Waste Matters
4 April 2018
Despite efforts by many to reduce – reuse - recycle, the world is generating more landfill than ever and it is projected to nearly double in 15 years. Last week, Colac Otway Shire’s Waste Management Officer Simone Robertson visited Apollo Bay to educate residents about what is being done on a local level and provide an opportunity for questions.
Simone talked about the new purple bin which is currently being trialled for soft plastics recycling. It is located at the Colac Otway Shire office at 69 Nelson Street, inside the door, and soft plastics – that is, “anything that you can scrunch” can be dropped off during office hours – between 8:45am and 1:15pm Monday to Friday. The possibility of introducing a second bin in an alternative location in Apollo Bay is currently being explored.
The Colac Otway Shire’s Nelson Street office will also take mobile phones, batteries, CDs and printer cartridges for recycling.
A few of the main points from the session if you missed it were:
- Solutions are being sought and trialled to deal with the issue of waste during peak holiday periods
- Composite items – ie, things made of more than one material, can often be disassembled so that they can be properly recycled
- Apollo Bay has a re-sale shed for large items in reasonable condition. There is no charge for taking your items there.
- Green waste – there is a 80kg limit, so be mindful in winter when your green waste has more water-weight to not overfill.
- Bin contamination remains an issue – please remember - do not bag your recycling!
Finally, Council's waste collection services contract is due for review in 2020, so if you’d like to have input into how waste management services can best meet our needs in the future, you can complete a short, online survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/talkrubbish
There is quite a lot of information to be found on the Rubbish Collection Services page of the Shire’s website or you can call 03) 5232 9400 to speak to someone in person.
We’d love to see you at the Transition Forum on May 6 from 10:30am to 3:30pm at the Apollo Bay Community Centre. RSVP is essential to
To keep in touch with what’s happening with Transition Apollo Bay or to find out how you can be involved, send your details to