Wyndham City has ambitious targets to both improve our community’s recycling and waste diversion.
To achieve this, Wyndham City provides and conducts several educational programs and offerings.
To read Waste & Litter Strategy 2016-2040 and our vision to shift the focus from waste management to resource recovery, creating a comprehensive roadmap in order to achieve the ultimate goal of 90% waste diversion from landfill.
Bin Inspection Program
Wyndham City has commenced a bin inspection program with the aim to improve our recycling.
These random inspections provide individual households with education around what can and can’t go into the recycling bin, with the aim to improve the recycling material provided to our processor Visy. This program also helps to formulate an education campaign around common recycling mistakes as well as geographic areas to target.
All bins inspected will receive either a ‘Top job’ tag for recycling correctly, or an ‘Oh no’ tag if the bin contains items that can’t be recycled.
With recent changes to global recycling, it’s more important than ever that we put the right things in our home recycling bin. Contamination not only causes issues when sorting materials, it can also pose a risk for collection and sorting staff as well as increasing the cost of service.
Common items incorrectly placed in the recycling bin include:
- recyclable items inside plastic bags
- soft plastics (such as plastic bags and food wrappers)
- polystyrene
- nappies
- food scraps or garden waste
Recycling bins will continue to be collected as normal, unless the bin is visually overflowing or our recycling collection company deems the bin to be too heavily contaminated.
Building a Cleaner Wyndham
Building a Cleaner Wyndham is a Wyndham City initiatives that encourages builders to take responsibility for their waste. By educating builders on the importance of keeping a clean building site and taking a positive approach to waste management, Council hopes to reduce the amount of building litter getting into our public spaces and waterways.
Throughout the program, Council supports builders by providing:
- information on the benefits of keeping a clean work site;
- information on builders’ responsibilities towards keeping a clean building site;
- a sign to put on your fence to show they are part of the Building a Cleaner Wyndham project;
- bags to hang on their fence to make it easier for workers to secure their rubbish;
- information on the enforcement procedures Council undertakes to encourage cleaner building sites;
- opportunities to participate in local environmental awareness sessions to see firsthand the improvements cleaner building sites can make to the local environment.
If you would like more information or are a builder and would like to get involved in this program, please contact the Waste Strategy Team via wastewise@wyndham.vic.gov.au or 1300 023 411.
Community Group Support
Wyndham City offers community litter groups support by providing litter collection, promotions of events and advice on building your own community litter group.
For more information contact wastewise@wyndham.vic.gov.au.
Join a Local Litter Clean Up Group
Do you want to join a litter clean up group to make a difference? Here is a list of our local dedicated groups or you can contact wastewise@wyndham.vic.gov.au to get some help in starting your own movement:
Love our Street 3024 Manor Lakes
Litter clean-up group on the 1st Saturday of the month10.30am - 12noon - February to November.
Enquiries 3024@loveourstreet.com.au
Love our Street 3029 Hoppers Crossing/Tarneit
Litter clean-up group on the 3rd Sunday of the month 10.30am-12noon – February to November.
Contact 3029@loveourstreet.com.au
Love our Street 3030 – Werribee
Litter clean-up group on the 4th Sunday of the month 10.30am –12noon February to November.
Contact 3030@loveourstreet.com.au
Love Our Street 3030 Point Cook
Litter clean-up group on the 4th Saturday of the month 10.30am – 11.30 noon in different places around Point Cook
Contact: 3030pc@loveourstreet.com.au or https://www.facebook.com/loveourstreetptcook
Beach Patrol 3030 – Werribee
Litter clean-up group on the 2nd Sunday of the month, 11.30am –12.30pm, February to November.
Contact 3030@beachpatrol.com.au
Wyndham Litter Warriors – 6 locations across Wyndham
Regular litter clean up events across the year.
Litter & Illegal Dumping
The dumping of litter in Wyndham is an offence. Litter may not be thrown from a vehicle, dumped onto a public reserve, nature strip or on a road.
Across the municipality, signs have been installed, encouraging people to report illegal dumping, to secure their load of rubbish and warning people of the severe penalties which apply to people caught illegally dumping rubbish.
To report dumped litter:
- Reporters can make litter reports to EPA online using the EPA web form. Further information about reporting litter from vehicles can be found on the EPA website.
- Contact Wyndham City on 1300 023 411
- Submit via Wyndham City's Online Request Form
Single-use plastics ban
Plastic pollution harms our health, wildlife, and the environment. Victoria’s single-use plastics ban is a crucial step to protect Victoria’s rivers, waterways and oceans from plastic pollution.
From 1 February 2023 single-use plastic straws, cutlery, plates, drink-stirrers, cotton bud sticks and expanded polystyrene food and drink containers will be banned in Victoria. The ban includes items wholly or partly made of plastic, including biodegradable, degradable, renewable, and bio-based plastics.
Free information packs, posters, translated materials and online information sessions are available to help businesses. Businesses can also access a dedicated hotline (1800 844 946) and email (sustainability@nra.net.au).
More information and guidance about the ban: www.vic.gov.au/plastics
War on Waste
The ABC's War on Waste is a great series, educating Australians on how to improve our waste situation. Issues such as unnecessary packaging and fast fashion are shown to have massive environmental impacts, so we all need to think about how we can help.
Series 3 has recently been released. If you have missed any episodes or previous series it is definitely worth your time to watch them and think about how you can contribute to the war on waste!
To view the show go to the “War on Waste” on ABC iview.
Waste Education Sessions
Wyndham City offers several environmental programs and initiatives to help grow our future environmental leaders and connect students to the natural world around them.
With a diverse range of resources and programs to support local students of all ages, we aim to empower students to take action and offer support through practical learning.
You can find out more by visiting Green Living in Wyndham School Resources.
Waste Watchers Online
Want to learn more about recycling, composting and how to reduce your impact on the planet?
Wyndham City’s free waste education program, Waste Watchers, is now online, so you can become a waste expert without even leaving your home.
These online webinars were hosted live and recorded in June 2020, with each session running for approximately 45 – 60 minutes.
Waste Watchers Pledge
The most common item people mistakenly put into their recycling bins in Wyndham are soft plastics. Soft plastics are those scrunchable plastics such as plastic bags, bread bags and chip and lolly wrappers.
Placing these items into your recycling bin causes both environmental and cost issues, as well as being hazardous for workers at the facility, with soft plastics often causing jams of the automated sorting machines at the Material Recovery Facility.
We need your help to share the message about keeping soft plastics out of your recycling bin.
You can help by joining the “No Soft Plastics in Recycling Bin” campaign by signing up for the Waste Watchers’ Program. By signing up you will receive a Wyndham Waste Watcher Family sticker for your bin which will help to share the message within your neighbourhood.
We would also love if you could share with your friends and families on social media.
How does it work?
2. Share your pledge with friends on social media (optional)
3. Receive a bin sticker in the mail
4. Talk to curious neighbours or friends about your bin sticker