RAISING FUNDS WITH CONTAINERS FOR CASH

 

Businesses, community groups, sporting club and schools are being offered the chance to earn cash for empty drink containers by signing up for Containers for Change with the City of Fremantle.

The City of Fremantle is one of 145 organisations chosen to operate a refund point as part of Western Australia’s new Containers for Change scheme, which will kick off on 1 October.

The scheme will allow people to claim a 10 cent refund for every eligible beverage container they hand in.

The City of Fremantle’s refund point will be located at the Fremantle Recycling Centre, opposite the golf course on Montreal Street.

Community groups, sporting clubs, schools charities and other not-for-profit organisations can raise funds through Containers for Change by registering for a Containers for Change Scheme ID.

Anyone returning their eligible containers to the City of Fremantle’s refund point can then donate their refund to your group via your Scheme ID, with refunds transferred through a direct deposit into your group’s nominated bank account.

Businesses and groups can also set up their own collection point, where the City will provide collection bins and pick up the containers from your property.

Containers will be taken back to the refund point, counted and sorted. The refunds will be paid on all eligible beverage containers.

Minimum quantities apply, so simply complete the registration form and the City’s Waste team will assess your application and arrange delivery of your new bins and collection frequency with you.

Containers for Change targets the beverage containers that most commonly end up as litter. Most aluminium, glass, plastic, steel and liquid paperboard containers between 150ml and 3L are eligible for a refund.

Generally, ineligible containers are those that are less than 150ml and greater than 3L. Other ineligible containers include all plain milk bottles, wine bottles, pure spirit bottles, cordial and registered health tonics. Pure juice containers over 1L (or under 150ml) are also ineligible.

For more information visit the Containers for Change website.

FREO NEEDS MORE RECYCLING BINS

 

A Fremantle family of eight have been denied a second recycling bin by the City of Fremantle, but offered an additional general waste bin instead.

The parents have brought up their kids to be environmentally aware and responsible, so it is hard to explain to them now why they have to throw their recyclable waste into landfill bins.

In the apartment block I live in there is also a huge shortage of recycling bins, as most of them are full to overflowing after three days, so all else ends up in the big skip bin for general waste.

The City has to empty recycling bins once a week, or supply bigger ones.

Talk alone is not good enough, especially with the million dollar three-bin FOGO system in place in Fremantle.

What are the solutions, Fremantle Councillors?

Roel Loopers

FREO RECYCLING CENTRE RE-OPENS FRIDAY

 

 

The City of Fremantle’s Recycling Centre will reopen on Friday.

For the past month the City has operated a temporary drive-thru recycling service while the Recycling Centre was closed to protect the health of staff and the community during the COVID-19 pandemic.

But with COVID-19 restrictions now easing the Recycling Centre, opposite the golf course on Montreal Street, will return to its normal operating hours from Friday 12 June.

Residents of the City of Fremantle and Town of East Fremantle will be able to drop off a range of recyclable materials including cardboard, polystyrene, metal, clothing, whitegoods, e-waste and green waste, and also pick up free mulch for the garden.

Mattresses and tyres can also be disposed of for a small fee.

Fremantle Mayor Brad Pettitt said it was terrific to have the Recycling Centre open again.

“The Recycling Centre is an excellent facility that provides a fabulous service to the people of Fremantle and East Fremantle,” Mayor Pettitt said.

“I’m sure there are lots of people who have been accumulating recyclable materials at home during the COVID-19 shutdown that will be very keen to get rid of them when the centre opens again on Friday.

“Unfortunately we are still not able to reopen the Reuse Shop at this time, but we are planning to expand the shop and give it a makeover so it will be even better when it does open.

People can also dispose of their non-recyclable household junk at the centre as well. Just bring along their junk drop-off letter to have it stamped.

The centre will be a refund point when WA’s new Container Deposit Scheme kicks off on October 1, and a Household Hazardous Waste disposal facility will be established there later this year thanks to a recent state government grant.

