Long-awaited kerbside collection program returns to Ipswich with $1M boost

Residents will get a chance to score items of value as part of a revamped kerbside collection program.

Kerbside collection will return to Ipswich in 2021 with a $1 million funding boost under the 2021-22 budget.

The long-awaited kerbside collection program will return to Ipswich in coming months following a two-year hiatus.

Ipswich City Council this week announced that the citywide service, which last took place in late 2019, would resume with the support of a $1 million funding boost.

It comes as council handed down its 2021-22 budget, largely committing to its three-year Enviroplan Scheme that will impose a variety of sustainability measures across the city.

Councillor Russell Milligan said many residents had called for the return of kerbside collection to allow for the disposal of hard rubbish.

He believed the decision would prove popular with the wider community.

Councillor Russell Milligan welcomes the return of the kerbside collection program. Picture: Cordell Richardson

“We know our community highly values this suburb-by-suburb service and council worked long and hard to ensure we could properly budget for and bring it back again,” Cr Milligan said.

Items eligible for collection include household appliances, furniture and white goods, carpet and lino, wood products, baths and laundry tubs, as well as bikes.

Commercial building waste is not permitted.

“Some residents cannot get to the tip or have the ability to carry large items there.,” Cr Milligan said.

“The kerbside collections for those larger items is the ideal solution for them.

“Our teams will hit the streets again this year and I know council is pleased to be able to offer this service once again.”

Council will modify this year’s program to incorporate a new recycling element.

Kerbside collection was offered temporarily to residents impacted by last October’s freak hailstorms. Picture: Richard Walker

Mayor Teresa Harding said this would allow for valuable items to be reclaimed and recycled instead of being sent directly to landfill.

“Our outcomes through to 2026 include that Ipswich is celebrated as a clean, green, circular economy city,” Cr Harding said.

“And our natural environment is interconnected across the city – it is managed to balance positive conservation and nature-based recreation outcomes including wildlife habitat protection.”

The program made a temporary return last year to assist clean-up efforts in the wake of October’s freak hailstorms at Springfield.

“It proved a lifesaver for some residents after that ferocious storm and I am certain the rest of our community is looking forward to this chance to get rid of bulkier items often left lying around the home,” Cr Harding said.

Details on the program’s return are yet to be finalised.

Read more stories by Kaitlyn Smith here.