Waste Management Facility Update
There has been some discussion in the community regarding the post Council shared last night about the closure of the Hawkesbury Waste Management Facility. The following items address the main issues raised;
Why did the facility close? It closed for two reasons:
1️⃣a The Government are urging people to stay at home unless shopping for essentials, leaving for medical or compassionate care; exercising outdoors while distancing or if they have to work or study and it can’t be done from home. If the Waste Management Facility is open we are encouraging people to come out, this is not consistent with the messaging put out by the Government.
1️⃣b This facility can no longer open to the public due to social distancing requirements. The gatehouse at the facility was built many years ago and current Work Health Safety regulations require that there be two people in the gate house. The current social distancing requirements of 4 square metres per person in an enclosed space means that the gate house does not meet these requirements and must be closed.
2️⃣ Will my general waste bin be collected?
Yes, all waste collections including general waste, recycling and organics will be collected as per the usual collection. Residents are asked to place their bins out prior to 4am on the day of collection. Due to the current crisis, your bin collection may not be collected at the exact time as in the past. We ask that you leave your bin out and if you believe it has been missed please report this via our online form www.hawkesbury.nsw.gov.au/media/forms/bin-request or by calling our Customer Service Centre on 4560 4444.
3️⃣ Is the Kerbside collection still operating?
Yes, this service is still operating and we encourage our residents to use this service that is available at no additional cost to any of our residents who are paying for a waste service collection. Past waste audits have found that only a small percentage of our residents book a yearly kerbside collection. Kerbside collections can be booked through Cleanaway by calling 1300 889 527. Further information can be found here https://www.hawkesbury.nsw.gov.au/…/hou…/kerbside-collection
4️⃣ Increased Illegal Dumping
We understand the community are concerned there may be increased illegal dumping in the Hawkesbury if the Waste Management Facility is closed. We urge everyone to take care of the environment around us and not dump. Our Facility is only closed due to the current crisis and we will endeavor to reopen as soon as it is safe to do so. These decisions are being made in the best interest of our staff and our community and we urge our residents to report any illegal dumping to our Customer Service Centre on 4560 4444. All of our other general waste services and kerbside pickup services will be available and we encourage our community to make use of those services.
5️⃣ What about our out of area residents who do not have a waste collection service?
We are investigating further options for the areas which are not currently serviced by our garbage trucks. We will advise of any update on this via our website www.hawkesbury.nsw.gov.au and Facebook page.
