From mid-May, community members will be able to recycle items such as small e-waste and light bulbs in recycling hubs located across the municipality.
In partnership with Sustainability Victoria, Council will soon establish six recycling hubs, located at Council's five Community Links in Upwey, Lilydale, Healesville, Monbulk and Yarra Junction, and at the Belgrave Library.
The recycling hubs will collect household batteries, small e-waste and vapes, light globes, fluorescent tubes, x-rays, CDs, DVDs, VHS and cassette tapes. Collections will be trialed over a 12-month period to make sure they achieve safe and efficient recycling of waste and meet the needs of the community.
Yarra Ranges Mayor, Cr Richard Higgins, said the recycling hubs will mean more items being recycled, and less batteries and e-waste ending up in landfill.
"In 2019, the State Government announced a ban on e-waste in kerbside bins, meaning that anything powered by a battery or a power plug was not allowed to be put in household bins, and had to be taken to a transfer station or put out for hard rubbish collection," Cr Higgins said.
"However, the Yarra Ranges is an incredibly large area; waste transfer stations aren't always accessible for people for several reasons, and people can't always store items for hard rubbish. Meanwhile, we know that the prevalence of battery-powered items has risen dramatically.
"Batteries in landfill pose a significant environmental risk, and batteries put in kerbside bins can lead to fires in rubbish and recycling trucks, putting the drivers, community, and the environment at risk.
"This project will make the disposal of items that we don't want in our kerbside bins more accessible for everyone, including people using public transport or dropping in for other services.
"People will be able to bring in small items such as rechargeable torches, small radios, electric toothbrushes and household batteries, and we will send them off to be processed and recycled."
