Inner West Council honours commitment to expand soft plastic recycling
Monday 3 March 2025
Inner West Council is excited to be taking a big step towards helping local residents better manage soft plastics.
From 3 March, Inner West residents can book a free HomeCycle collection. With no limits on how much can be picked up, HomeCycle is set to transform the way we recycle.
Inner West Council residents will now have access to an opt-in service that collects tricky-to-recycle materials directly from their doorstep. These materials include soft plastics, clothing and shoes (wearable and unwearable), E-waste and small household electronics, medicine packets, batteries, printer cartridges, bed linen, toys, coffee pods and X-rays.
Inner West Council residents utilising these doorstep recycling services, while previously limited to a maximum of 2 standard shopping bags for recycling collection, now have no maximum quantity to the amount they can recycle!
This represents a significant expansion of soft plastics recycling in the Inner West.
Residents are encouraged to compress their soft plastics to maximise space and can book up to three free pickups per year. This model allows for more households than ever to have access to this recycling service, as well as significantly reducing resource recovery truck movement on our local roads - both decongesting inner-city streets and slashing emissions.
Deputy Mayor Mat Howard, who put forward the pioneering circular economy notice of motion to Council last year, warmly welcomes the appointment of HomeCycle following a public tender process and is excited by the potential of this new partnership:
"This new service will transform the way our residents recycle. We’re very excited to be delivering an accessible recycling solution for all those odd items you have lying around. Now, an increased number of Inner West households have a way to sustainably dispose of them - knowing they'll go on to have another life out of landfill."
"With NSW set to run out of landfill space by 2030, we know we’re facing a waste crisis. We also understand the huge cost of living pressures facing our local community. We are very proud to be offering a quick, free and accessible way for our residents to do their bit on both fronts."
Bookings with the old provider will continue until 31 March. After that date,all Council-funded pickups with the previous provider will be cancelled. For free recycling collections, residents will need to re-book a HomeCycle collection via the Council website.
HomeCycle bookings will open today, Monday 3 March, with pickups starting Tuesday 11 March.
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For media enquiries please contact Hillary Shephard, hillary.shephard@innerwest.nsw.gov.au