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"This is our dream home, it’s better than anything I could have imagined to give Ollie and I can’t wait to start our new life." - Stephanie Stevens
When Stephanie Stevens lost her husband and her house, the community and Cleanaway stepped up to build her and her little boy, Ollie a new home.
Stephanie was pregnant with Ollie when she lost her husband Ryan in an accident. As Ryan did not have a will, her house was repossessed and sold. Stephanie rushed her young family into a new residence, only to find that it was in no condition to be lived in – with asbestos in the backyard and a host of other issues.
Stephanie’s story was highlighted on A Current Affair which inspired an outpouring of support from the community to help renovate the rundown house into a home.
A host of volunteers joined forces to renovate Stephanie’s house in an incredible 14 days. Businesses and suppliers chipped in with construction support and furnishings, and Cleanaway provided skip bins and collected 25 skip bins worth of construction waste, including two asbestos removal bins.
Cleanaway Branch Manager Bhavna Toural and Executive Assistant Sheree Giffin helped to coordinate our contribution, supported by Operations Supervisor Julie Smith who managed the bin requests, and skip drivers Dan Cumbers, Tony Armandi, Prashan Velautham and Damian Taylor.
“When we heard about Steph and Ollie, we knew we had to assist. Seeing the look on their faces when they saw their new home simply made our day,” said Damian Burton, Cleanaway General Manager, Solid Waste Services, WA.
In a reveal event organised by ‘A Current Affair’, Stephanie saw her new home for the first time and thanked the community for giving her a helping hand, “This is our dream home, it’s better than anything I could have imagined to give Ollie and I can’t wait to start our new life. Everyone has been so amazing and generous. It really gives you faith. I’m really excited for the future now and I haven’t felt that way in three years.”
Cleanaway has a wide range of skip bins for hire to suit every household need and business requirement. Whether you’re clearing out your garage, renovating a home, doing some landscaping or outfitting a new office, we have the right bin for you. Skip the hassle and bin with Cleanaway.
Cleanaway are committed to making a sustainable future possible for communities across Australia. We’re constantly engaging with our communities to find better ways to improve sustainability. From supporting local sporting groups to donating our resources to community events, and raising funds for local, regional and national charities, we focus our support in areas where we can make the greatest difference as a business.
Here are just a few highlights of our work with communities in the past year.
Education programs for schools
We conducted education sessions with primary, secondary and tertiary students across Australia where students learned about waste disposal best practices, recycling and the environmental impact of everyday actions.
Delivering school-based educational programs is part of our commitment to reduce the amount of waste going into landfill by helping communities learn from a young age to recycle correctly, deal with problematic waste types, and lead a more sustainable lifestyle.
Clean Up Australia Day
As the major national partner for Clean Up Australia Cleanaway teams all over Australia participated in clean ups with customers and in their local areas to collect and track litter.
Our month-long social media campaign to increase awareness for the impact of litter on our environment included a leading film, animations and a scavenger hunt. The message focused on the difference you can make as an individual and encouraged people to make a pledge to clean up. The campaign reached almost 350,000 people with strong engagement through video views, shares and reactions.
NAIDOC Perth sponsorship
Cleanaway celebrated the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples through our sponsorship of NAIDOC Perth.
As Platinum Sponsor for a third year, we are proud to have been a part of NAIDOC Perth’s series of events including Miss NAIDOC Perth, the NAIDOC Perth Awards, the NAIDOC Perth Ball and the NAIDOC Perth Opening Ceremony.
National Recycling Week
Recognising that one of the biggest challenges for recycling is reducing contamination, we launched our biggest ever campaign to explain how to recycle correctly. We simplified the message down to five key items that go in the commingled recycling bin – cardboard, plastic containers, glass, steel and aluminium. The ‘Simply5 It’ campaign reached 500,000 impressions including a lead video that explained the dos and don’ts of recycling and a downloadable e-book for schools and workplaces.
Site excursions
We hosted students at Cleanaway sites for a behind-the-scenes look at what happens to waste post-collection. Recently, a group of Westbourne Grammar students visited the Melbourne Regional Landfill to learn about how we turn landfill gas into electricity for homes and our Altona recycling plant for a look at how materials are sorted for recycling.
Port Adelaide FC sponsorship
Cleanaway joined forces with the Port Adelaide Football Club with an exciting new venture supporting local football in South Australia. We helped kick off the football season at Adelaide Oval with support in the form of tickets and waste services.
