News

Clean up your extra garden green waste and get bushfire ready

21 July 2023

The Bureau of Meteorology has moved from El Niño WATCH to El Niño ALERT, meaning that there is around a 70% chance of an El Niño developing this year. During El Niño, there is a higher chance of drier weather in eastern Australia and it's more likely to be warmer than usual for the southern two-thirds of Australia.

Fuel loads that increased after the heavy rains of 2022 are now drying out and creating conditions for future fires. That also goes for residents who've been cutting their lawn and have lots of grass clippings as the wet weather provided the ideal growing conditions for long grass. It is never too early to get prepared for the increased bushfire risk during summer. If you have a lot of garden organic waste left over in winter, now's your chance to do a bit of a clean-up and safely get rid of extra garden green waste.

Wingecarribee Shire Council has a number of services available to residents to help clear out some of their garden waste ahead of the summer bushfire season. All organics collected from the green kerbside bins are taken to the Resource Recovery Centre (RRC) for processing, or you can direct deliver to RRC. All green organics received at the RRC is processed into organic compost.

The Rural Fire Service has some great tips on preparing your home for bushfire on its website. You can also check if your property is on bush fire prone land on the RFS website or on the Council’s website.