Willoughby residents can now conveniently recycle more household items – without leaving home.
Willoughby City Council, in partnership with RecycleSmart, is today launching a pilot initiative for local residents to have items such as textiles, batteries, soft plastics and e-waste collected directly from their front door and recycled locally for free.
Powered by a user-friendly smartphone app, RecycleSmart is a convenient solution to a challenging issue, Council said in a statement. Until now, many household items could not be recycled in the yellow bins for kerbside collection, it said.
The RecycleSmart pilot program will complement the existing kerbside collection in Willoughby by managing four major categories of household waste:
- Soft Plastics;
- E-waste (electronics, mobile devices);
- Textiles (clothing, fabrics);
- Small household items (batteries, light globes, coffee pods and many more).
“Previously, in order to properly recycle these items, residents were required to take separate recyclables to various locations including retails stores or recycling centres,” Council said.
“Without a home collection service many of these recyclable items ended up in the red general rubbish bin for kerbside collection, destined for landfill. Up to 20% of the average red bin contains items that could be recycled.”
How does it work?
Residents can book their Power Pickup in three steps.
- Download the RecycleSmart app (or visit the website);
- Gather the recyclable items and leave up to two bags of recyclables at their door;
- Book their collection with three quick clicks on the app (or website).
A local will come and collect them, ensuring every item is properly recycled.
Residents can subscribe to a monthly Power Pickup for FREE (up to two bags per month) or book on-demand for $2 per bag.
“Willoughby City Council is committed to our vision of a green and liveable city. The RecycleSmart service will help residents confidently solve the problem of how to recycle the household items they use every day. We encourage everyone in the community to book a Power Pickup the next time they need to recycle soft plastics, clothes or e-waste,” said Willoughby City Council CEO, Debra Just.
In just over two years, RecycleSmart has diverted over 95,000 kilos of waste from landfill, and completed over 23,000 Power Pickups.
“We are here to change the way people feel about recycling so they recycle more things, more often. We achieve that by making recycling digital, fun and easy. We believe recycling should be something you look forward to doing,” said RecycleSmart CEO, Giorgio Baracchi.
Download the RecycleSmart app or visit: https://www.recyclesmart.com/
