small green bin (landfill) will continue to be collected weekly.
• When purple bin collections start in their community, residents will need to make a small change and separate glass recycling into the purple bin.
• Continue to use the yellow (mixed recycling) bin for metal, paper, cardboard and hard plastics – but the collection of the mixed recycling bin will change to four weekly – alternating with the purple glass bin.
• Residents who do not currently receive a kerbside bin service will be able to drop glass off at their local transfer station.

“Funding was received for supply of purple glass bins so there are no costs incurred by residents for the supply of the additional bin. As our mixed recycling collection is being altered to a four-weekly service, there are no additional collection costs for the glass kerbside collection service”, Ms Smith added.

Residents will receive an updated recycling calendar and more information of what needs to go into each bin when their bin is delivered.  For more information, including waste calendars and what waste goes in which bin, visit our Waste page