Hunter’s Hill Council, 22 Alexandra Street, PO Box 21, HUNTERS HILL NSW 2110 ph: 9879 9400 fax: 9809 7338Email: council@huntershill.nsw.gov.au Web: www.huntershill.nsw.gov.au

Hunter’s Hill Council JULY 2015

Reduce, Recycle, Reuse

BIN COLLECTION DAYSTo enable an efficient garbage collection service:• Check that cars are not obstructing access to garbage bins for the garbage truck. • If you live in a cul de sac do not park in the turning area to ensure the garbage truck can turn safely.• If you live in a narrow street do not park in a way that will obstruct the safe passage of the garbage truck. • Do not leave extra rubbish next to your bins - this will not be collected and may end up in the gutter which is an offence under the POEO Act 2007.• Once the bins have been emptied, please remove them from the kerbside and return them to your property as soon as feasible.

Reversing a loaded 20 Tonne garbage truck out of a narrow street because the way forward is blocked by parked cars takes skill but can be hazardous. The drivers would rather complete their runs in a timely and efficient manner with-out having to reverse or manoeuvre dangerously anywhere. Please help present your street in a manner that works for everyone and ensure there is room for the garbage trucks to operate safely.Your Blue Lidded Recycling bin - ACCEPTED • Paper, Newspaper, Cardboard & Magazines• Paper/Cardboard containers Please flatten all cardboard boxes.- NOT ACCEPTED • Food stained paper such as pizza boxes• Facial tissues, waxed paper, paper towels• Carbon paperYour Yellow Lidded Recycling bin - ACCEPTED • All see through glass bottles & jars made of green, brown and clean glass• Aluminium & steel cans (including aerosols)• Plastic milk & juice containers- NOT ACCEPTED • Plastic shopping bags, • Ceramics, porcelain, broken glass, white (Malibu) glass, pyrex, mirrors, windows, light globes, sheet glass or poison bottles.

Health & Safety of the Garbage Contractors & Council Workers

Place materials out in a manner that lends itself to easy collection and is safe to handle. General household rub-bish should be bagged (under 10kg per bag) and placed so it does not end up in the gutters. If you have things that you think could be recycled or upcycled, place them out for people to look and take but on a Sunday night, review how it’s placed and make sure that it’s easy for the contractors to collect on collection day.

A maximum of 2m3 ONLY will be collected in a single house-hold collection with the exception of mattresses which are collected by an alternative contractor and are recycled to core materials. We do this to keep the mattresses out of landfill. Excess or unbooked materials will be considered illegally dumped. Remember Clean-up services are on-call ONLY and all ratepayers with domestic waste services are entitled to TWO services per financial year. Bookings are essential to facillitate logistics & an efficient service.

CALL CUSTOMER SERVICE ON 1300 136 460

What will be collected: a waste materials up to a limit of 2m3 that has been booked in with Council’s waste contractor. a furniture, soft furnishing, broken toys a flat packed kitchens with any nails removed a general household items that are bagged and weigh less than 10kg/bag a mattresses that have been booked in via URM

What will NOT be collected: x waste that has not been booked in with Council’s waste contractor x waste materials over the 2m3 limit x building materials including doors, windows, window panes, bathroom fixtures, fence palings, concrete, rocks, dirt and sand x gas cylinders, batteries, car parts, tyres x chemicals, paints, oils x green waste x bottles, newspapers, cardboard, cardboard boxes OR any other material that can be recycled in the blue or yellow lid recycling bins

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LitterLitter is the most visible sign of environmental pollution. A cleaner Hunters Hill is in all of our hands – we can stop litter where it starts.

What YOU can do:• Set a good example by not littering• Be seen picking up litter to help encourage others to do the same (always carry a bag with you to take your rubbish home)• Carry your cigarette butts and chewing gum with you or use a portable pocket ashtray• Always pick up after your dog• Understand that throwing waste at the bin and missing is still littering, so take the time to make sure your rubbish actually makes it to the bin• Use street litter bins provided by Council for small items only and not for business or household waste• When cleaning your footpath, pick up rubbish instead of sweeping or hosing it into the gutters leading to our stormwater drains. Green waste in the green bin.• Close wheelie bin lids to avoid waste overflowing and becoming litter • When transporting rubbish in a trailer or ute tray, cover the load to stop rubbish from blowing away• Take your rubbish home (particularly your recycling) if you attend an event in a Council park - bins in parks are not designed for ‘event’ rubbish.• Take large household items to your local transfer station at WIcks Rd, Ryde • Keep an eye on the EPA website for updates on Chemical Clean Out events in your area for disposing of paints, oils and other chemicals.

Reduce, Recycle, Reuse

This project is a NSW EPA Waste Less, Recycle More initiative funded from the waste levy, visit www.epa.nsw.gov.au

Join the Garage Sale Trail in 2015. Sign up online from August 2015 and get your whole street on-board to recycle, upcycle and declutter your house and garage.

Recycling Old Blankets, Rugs & Towels A resident of Woolwich works tirelessly to support the animal shelters in Sydney and is asking for residents to support the animals by donating old blankets, rugs and towels for use keeping animals warm and comfortable at the shelters. Council is pleased to be able to support this effort as it a wonderful example of recyling and will be accepting donations at Customer Service at Council for the month of July and at Moocooboola at the URM/Council Waste Information tent. No duvets, eiderdowns or items with inner fillings please.

