Green Waste
Recycling green waste reduces the amount of waste going to landfill, which reduces landfill costs and prolongs the lifespan of the landfill. Green waste can be recycled to provide valuable products such as mulch and compost. There are numerous benefits from using mulch and compost in gardens including:
- reduced water requirements,
- reduced soil moisture evaporation,
- improved weed suppression,
- increased organics matter in the soil,
- soil carbon enhancement,
- improved soil structure,
- reduced soil erosion,
- reduced leaching and run off
Please consider the management of green waste on your own property through mulching of gardens etc.
Also separating metals and concrete from green waste before it goes to the transfer stations saves the contractors repairs to the mulcher and ultimately to the ratepayers monies.
RECYCLING
While there are no recycling plants or recycling industries yet established in the Northern Territory there are many ways in which residents of the Litchfield Municipality can manage waste products on their own properties ensuring that less waste is required to be taken to the transfer stations.
The ideal way to minimise organic waste is to recycle at home, by mulching, composting or worm farming (vermiculture). Try leaving your lawn clippings and chopped up palm fronds on the grounds as mulch. Kitchen scraps and garden waste can be readily composted into a rich organic material ideal for use in the garden. Worm farms are fast growing in popularity as they speed up the composting process, and are an excellent education activity for children.
Aluminium cans can be recycled by taking them to a range of businesses and local scouts and guides also collect them. Click here for more information on where to take cans and other types of re-usable waste.
Car and household batteries are accepted by most metal merchants.
Paper waste can be composted in the garden.
Most scrap metal merchants will accept Car bodies- see yellow pages for merchants under Auto parts Recyclers.
Unused or outdated Mobile phones are now collected for recycling at the Litchfield Council office- 7 Bees Creek Road Freds Pass. Free pre paid satchels are also available to post your old mobile phones and phone batteries to the National Australia Post phone recycling centre. You can find these at all postal outlets and agents in the Litchfield Municipality.
Waste Disposal
Waste transfer stations are provided for the disposal of residential domestic waste only. Litchfield Council uses a contractor to dispose of this waste at the Shoal Bay Waste Landfill station at Leanyer which is managed by Darwin City Council.
The Litchfield Council is charged a tonnage fee for all waste disposed at Shoal Bay. These costs are absorbed in the rates and fees charged to ratepayers each year.
Litchfield Council is in continuous negotiation with the NT government to allocate land for a landfill rubbish dump however this is an ongoing issue yet to be resolved.
The NT Government is currently undertaking required environmental studies for the new Regional Landfill site on the Howard Peninsular. It is anticipated a modern state of the art waste management facility will be built at this preferred site servicing Darwin, Palmerston, Litchfield and Coomalie areas.
Waste disposal stations are provided for residential domestic waste only. Only domestic quantities of green waste will be accepted. Any Commercial waste must be taken to the Shoal Bay Waste Landfill station at Leanyer. Truck loads of green waste, stumps or large tree trunks must also go to Shoal Bay.
Waste disposal stations can be found at the following locations and are open 7 days a week between 6.00 am and 7.00 pm daily (excluding Christmas Day and Good Friday);
- Howard Springs Road, Howard Springs
- Spencely Road, Humpty Doo
- Cox Peninsular Road, Berry Springs
If you do not wish to take your own rubbish to one of the transfer stations, there are a number of Private waste removal contractors, who provide a weekly rubbish collection service to residents in the rural area for domestic waste and larger bins for the bigger clean up jobs . These can be found in the Yellow Pages of your telephone book.
Howard Springs Waste Transfer Station
Humpty Doo Transfer Station sign
Drop old/unused mobile phones into the Council office for recycling!