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Cambridge scraps larger bins

Staff ReporterWestern Suburbs Weekly

This month, residents will be told by post that their 240-litre red-lid general waste bin will be replaced with a 120 litre bin. Residents wanting to keep their original bin must opt out within four weeks and pay a cost five times higher than the cost of the new size.

Mayor Simon Withers said 60 per cent of the Town’s homes currently used the 120 litre bins, which were offered voluntarily in 2011 and 2012.

‘The people who have kept the big bins have just been lazy in responding to our request to downsize,’ Mr Withers said.

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The council estimated that its general waste has dropped by 9.8 per cent since the introduction of the 120 litre bins and only 10 per cent of the 3078 residential properties still using the 240 litre bins will choose to opt out of the $609,000 project.

Mr Withers said one of the main reasons for downsizing the bins was increased fees at the Mindarie Regional Council Landfill, which rose from $137 per tonne last financial year to $149/t this year.

‘The highest cost inflation at Cambridge is waste at Mindarie,’ he said. ‘The more you separate your waste, the lower the cost of landfill for the council.’

The first of the new bins could be distributed by October 1, with the changeover completed by December.

Residents will also be able to get a second 240 litre or a larger 360 litre bin for recycling at no additional cost.

An additional 240 litre green waste bin collected fortnightly will be offered for an annual fee.