Extra mile on garbage

CARDINIA Shire residents are urged to go green next month when dumping their rubbish.
Council is encouraging residents to think of the environment by making use of its waste and recycling services, with E-waste, Detox your Home and hard and green waste collections available during April and May.
Council Waste officer Melanie Kerr said poorly disposed of waste could have serious damaging effects on the environment.
“Take advantage of these services to make sure you are disposing of your waste ethically and responsibly,” she said.
“It may not seem like a big deal to dump a load of waste in the bush or pour a chemical down the drain but the consequences of disposing waste incorrectly can be far reaching.
“When waste isn’t disposed of correctly, it can pollute waterways, harm animals and vegetation, contaminate drinking water or beaches and can increase fire risk.”
The upcoming collections include:
E-waste recycling drop-offs run on Saturday 18 April 9am-1pm at the council depot, Purton Road Pakenham and on Saturday 30 May 9am to midday at Gemco Players Community Theatre, 19 Kilvington Drive Emerald.
Unwanted battery-operated items or items with an electrical cord will be accepted for recycling. Whitegoods will not be accepted, but should instead be left out at the next hard and green waste collection. For more information visit the ‘Recycling and disposal’ webpage at www.cardinia.vic.gov.au/recycling.
Residents can also detox their home on Saturday, 2 May from 8am to 4pm in Pakenham. Household chemicals, batteries and compact fluorescent lamps will be accepted. Paint will not be accepted.
Registration is required to attend and the address will be provided after registration. To register for the collection visit the Detox your Home website at www.sustainability.vic.gov.au/detoxyourhome or call 1800 353 233.
Hard and green waste collections will also be held from Monday 27 April to Friday 29 May. Residents will be notified of their collection week or can view this online using the community compass tool at www.cardinia.vic.gov.au/communitycompass.
Items should be placed neatly on the kerbside by 6am on the Monday of the week of collection and no earlier than two days before. For more information visit the ‘Hard and green waste’ webpage at www.cardinia.vic.gov.au/hardwaste.
“There are also a lot of charitable and socially conscious organisations who are doing some great work to provide environmentally friendly alternatives for items like furniture, mobile phones, reading glasses or printer cartridges,” Ms Kerr said.
Residents are encouraged to go to the Planet Ark ‘Recycling Near You’ website and find out if there is a socially responsible alternative to landfill.
For more information, visit the ‘Waste and recycling’ webpage or contact council’s Waste Officer on 1300 787 624.