The 4-bin service for townhouses, units and apartments will vary based on the number of households in a development. Mei lives in an apartment building with 25 apartments.
Developments with 20 or more households:
There will be no change to Mei's mixed recycling service. Mei will use shared mixed recycling bins and they will continue to be collected every week.
A weekly mixed recycling service will be provided as Mei's building, and others like hers, don't have enough space to store extra recycling bins.
Glass will no longer go in this bin from 1 July 2023.
Mei will use shared glass recycling bins which will be collected every 4 weeks (monthly) from 1 July 2023.
Two 120 litre purple-lidded glass recycling bins have been delivered to Mei's apartment building.
These bins are for glass bottles and jars.
Additional shared glass recycling bins can be requested through her Owners Corporation from August.
Mei will use shared food and garden organics bins which will be collected weekly.
As there isn't a food and garden organics bin at her apartment building yet, two 120 litre light green-lidded bins will delivered in June 2023. These are to be stored in a communal area for all residents to use.
A kitchen caddy to collect food scraps will be delivered to Mei and every apartment in her building from July 2023.
Additional shared food and garden organics bins can be requested through her Owners Corporation from August.
Some people living in apartment buildings already have their own light green-lidded bin for food and garden waste. If this is the case you can continue to use your own bin.
There will be no change to Mei's general rubbish bin. Mei will continue to use the bins she currently has, whether they are shared or she has her own. They will continue to be collected every week.
Shared bins are used by all residents living in a development or building. They are clearly signed and stored in a common area where all residents can access them. A lower waste charge applies where shared bins are used.
If you would like to review how many shared bins you have at your development, your Owners Corporation, or alternative representative, may request a review. Please email us at waste@merri-bek.vic.gov.au with your request. We will organise a site visit to review your development’s waste needs.
If you want to change the size of one of your own individual bins, and not a shared bin, you can do so from August 2023. This will affect your waste charge. Smaller bins cost less and larger bins cost more.
To help free up space in their bins, Mei and others in her apartment building can:
- Flatten cardboard boxes
- Squash empty plastic bottles and containers
- Put glass bottles and jars in their new glass recycling bin
- Put all food scraps in their food and garden organics bin – including meat, seafood, bread and leftovers
When the Victorian Government’s Container Deposit Scheme (“cash for cans”) is introduced in November 2023, Mei can take certain plastic, metal and glass drink containers to a drop-off point for recycling and receive a cash refund. More information on the Container Deposit Scheme can be found on the Victorian Government's website: vic.gov.au/container-deposit-scheme.
There are many other ways Mei and her neighbours can explore to reduce their overall household waste, including being mindful of
what they buy. Tips on how to avoid and reduce waste are available on our main website:
