BLACKTOWN CITY INDEPENDENT BCI 52 July 2025 | Page 4

INDEPENDENT magazine group HAWKESBURY • HILLS • BLACKTOWN

INDEPENDENT magazine group HAWKESBURY • HILLS • BLACKTOWN

Julie Ryan 0421 574 093 OWNER / EDITOR / PUBLISHER info @ hdinews. com. au PO Box 16 WINDSOR NSW 2756
LOCAL LIFE

Food and garden waste collection to make Blacktown City more sustainable

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Blacktown City Council has introduced its most significant waste service reform in over 30 years, with the rollout of a new food and garden waste collection service to more than 127,000 households across the City.
In June, Council began delivering kitchen caddies and green-lidded food and garden waste bins to eligible households. This new service is expected to divert thousands of tonnes of waste from landfill each year. The collected material will be processed at Eastern Creek Organics and transformed into compost for use in farming and agriculture.
Blacktown City Mayor, Brad Bunting, described the rollout as a major milestone in the City’ s sustainability journey.
“ During our extensive community consultation, residents told us they were eager for a food and garden waste service to help reduce landfill and support the environment,” Mayor Bunting said.
“ Implementing a program of this scale in the largest council area in NSW is no small feat – it has required careful planning and resource coordination.
“ I look forward to seeing our community embrace this new service as we continue to protect and improve the place we call home.”
Alongside its environmental benefits, the new waste service will provide households with an increased weekly bin capacity of 140 litres to separate their waste more efficiently. The new standard waste service includes:
- A 240L green-lidded food and garden waste bin, collected weekly
- The existing 240L yellow-lidded recycling bin, collected fortnightly
- A 140L red-lidded general waste bin, collected weekly( replacing the current 240L red bin). Residents may choose to retain the larger 240L bin at an additional cost or downsize to an 80L bin
- Up to 12 household clean-up services for bulky items each year
- A 7L kitchen caddy for food scraps, 150 compostable liners, and an information pack to help residents use the service correctly
The standard waste service will cost $ 674 for the 2025 / 26 financial year – a $ 40 increase from the current two-bin service in 2024 / 25. Households may also opt for
a smaller service($ 571) or a larger service($ 788), depending on their needs.
This initiative also aligns with the NSW Government’ s mandate requiring all households to have access to food and garden waste collection by 2030.
Council will consider expanding the service to additional households at a later stage.
To assist residents in using the new service, Council has launched an online chat feature to answer questions conveniently. The service is available Monday to Friday from 3:30 pm to 7:30 pm at blacktown. nsw. gov. au / waste.
Alternatively, residents can contact Council’ s Customer Service Centre on 5300 6000, Monday to Friday, between 8:30 am and 4:30 pm.
4 ISSUE 52 // JULY 2025 theindependentmagazine. com. au BLACKTOWN CITY INDEPENDENT