Bulky Waste Service

Council’s bulky waste service works in one of three ways.  

Each financial year, residents can choose to: book two on demand bulky waste kerbside collections or two 250kg waste vouchers for use at Maitland Resource Recovery Facility or one on demand bulky waste kerbside collection and one 250kg waste voucher. 

This new service will make things easy, by providing flexible and convenient options for you to responsibly dispose of your bulky household items.  

Last year, we collected 3,700 responses via online surveys and over the phone, in a two phase conversation with our community about your priorities on all things sustainability, the environment and waste services. 

Two key themes that emerged from this consultation were: reducing illegal dumping and improving access to resource recovery facilities.  

Nearly two thirds (64 per cent) of residents were at least somewhat supportive of a kerbside collection service for bulky household waste. 

We are now providing residents with an alternate option to responsibly dispose of their bulky household items.  

Additionally, we will achieve great resource recovery outcomes from the separate collection and recycling of the bundled green waste, e-waste and mattresses. And for the remaining waste, we will do preliminary sorting and processing at Mount Vincent Waste Facility to further extract valuable recyclables and reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill.  

The service supports the New South Wales State Government’s Waste and Sustainable Materials Strategy 2041, which targets an 80 per cent kerbside resource recovery rate by 2030.      

We’ve made our waste vouchers digital going forward, so that they’re more accessible and offer greater flexibility for our residents.  

Now you can access your digital waste vouchers via the online portal on our website at any time, meaning you can order your voucher, load up the boot or trailer, and drop your waste at Maitland Resource Recovery Facility all on the same day. 

We’ve also increased the weight capacity – from one 400kg voucher to two 250kg vouchers – to give residents more options and greater access throughout the year.

No. This new service will not increase residential rates.

Legislation requires that councils fund waste services through the Domestic Waste Charge (DWC) on a full cost recovery basis. As part of Council’s newly structured waste service, the bulky waste kerbside collection will be funded through the DWC.

The DWC charge will increase by $45.40, following Council approval of the 2023/24 draft Delivery Program and operational fees and charges for 2023/24, taking the total cost to $575.40.  

The DWC will enable Council to deliver the following services to households:  

• Weekly garbage (red bin) collection and disposal 
• Fortnightly recycling (yellow bin) collection 
• Fortnightly organics (green bin) collection 
• Bulky waste collection and/or disposal service (Two entitlements per household per year, either as a booked kerbside collection and/or self haul voucher) 

The DWC also funds the provision of education programs, required rehabilitation of landfill sites and initiatives to address problem waste such as chemical collections, and the disposal of mattresses through the new bulk waste collection service.

Yes. The increase to the Domestic Waste Management Charge will apply to all ratepayers in the Maitland LGA regardless of whether they use their bulky waste disposal entitlements.

We expect the service will be quite popular for the first few months and will be doing everything possible to get through the work. 

If you are in urgent need of disposing of waste, please consider using digital waste vouchers. 

Yes. If you need to cancel your kerbside collection date, you can do so up until 72 hours before your collection date.

Our weighbridge operators will need to sight a booking code and proof of residence before entering the Mount Vincent Road Waste Management Facility.  

If the proof of residence doesn’t match the booking, you can either return later with a booking at the correct address or pay for the trailer load of waste. 

The following villages ARE eligible for the service:

• New Hope (Greenhills)
• Ashton Gardens (Ashtonfield)
• Whiddon Gardens (Largs) and
• Oakwood Village (Gillieston Heights)
• Signature Gardens (Rutherford).

It’s important to arrange any collection through your Property Manager as there are different requirements and allocation of services depending on where you live.

The following villages ARE NOT eligible for the service as they don't pay Domestic Waste Management Charges.

• Walka Grange Lifestyle Village (Rutherford)
• Mt Carmel Aged Care (Maitland)
• Berry Park Village (Berry Park)
• Closebourne Village (Morpeth)
• Ridge Estate (Gillieston Heights)
• Morpeth Gardens (Tenambit).

To dispose of your bulky waste, see the Resource Recovery Facility's disposal fees.

No. Bulky waste entitlements will belong to the occupant of the property (not the owner of the property), providing both tenants and owner occupiers with equitable access to the service.

No. Collections and digital waste vouchers are for the occupants of a property.

All townhouse and apartment complexes paying a domestic waste management charge are eligible for the service. To ensure we manage our operations and collect volumes appropriately the following conditions apply to complexes:

A complex with 8 or more dwellings 
If you would like to book a kerbside collection, please arrange it through your property manager. Please note, your strata managing body may also charge a management fee to arrange a bulky waste service. 
If you have a trailer or vehicle to transport your bulky waste, please contact Council’s Customer Experience Team on 02 4934 9700 to enquire about a waste voucher code. 

A complex with 7 or less dwellings 
Kerbside collections and/or waste vouchers can be booked or redeemed through the Waste Services Portal. 

No. The services are paid for by the current year’s Domestic Waste Management Charge.

Your pile should have a maximum dimensions of roughly 2m x 1m x 1m.

Yes you can, just log back into the online portal to manage your booking. Cancelling a waste voucher will re-add it to your unused entitlements for the current financial year.

In addition to your waste voucher’s digital code, you will need to provide proof of your Maitland LGA address upon arrival at Maitland Resource Recovery Facility.  

Accepted forms of proof of residence include: 

• A driver’s licence 
• Pensioner’s concession card (Australian) 
• Healthcare card 
• Current utilities bill from the last quarter – this includes electricity, gas and phone or internet but excludes water
• Vehicle registration  

• Current rental agreement 

If you don’t possess any of the above, please call our friendly Customer Experience Team on 02 4934 9700 for assistance. 

Yes, at the end of the financial year in which it was booked/ordered.  

Your waste voucher(s) will not roll over into the following financial year. 

You can call our friendly Customer Experience Team on 02 4934 9700 to arrange receive a waste voucher code over the phone or in hard copy. 

If you haven't received your waste voucher code via SMS or email, you can call our friendly Customer Experience Team on 02 4934 9700 to verify your booking details.   

You can choose to either pay the difference as per the fees and charges or elect to use an existing entitlement, if not already used in that financial year. 

As of 1 July 2023, waste vouchers are now digital and accessible via an online portal on our website.  

You will no longer receive a hard copy voucher in the mail automatically.  

If you require assistance ordering a waste voucher, you can call our friendly Customer Experience Team – 02 4934 9700 - and arrange to receive a waste voucher with a digital code over the phone or in the mail.