The Recycling Centre’s opening hours are Friday 12 noon-4pm and Saturday and Sunday 8am-4pm.

For more information visit the Fremantle Recycling Centre page on the City’s website.

Roel Loopers

NEW DRIVE-THRU FREO RECYCLING

 

 

The City of Fremantle is launching a new recycling service to enable the safe drop off of recyclables during the COVID-19 pandemic.

From tomorrow, City of Fremantle and Town of East Fremantle residents will be able to take advantage of a new drive-thru service set up at the Recycling Centre.

The new drive-thru service will be available on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 12noon-4pm and Saturdays from 8am-12noon. It will be closed on Anzac Day, 25 April.

To ensure the highest level of safety, the service is drop-off only and residents will not be able to collect any items from the yard. People will also be required to unload their items into the skip bins on site.

To use the service people must bring along a photo ID and a recent bill as proof of residency.

Accepted materials include:

• White goods
• Cardboard
• Metal
• Yellow-top bin recycling
• Motor oil
• Mattresses $33.50 each (eftpos only)
• Tyres $20.10 each (eftpos only)

 

Materials that won’t be accepted include:

• Polystyrene
• Soft Plastics
• Green waste
• Bricks and pavers
• Building rubble and sand
• Clothing donations
• Electronic waste
• Hazardous household waste including paint, gas bottles, fire extinguishers, batteries and fluros/globes.

 

The new drive-thru service will also be accepting household junk that can’t be recycled. To drop off junk just remember to bring along your junk drop-off voucher letter to be stamped.

For more information visit the Fremantle Recycling Centre page on the City of Fremantle website.

 

Roel Loopers

REUSABLES AT GEORGE STREET FESTIVAL

File photo

 

At the East Fremantle GEORGE STREET FESTIVAL two weeks ago all food & beverage vendors were required to use GO2CUP in an effort to reduce unnecessary waste at the very popular annual festival

GO2CUP supplied over 20 vendors with reusable cups, plates and cutlery which were then placed in allocated bins to be washed and used again at other events. Over 9,000 reusable items were used on the day!

Approximately 9,500 people came along to the event with only 300 – 400kg of waste being collected for the whole day!

The Town of East Fremantle is very grateful to all volunteers who kindly assisted at the bins stations, including members from the East Fremantle Junior Football Club, WREN and Recycle Right WA.

Well done everyone. Great effort!

Roel Loopers

NOT ENOUGH SPACE FOR GENERAL WASTE

 

I am all for recycling, looking after the environment and after our planet Earth, but already the Fremantle FOGO three bin system is not working for me and the home owner.

The too small general waste bin was totally full when we put the bin we share between two households out for collection, but it was not emptied because general waste only gets collected once a fortnight.

I am moving house next week and will probably have quite a few bits and pieces for the general waste bin, but won’t be able to use it because the bin is full. My neighbour and I will now have to take our general waste rubbish into the city and dump it into a City of Fremantle bin, and that is not good at all.

Roel Loopers

FREO’S GARAGE SALE TRAIL IS ON

 

 

The annual GARAGE SALE TRAIL is back in Fremantle this coming weekend October 19 and 20, so go find a bargain, or sell some yourselves.

Garage Sale Trail is happening right across Australia. It’s a big weekend encouraging us to put secondhand first and minimise our impact on the planet.

Small actions drive big change, so while one garage sale on its own won’t make much difference, hundreds of thousands of Aussies joining the trail packs some real punch.

When people get together in the streets, community centres and schools to buy, sell and reuse at garage sales over a weekend, that sends a strong message to re-use and recycle and stop the cycle of over-consumption and throwing things into landfill.

Garage Sale Trail happens with the support of Local Council partners across the country and nearly 400,000 bargain hunting, reuse loving Australians shopping and selling at more than 18,000 garage sale events Australia-wide.

Every garage sale has a unique style and gets a sale page that provides clues to who’s involved, what’s on offer and anything else that’s going down. It’s like a treasure map to second hand greatness. Likewise, shoppers can search for sales, items of interest and make your own Trail of favourite sales to checkout.

