City of Ballarat launches new waste and recycling app

Never forget your bin night again!

The City of Ballarat has launched a Ballarat Waste app to put local waste and recycling information right at your fingertips.

Available free from iPhone and Android app stores, the app empowers residents to access information about their waste and recycling services from the convenience of their smart phone.

With the Ballarat Waste app you can:

• Access kerbside collection schedules and set bin night reminders
• Receive notifications of any changes to bin collections, including public holiday services
• Download a printable PDF of the annual collection calendar for your own address
• See what can and cannot be placed into recycling, green waste and your general household waste bin
• Log a missed or damaged bin
• Access Ballarat Transfer Station’s opening hours, fees and a list of what can be taken to the Transfer Station for free

City of Ballarat Mayor, Cr Des Hudson tested the app before its launch and was impressed at how easy it was to navigate and access essential waste and recycling information.

“The City of Ballarat’s new Waste app provides all the information you need about waste and recycling in the palm of your hand,” he said.

“The app will be updated with relevant information as waste and recycling services continue to evolve.

“It will be a reliable resource for residents with the introduction of the new weekly Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) kerbside collection in 2025 – helping residents learn what they can and cannot place in their FOGO service.”

Under the introduction of FOGO, household waste collection will change from weekly to fortnightly. Mixed recyclables will continue to be collected fortnightly.

Residents will be able to add food organics – which includes fruit and vegetable scraps, raw and cooked meat and bones, citrus, leftovers, seafood, shellfish shells and eggshells – to their FOGO (green waste) bin. Food organics will then be recycled and turned into new products, like compost.

The Ballarat Waste app will help the City of Ballarat reduce its environmental footprint by transitioning away from resource-intensive printing, posting and greenhouse gas emissions associated with the bulk mail out of the annual waste and recycling collection calendar.  

Limited numbers of printed calendars will continue to be available from Customer Service for residents that want to receive a hard copy of the waste and recycling collection calendar.

Download the app via the App Store or on Google Play.