How can I save on waste charges?
You can save money and time and help the environment by sorting your load before you leave home. Pack your trailer so the attendant can easily see what is in your load:
- Separate items that cost from items that are free
- Put the bigger items in first and pack smaller items in the gaps
- Flatten cardboard boxes
- Separate recyclable from non-recyclable
- Separate general rubbish that can’t be recycled
- Pack similar materials together.
How do I know how much waste I have got?
As a rough guide:
- Boot load ~ 0.25 m3
- Level small trailer ~ 0.5 m3
- Level large trailer or heaped small trailer ~ 1m3
What happens to the items I take to the transfer station?
Recyclables (yellow bin) are taken to Cleanaway’s Material Recovery Facility in Lavington, NSW. The recyclables are sorted, bailed and then sold to a variety or recycling processors. For more information, watch this video.
Organic material (green bin) is taken to a processing facility where it is turned into high grade compost that is used in agriculture.
Non-recyclable garbage (red bin) goes to landfill at the Albury Waste Management Centre.
Why am I charged fees at the transfer station?
It can cost a lot to recycle items, especially in rural locations. Collection, transport and processing all add up. This cost is in some cases passed onto the customer (i.e. mattresses and green waste), however some recyclables that incur a cost to Indigo Shire Council remain free of charge to the customer (i.e. polystyrene, waste oil and batteries).
We simply couldn't afford to continue to operate the waste transfer stations if fees are waived for all recyclables.
Why doesn’t Indigo Shire have a reuse shop?
We don’t have the high volumes of reusable items or customers to make a reuse shop viable. We are however endeavouring to partner with community organisations to re-purpose suitable items through existing programs and shops.