Join the movement this October and help us spread the word. Let’s choose to reuse and join the over 400, 000 Aussies putting second hand first!

Check out Facebook page and website for more information. The Growers Green Farmers Market also participates on Sunday.

Roel Loopers

FOGO BINS COMING FROM NEXT WEEK

 

 

The City of Fremantle’s roll out of the new three-bin Food Organic Garden Organic (FOGO) waste management system will start next week.

Under the new three-bin system residents will keep their yellow-lidded recycling bin, but the dark green general waste bin will be replaced with a new lime green-lidded FOGO bin and a new smaller red-lidded general waste bin.

Residents in the neighbourhood surrounding Frank Gibson Park will begin receiving their new FOGO bins from Monday 16 September, with the entire roll out to more than 11,000 households across Fremantle expected to take about five weeks.

City of Fremantle Director of Infrastructure and Project Delivery Graham Tattersall said it should be a smooth transition from the old bins to the new bins.

“All people need to do is put out their dark green general waste bin and yellow-lidded recycling bin as normal,” Mr Tattersall said.

“On the day that their bins are emptied, a delivery truck will come by and drop off the new FOGO and general waste bins, and also a small kitchen caddy with a year’s supply of compostable liners.

“The bin delivery vehicles will be operating independently of the rubbish trucks, so some people might get their new bins before the old ones are emptied and others afterwards.

“Once the bins have been emptied people can take in their yellow recycling bin and the new lime green FOGO bin and red general waste bin and start using them straight away, but they need to leave the old dark green bin on the verge for collection later that day or the next day.

“The delivery of the new bins will start from 6am, and there may be a bit of noise as the wheels and lids will be attached at the point of delivery.

“There may also be some extra noise when the old bins are removed the next day, as they need to have the wheels and lids removed so they can be stacked and taken away.”

Roel Loopers

DON’T WORRY BIN HAPPY

 

 

Fremantle residents have been asking what will happen to the old bins when the three bin FOGO-Food Organic Garden Organic will be implemented over the next weeks.

The big general waste bin will be replaced with a new lime-green lidded bin and a smaller general waste red-lidded one, while we keep the yellow-lidded recycling bin.

City of Fremantle Director of Infrastructure and Project Delivery Graham Tattersall explained that from the 11,000 bins collected 600 will be kept in Fremantle for reuse, and the others will go to Adelaide bin supplier Mastec, which will recycle the old bins by shredding them and reuse them for the manufacturing of new bins.

The initial costs for the FOGO system is just over one million dollars.

Roel Loopers

FREMANTLE CHANGES TO RUBBISH BIN COLLECTION DAY

 

 

Waste bin collection days for most City of Fremantle residents will be changing next month. The change to bin collection days will take effect from 19 August. 

The City have come up with a more streamlined route, but it will mean about 80 per cent of Fremantle households will be getting their bins collected on a new day, and they are also changing the fortnightly collection cycle for recycling bins. From 19 August they will pick up all the recycling bins on the same week.

This means that the week starting 19 August will be a recycling week for everyone, and everyone should put out both their general waste bin and their recycling bin.

This will put everyone in the City on the same fortnightly rotation for their recycling collection.

The City of Fremantle will send out postcards to residents to advise them of their new bin day.

New Bin Days!

Residents can also check their bin day by typing in their address into the Find My Bin Day function on the City’s website.

The change to bin days comes ahead of the roll-out of the new three-bin Food Organic Garden Organic (FOGO) system to more than 11,000 City of Fremantle households this September.

Under the new system residents will keep their yellow-lidded recycling bin, but the dark green general waste bin will be replaced with a new lime green-lidded FOGO bin and a new smaller red-lidded general waste bin.

FOGO households will also receive a kitchen caddy and a year’s worth of compostable liners when the new bins are delivered.

The new FOGO bin will be emptied weekly, while the yellow recycling bin and the red general waste bin will be emptied fortnightly on alternating weeks.

Roel Loopers