Palmerston and Darwin residents dump trash ahead of cyclone season

The Top End’s annual pre-cyclone clean-up is fast approaching. Find out when your suburb is set to clean its streets.

As the Dry’s cool, crisp mornings become few and far between and the muggy humidity of the Wet looms, Top End residents are prepping for the next cyclone season.

Palmerston City Council has scheduled a pre-cyclone rubbish pickup for each its four zones in September.

Mayor Athina Pascoe-Bell said last year’s hard waste collectors rounded up 338 tonnes of rubbish, 96 of which were recycled.

“City of Palmerston’s pre-cyclone clean-up is very popular and we want to make sure that everyone takes advantage of it this year,” she said.

“This service provides a great opportunity to have a tidy up, keep the community safe during cyclone and storm season and for us all to do our bit for the environment.

“We ask that you be sure to follow the instructions by Council of the items that can and cannot be collected, and please only place your unwanted items on the verge the weekend prior to pick-up, not before.”

‘It’s about us as a community’: Darwin readies for pre-cyclone clean-up

The City of Darwin is calling on residents to get ready for the wet season by getting rid of their junk.

Scheduled for September, the pre-cyclone clean-up gives residents the opportunity to remove hazardous items from their property that could cause damage or injuries in wild weather.

“It’s about us as a community — by removing all these loose objects from our gardens we minimise the risk to our neighbours and to our family,” Lord Mayor Kon Vatskalis said.

“We all know very well that hazardous items can cause injury (in the wet season) and even death.”

With thrown-out items destined for the Shoal Bay Waste facility, Mr Vatskalis said the clean-up could also see material being repurposed.

“Find out what is loose in your backyard and put them out on the front lawn and (the council) can pick it up.” Mr Vatskalis said.

“(By doing this) we can actually recycle and find useful things that can be repaired for other purposes.”

Brendan Arbouin during the pre-cyclone clean-up in 2020. Picture: Katrina Bridgeford.

Mr Vatskalis said residents would be “surprised” at what common items were thrown out, including beds, mattresses, and trampolines.

“Often (residents) get rid of what they’ve had for a while,” he said.

“Items that are damaged, people put them out and we recycle them.”

Pre-Cyclone Clean Up map. Picture: City of Darwin

Mr Vatskalis said the council-led clean-up was also a way of ensuring the environment was protected.

“We try to minimise our impact on the environment as much as possible because we live in a unique environment,” he said.

“We don’t want to destroy it, we want to leave it for our children and grandchildren.”

The City of Darwin pre-cyclone clean-up has been organised into two separate “zones” and dates, with Zone 1 (green) running from September 4 to 15 and Zone 2 (blue) from September 18 to 29.

The council also reiterated the importance of only putting out items that are collectable and not dangerous to collection crews.

For more information visit www.darwin.nt.gov.au

Originally published as Palmerston and Darwin residents dump trash ahead of cyclone season