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Reduce, Recycle, Reuse

RECYCLING AND COLLECTION INFORMATION IS PROVIDED INSIDE AND ON THE BACK OF YOUR HUNTERS HILL RECYCLING CALENDAR FRIDGE MAGNET

Storms Following the April storms, a large quantity of litter and debris found its way into the harbour. At times like this it’s important to think about environmental impacts and to do the utmost to minimise their effects. All that water had to go somewhere and the Sydney Morning Herald produced a graphic summarising just what happens when it rains as it did in April and May.

If you have a household clean up bookedtake care how you place it outside as small items can get picked up by the wind or washed out by the rain and they end uppolluting the harbour.

Graphic courtesy of

Sydney Morning Herald

Placing items out as shown in the photo to the left damages theenvironment and can attractpenalties for pollution. Please take care to contain items that can pollute the environment and the waterways.

E-Waste Collection Following the continued success of the E-Waste event in April 2015 co-hosted with Lane Cove Council for residents of Lane Cove & Hunters Hill, we are planning another event for 26th September 2015 to enable those who missed out to keep your electrical waste out of land-fill. Proposed date is 26th September so keep an eye on the Lane Cove & Hunters Hill Council websites for confir-mation and in the meantime #recycleright.

Recycling Nespresso Capsules

The Village Florist is participating in the Nespresso Coffee Capsule Brigade who have partnered with Terracycle to expand it’s recycling programme. It’s easy and conve-nient to recycle your used coffee capsules by dropping them in the recycling collection box free of charge.

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Hunter’s Hill Council, 22 Alexandra Street, PO Box 21, HUNTERS HILL NSW 2110, ph: 9879 9400 fax: 9809 7338Email: council@huntershill.nsw.gov.au Web: www.huntershill.nsw.gov.au

Hunter’s Hill Council APRIL 2015

Reduce, Recycle, Reuse

Harvesting your compostIt’s ready when it looks dark and smells earthy which can take 3-6 months. Harvest from the bottom and spread around plants or mix with soil to make your own potting mix. If your bin has a trap door, open it and scrape the compost out with a shovel. If not, lift it and use from the bottom. Any scraps that have not broken down can be thrown back in to kick start your new compost.

TipsCompost is always good for vegetables and exotics plants, but is often too rich for native plants.A common harvesting problem is finding small patches of ‘ready’ compost mixed with recently-added food scraps. This can be avoided by only stirring the top half of your compost, allowing the ‘ready’ compost to accumulate at the bottom. Don’t worry about eggshells or avocado seeds not breaking down. If the rest of the compost is black, fluffy and smells earthy then it’s okay. The eggshells won’t be visible in your garden once you add a layer of mulch over the top.If it’s not quite ready to harvest but you want to start anoth-er compost - lift the bin off the compost pile, cover it with a tarp or rug, and leave it for a few weeks until it’s ready.

Did you know?Your backyard compost is unlikely to get hot enough to kill seeds. If plants like tomatoes and pumpkins sprout where you don’t want them, just pull them out and throw them back into the compost or replant them in a vegie garden.

Successful Composting works on the principles of ADAM and EVE. A - Aliveness (microscopic bacteria/creatures break it down)D - Diversity (of materials you feed your compost)A - Air (turn, turn & turn again)M - Moisture (not too dry and not too wet)which gives you ......E - Energy in the form of natural fertiliser for your gardenV - Vitality in your soilE - Environmental benefit putting nutrients back

Composting - 101Approximately 40-50% of household waste is food scraps and garden material which can be composted. Play your part to reduce the pollution caused by methane gas & liq-uid ‘‘leachate” produced by food scraps and garden materi-als when buried in landfill.HowComposting works by aerobic decomposition (breaks down with air), which creates heat. It needs dry garden materials as well as food scraps to work effectively.Starting your compostSet up your compost in a sheltered spot with good drain-age and lots of sun. To get started, place a 30cm layer of woodchip or mulched dry garden scraps in the base of the bin to help drainage. Feed your compost a 50/50 mix of food scraps and garden materials. For every bucket of food scraps add a bucket of dry garden waste (You can substitute shredded paper, coffee husks and grain husks if you have none). Help your compost to breathe by stirring it every time you feed it. Keep your compost moist but not wet - add water if necessary. Make your compost bin rat-proof by lining it with chicken wire. Place the open base of your bin on top of a piece of chicken wire, bend it up around the outside of the bin and tie in place with rope. What to avoidAvoid adding more than 100g of meat, tofu, dairy, eggs or oils at one time. Avoid more than 500g carbohydrates or citrus and beware potato peelings as they can grow! Do not add gum leaves, pine needles, wood, inks, vacuum dust, dog or cat poo. Problems & how to fix them:-Bad smells - it probably hasn’t been stirred enough and is too wet. Stir and add more garden scraps. If smells are strong sprinkle ash, dolomite or garden lime on top.Slow breaking down - it’s probably too dry or cold. If dry add water, if cold, add more food scraps. Cockroaches - they hide in dry still patches so soak, stir & toss thoroughly. Mice & Rats - avoid grains, meat, eggs and dairy and rat-proof your bin with chicken wire.Soldier fly larvae - sometimes confused with maggots but they are bigger, browner & more segmented. They help break down compost faster and aren’t a problem. Stir more often, add more garden scraps and they will leave in a few weeks.

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