Wyndham’s municipal tip in Wests Rd, Werribee will reopen to the public on Monday, following three weeks of closure to reduce the spread of Covid-19 in the community.
Council’s landfill operations have remained open during the pandemic restrictions, but the refuse disposal facility has been operating on a restricted basis for commercial customers since April 2.
Wyndham mayor Josh Gilligan said the council has now deemed it appropriate to reopen the facility to the public, with the inclusion of strict social distancing measures.
“We have closed off alternate bays to increase the distance between people disposing of waste at the facility and have implemented a higher cleaning regime, ensuring all touch points, especially the handrails, are cleaned with disinfectant frequently,” Cr Gilligan said.
“Because we have closed some bays to meet social distancing requirements, there may be a queue to get through to the bays, so we ask you to remain patient during this time.
“The facility will be open to the public from Monday to Saturday from 8.30am to 4pm.”
Cr Gilligan said the sale shop, which encourages customers to reuse and recycle items saved from landfill, would remain closed while Stage 3 Covid-19 restrictions are in place.
He said that Sunday operations would resume following the removal of these restrictions.
Cr Gilligan said many residents were using the pandemic lockdown to spring clean their homes, and that there had been a record number of inquiries for hard waste collections.
“We have had a 67 per cent rise in requests for hard waste collections bookings this month compared to this time last year, with 2914 residents booking a hard waste collection in April this year compared to 1748 in April 2019,” Cr Gilligan said.
“We still encourage residents to stay at home if they can, so instead of visiting the tip, council can collect hard waste right from their doorsteps.
“Every resident has three free annual hard waste collections, which can be up to three cubic metres in size.
“While most of our residents respect our environment and local amenity, we have had problems with illegal dumping in certain areas of the city and our litter taskforce team is tackling the issue.”
Cr Gilligan said the team led investigations into who is responsible for illegal dumping and issues infringements.
“They also educate the community on the appropriate disposal of rubbish, issue orders for rubbish removal on private land and they clean up rubbish on council land,” he said.
To report illegal dumping, residents can use the Snap Send Solve app, call 9742 077, or make a report through the council’s online reporting system at digital.wyndham.vic.gov.au/reportissue/#/
To book a hard waste collection visit www.wyndham.vic.gov.au/services/waste-recycling/book-hard-green-waste-collection or phone 9742 0777.
