Willoughby City Council has announce two new additions to local recycling services, designed to make it easier for residents to recycle more effectively and responsibly.
The Council says the additions reflect its ongoing commitment to environmental sustainability, as outlined in its Community Strategic Plan, Our Future Willoughby, 2036 and offer residents with easy, bookable services for the kerbside collection and recycling of mattresses as well as hard-to-recycle items such as soft plastics and blister packs.
“We know that sustainability and reduction of waste are important to our residents here in Willoughby so I’m thrilled to see two new wonderful additions to local recycling services that will contribute much to the war on waste,” said Mayor, Tanya Taylor.
“These are two great wins for the environment and for our community. By separating mattress collections, we can recover more resources and support a social enterprise doing vital work across Australia. And by facilitating the recycling of soft plastics, textiles and other tricky materials, Willoughby is doing our bit to help keep these out of landfill and out of our environment.”
From 1 August, residents can book a collection for their old mattresses and bed ensemble bases (bed frames not included). This change marks the beginning of a new partnership with Soft Landing, a certified social enterprise and not-for-profit mattress recycling organisation.
Soft Landing recycles up to 75% of mattress components, recovering valuable materials like steel, foam, and timber, which are repurposed into new products such as carpet underlay, mulch, or conversion to energy in waste-to-energy facilities. Each mattress collected avoids landfill and reduces environmental pollution.
From 1 September, Willoughby City residents will also benefit from HomeCycle, a free home collection service for hard-to-recycle items including soft plastics, textiles and blister packs.
Council says this service is especially helpful for apartment dwellers and those without easy access to drop-off facilities. Unlike previous services, HomeCycle can collect up to 20 bags per pick-up, significantly increasing the amount of recyclable material that can be recovered from local households.
HomeCycle provides full transparency about the destination of collected materials, offering peace of mind that recyclables are handled responsibly.
For more information and to make a booking, visit www.willoughby.nsw.gov.au/waste.
To arrange a free mattress collection, visit: www.willoughby.nsw.gov.au/waste.
