Shire Administration Office

Containers for Change

Containers for Change is a community-based programme that managed by the Donnybrook Lions Club. It not only encourages sustainability, but gives locals a convenient option to recycle their eligible beverage containers!

The Containers for Change movement is a way for containers to live on, again and again - when you return your 10c containers through this programme, you're playing a part of a bigger cycle where everybody wins. 10c containers are saved from landfill so they can live another life, with the benefit of creating jobs and money going back into the pockets of everyday Western Australians.

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About Containers for Change (WA)

Am I eligible for a Tip Pass?

Ratepayers (someone who owns land in the Shire) are issued with a Tip Pass as a part of their annual rates notice - for those who are renting, you will need to speak to your landlord or property manager about obtaining a tip pass.

To be eligible for a tip pass, you must be a have and/or own a property within the Shire of Donnybrook Balingup. If your property is in the kerbside collection area, you will be charged for the appropriate bin service in that area on your rates. Depending on your property and location, if you are eligible, you will receive a 16 or 52 ‘clip’ Tip Pass with your rates notice. You may contact the Shire Office for additional ‘clips’ if required.

Where do I get my Tip Pass? 

In October 2022, the Shire went digital with its Tip Passes. This makes better use of technology and improves processes and systems relevant to the Tip Passes, and ensures that even if you lose the physical copy of your pass, your details and remaining Tip Pass uses are safe and can be reprinted at the Shire Administration Office or emailed/posted to you.

Your Tip Pass can be located on the bottom of your annual rates notice. These paper copies are tearable and have a unique QR Code that corresponds to your individual property, making the allocation process entirely hassle free! The QR Code must be presented to the site attendant at one of the approved Shire waste facilities so that the appropriate number of 'clicks' can be deducted from your pass. This functions the exact same as paper passes, where the amount of 'clicks' is determined by the size and nature of your load of waste.

More about Waste Management

Our waste services are for all residents in the Shire, which includes a kerbside collection service, waste management facilities (includes transfer and landfill at respective locations). Other general waste services available consist of the disposal and processing of general waste, recyclables, and organic materials.

As of the start of the 23-24 financial year, the previous contract for the Shire's waste services that spanned over 10 years expired on 30 June 2023. As such, after an extensive process undertaken by the South West Regional Waste Group, the Shire has a new contract that has been executed with Cleanaway to undertake kerbside collection and disposal services, commencing 1 July 2023.

The South West Regional Waste Group consists of representatives of the following local governments, as well as the Shire of Donnybrook Balingup:

What do I do if my bin is missing, damaged, or has been stolen?

If your collection was missed, please call Cleanaway directly on (08) 9724 7905. This number is exclusive to the Shire and its residents - by contacting Cleanaway direct, they can contact their truck drivers and assist you with getting your rubbish collected sooner.

More about Kerbside Bin Collection

To order a new bin, replacement bin (broken/stolen), or to discuss bin repair, please contact the Shire Office on (08) 9780 4200. Once we collect the relevant information from you, we send a report to Cleanaway. From here, replacements and the collection of waste from missed kerbside bins are conducted throughout Friday.

What do the different Recycling Codes mean on different items?

The Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI) introduced a code system in 1988 that helps with recycling plastic by numbers. Almost all plastic products bear the general recycling symbol: a triangle formed by three circling arrows. The number in the triangle indicates the type of plastic. There are six common types of plastic and one miscellaneous category with the number 7. Though the codes serve no real purpose in terms of waste separation, the recycling code can be used by consumers to make a distinction between plastics that would be safer to use than other plastics. You can read more on the Information Sheet below:

Recycling Codes - Information Sheet

What changed in the waste services space in 2023?

The previous contract for our waste services spanned over 10 years, and expired on 30 June 2023. As such, after an extensive regional procurement process undertaken by the South West Regional Waste Group*, the entered into a contract with Cleanaway to undertake kerbside collection and disposal services, commencing 1 July 2023.

Naturally, over a 10 year period (as of the time of the end of the previous agreement, and the start of the new agreement), a lot of change has taken place in the waste market. This has caused an increase in costs for waste management services not just for our Shire, but across the entire state of WA. Recyclable and general waste have increased in cost due to various influences, such as the cost of processing particular items at a waste site such as a mattress or e-waste (phones, TVs, etc). We are also proud of our community for their efforts in being wise with their waste, as there has been no reports of contamination of the organics waste throughout the 22-23 financial year, through to August 2023! We are very proud of our community for their efforts.

Despite these changes in the waste market and space, our waste services have not changed. We still have kerbside waste management services that consisted of the collection, disposal, and processing of general waste, recyclables, and organic materials. We also still have our 3-bin and 2-bin services, alongside optional individual bin services. Some restrictions apply to certain areas within the Shire, such as the differentiation of 3-bin and 2-bin areas.

* The South West Regional Waste Group consists of representatives of the following local governments, as well as the Shire of Donnybrook Balingup: