The ACT Government is delivering additional household green waste collections for severely impacted suburbs as part of clean-up efforts following the storm on Friday 8 December.
Free green waste skip bins will also be available soon at public places for people living in the most impacted suburbs.
“Clean-up crews from TCCS, ESA and ACT SES have been working tirelessly since the Friday evening storm to clear damage, fallen trees and debris, and to make public spaces such as roads and paths safe for the community,” said Minister for City Services, Tara Cheyne.
“I am so grateful for their tireless efforts on a busy weekend, and then in a week so close to Christmas, when many of us—including these teams—have been preparing to spend some down time with their families and friends.
“The feedback from the community is that their actions and engagement have been first-rate, and I extend my sincere gratitude to them and their families.
“We know that many Canberrans are faced with the same or similar clean-up task on their private properties, and we want to provide support to those significantly impacted to make the clean-up process a bit easier.
“Now that most of the storm impacted areas have been made safe, we’ll be working rapidly to support Canberrans who may have large amounts of material on private property and surrounds.”
Additional green waste bin collections will take place this Saturday 16 December 2023 for the suburbs that were hardest hit.
“The extra collection will allow households with an already full bin, as well as households that don’t have a scheduled green waste collection for another week or so, to clear the green waste from their property and enable any further clean-up,” said Minister Cheyne.
The additional green waste bin collection on Saturday 16 December 2023 has been based on a range of data available to us, including requests for assistance as well as the path of the storm. The additional collection will take place in the following suburbs:
- Amaroo
- Charnwood
- Downer
- Dunlop
- Evatt
- Giralang
- Kaleen
- Ngunnawal
- Nicholls
- Palmerston.
Residents should put their bin on the kerb ready for collection by 5am on Saturday morning.
While residents are very familiar with what can go in greens bins, it is important to note that:
- greens bins are only for garden organics, such as leaves, grass clippings and branches 45cm long and with a diameter of 10cm;
- the lid needs to be able to close; and
- the bin cannot weigh more than 50kg.
Alternatively, the community can drop off green waste for free in:
- Symonston – Mugga Lane Resource Management Centre, Mugga Lane
- Belconnen – Canberra Sand and Gravel, Parkwood Road.
“We recognise some residents in impacted suburbs may be unable to travel to the drop‑off locations, or not fall within a suburb that will have an additional green waste bin collection,” said Minister Cheyne.
“While I encourage the community to support their neighbours, friends and family members who may need assistance, I recognise the severe impact of the storm and the size of branches and trees that have been and are being affected and attended to, including privately—and that an additional green bin collection, while welcomed in some situations, may not be the most useful in others.
“Many persons are vulnerable, living alone, elderly or have mobility issues. For this reason, we have prioritised the consideration of additional measures for people to dispose of green waste where the additional collection may not be occurring; where residents have much larger green waste to dispose of; or where they may not be eligible or able to make use of these specific options.
“For this reason, temporary green waste skip bins will be available from tomorrow, Thursday 14 December with specific locations to be advised online shortly, in a clear banner on the ACT Government’s most visited websites.
“We will continue to assess requests to determine where smaller skip bins may be added for green waste collection across Canberra. While we have worked hard with the information we have to hand to target the areas of most need, we recognise the limitations of our data in this evolving situation. The approach we have taken allows us to be flexible and respond to those most in need.”
If Canberrans feel a skip bin is particularly needed in their local area within an impacted suburb they can call Access Canberra on 13 22 81.
The ACT Government will be monitoring these sites through a variety of mechanisms available to us. Significant fines apply for illegal dumping.
“Given this is an additional service at a very busy time, that many communities have been affected, and that contamination of these bins creates significant work for everyone, my Christmas wish is that Canberrans engage with these services for the reason they are intended,” said Minister Cheyne.
“It is also important to stress that the approach to the removal of trees will be undertaken in stages. The first is the removal of the bulk of the tree. This action is undertaken for all trees, wherever we can. It does not mean that the stump or associated tree will not be attended to. Once this first activity has occurred, stump removal will occur. We expect that much of the first, and this next, stage will take place in late January, as our teams return from their much-deserved leave.
“Again, we thank them for their tireless and selfless efforts to support the communities they care about in this busy time for them, and their family and friends.”
Weekly updates
The ACT Government will provide weekly updates on the storm clean-up until the major recovery operations are complete. The updates will be provided the ACT Government’s webpage and via ACT Government social media.
These will be accessible through banners on the most-used ACT Government websites. The updates will include the framework to approaching recovery efforts and what can be expected at what time generally, in addition to weekly updates with specifics about what our communities can expect to occur in that week.
Reporting a job to fix my street
More than 1,000 requests, with some involving multiple trees or sites, have been received by the City Services team so far. More are expected over the coming days. Clean-up crews are working hard to triage and respond to those requests.
“The highest priority for the clean-up is to make immediate hazards on public land safe,” said Minister Cheyne.
“If a job already looks like it has been attended to, but there are a few steps remaining, this means City Services are aware, have responded, and will be back as soon as they can to take the next steps, where needed. City Services has not abandoned the job, and any remaining debris or stumps will remain on notice as a job that needs to be completed, lessening the need for it to be reported again or followed up.”
Clean-up phasing
Work is going to continue on the clean-up from the storm for some time. While resources have been bolstered with grateful assistance from trained chainsaw operators within the ACT Parks and Conservation Service and an extra four contracted crews, we expect the clean-up to continue well into the New Year as we shift our focus to non-urgent jobs.
“While some work will continue during the Christmas break, this will be scaled back. The focus is on making areas safe before the Christmas period, and attending to as much as possible. Like all Canberrans, most crews will be taking a well-earned break and returning in early January to continue these and their other efforts,” said Minister Cheyne.
Please remember
