FAQ

Domestic waste services in the Northern Territory are the responsibility of local Councils.  City of Darwin manages waste for our community as part of a suite of services provided under Council rates.

Council provides residents:

·  weekly kerbside 240L general waste (red lid) bin collection

·  fortnightly 240L recyclable (yellow lid) bin collection service for single-unit dwellings, with a higher frequency collection for multi-unit dwellings

·  annual ‘cyclone clean-up’ for collection of hard rubbish

·  electronic key pass that provides unlimited free access for general waste, recyclable and green waste disposal at Shoal Bay.

The annual waste charge for residential properties in the City of Darwin is $270 per year.

The waste management hierarchy prioritises the ways waste can be minimised. The Hierarchy is Avoidance, Minimisation, Reuse, Recycling, Energy Recovery, Disposal.

Access Road, Karama

Shoal Bay Transfer Station allows residents to self-haul recoverable and recyclable materials and deposit them in dedicated bins according to their intended reuse or recycling end point.

The Shoal Bay Recycle Shop (‘Tip Shop’) is a recycle shop providing an avenue to sell reusable products.

The Materials Recovery Facility processes materials collected through the domestic kerbside recycling collection service.  The facility segregates recyclables into streams, bales recovered materials and then sells them for reprocessing.

Waste from all residential and commercial properties in the City of Darwin dispose of their waste at Shoal Bay landfill.

The surrounding Councils including Palmerston, Litchfield and Wagait also use Shoal Bay landfill.

The waste at Shoal Bay consists of:

·  41.2%  commercial and industrial waste

·  28.8% construction and demolition waste

·  20% general waste (8.7% from Darwin, 4% from Palmerston and 7% from other NT Councils)

·  6% commercial green waste

·  4% special waste 

City of Darwin will be conducting site tours for the community on 29 November 2018.  Please register your interest by visiting engage.darwin@nt.gov.au or call 8981 6445. 

The waste management strategy will prioritise reducing landfill disposal by reducing waste and increasing waste diversion in the next 10 years. 

A waste diversion rate is the percentage of waste that is diverted away from landfill to reuse or recycling. In Darwin the waste diversion rate is currently 12%, meaning that 88% of our waste goes to landfill.

Council is engaging with the community from 5 November to 16 December 2018. People can provide feedback in the following ways: ·  visiting engage.darwin.nt.gov.au ·  visiting an information stall at the Parap and Nightcliff markets and City of Darwin community events leading up to Christmas ·  attending a Council run site tour of Shoal Bay on 29 November  ·  emailing jo@truenorthcomm.com.au calling 8981 6445