Cleanaway’s Carbon Fund initiative
Our Carbon Fund initiative was launched in 2017 to support communities to implement carbon reduction solutions. Four schools were awarded the grant totalling $35,500, and have made significant improvements by installing solar panels, composting bins, proper waste sorting system and other sustainable initiatives contributing to their schools’ recycling rates.
MRL Community Benefit Fund
Cleanaway launched a $50,000 Community Benefit Fund, dedicated to developing sustainability projects that support environmental regeneration, recycling programs and community well-being around our Melbourne Regional Landfill site. To date, we have received project proposals that deliver social and environmental benefits from Caroline Springs, Deer Park and the surrounding community. We look forward to awarding $20,000 of the Fund in August.
City of Albany’s Sustainable Heroes
Cleanaway have been delivering waste and recycling services to the City of Albany since 2004. In 2019, we are proud to support the year-long Sustainable Heroes 2019 campaign on social media – aimed at empowering the community to make sustainable choices in their everyday lives.
Remagine 2019 sponsorship
Cleanaway sponsored Remagine 2019, an annual art competition organised by Hornsby Shire Council and Hornsby Art Society, where artists upcycle materials to promote the concept of reduce, reuse and recycle. Stephanie Powell, Jessica and Jim Harwood won the Cleanaway Resource Recovery Prize.
Sustainability workshop at UTS University of Technology Sydney
Our NSW Education Team held a sustainability workshop for the University of Technology Sydney (UTS). Using beeswax beads, pieces of cotton fabric, rolls of baking paper and irons, the team showed students and faculty just how easy it was to make beeswax wrap, and how it is a simple and fun alternative to single-use plastic packaging.
James Cook University (JCU) waste health check
As part of our monthly waste tracking initiatives for JCU, Cleanaway conducted a waste health check on campus to help the university improve their recycling and sustainability goals. Led by Territory Sales Managers David Mccarron and Daniel McCall, the team successfully identified the need for a dedicated cardboard recycling bin and provided further initiatives to divert eligible containers to the in-campus container return scheme.
School packs for Indigenous children
Earlier this year, the NSW Cleanaway team supplied back-to-school packs containing pencils, rubbers, sharpeners, rulers, pens, exercise books and USB thumb drives for 100 Indigenous kids within the Maitland area to help them get started on the new school year.
Hair with a heart of gold
To help Mechanic Leading Hand Michael Fereday’s daughter, Mackenzie, raise funds for charity, we organised a donation drive at our Tullamarine depot in support of eight-year-old Mackenzie Fereday cutting off her locks and donating it to sick children through Variety’s Hair with Heart initiative.
Contact us to find out more about how we help councils and communities make a sustainable future possible across Australia.
Recently, Cleanaway teamed up with Murray Valley Sanctuary Group (MVSRG) to conduct a recycling education session for Congolese refugees residing in the Albury/Wodonga region.
Led by Asanki Fernando, the education team introduced participants to the three-bin recycling system by demonstrating how to use the organic, recycling and general waste bins, and providing instructions for what does and does not belong in each bin.
The team also explained how waste free meals and reusable products can decrease the amount of waste produced in everyday life.
It was an especially memorable occasion for Cleanaway’s own organic sorter, Albert Kotongo, as he had the opportunity to speak in front of his community to explain what happens to the organic waste that comes through the conveyor belt and the types of contamination he sees daily as part of his job.
Albert’s presentation was very well received as he was able to speak and explain in his native language of Swahili which all the attendees understood.
The session was organised by Murray Valley Sanctuary Group (MVSRG), which was formed in 2005 to assist refugees on humanitarian visas to settle in Albury/Wodonga. MVSRG provides support and advocacy, enabling new arrivals to achieve independence and integration. This is done fairly, respecting the dignity and privacy of those needing assistance. MVSRG aims to be “A Centre for Excellence in Refugee Settlement” in the Albury/Wodonga region.
Contact us to find out more about how Cleanaway’s waste education initiatives help make a sustainable future possible across Australia.
We are proud to have been part of the NAIDOC Week celebrations held at our Eastern Creek site recently.
Cleanaway Operation Manager Westley Trist’s aunt, Aunty Cino Morrison of the Murrawarri people began the occasion with an Acknowledgement to Country. Her eight nieces, great nieces and granddaughters then joined her for the national anthem sang in traditional Darug language.
The kids had an opportunity to teach some of the Cleanaway staff how to sing “Head, shoulders, knees and toes” in traditional Darug language. They then pulled people from the crowd to participate and teach a traditional emu dance where dancers mimicked a hunter stealing an emu egg from a nest, (but never any more than one egg) in order to preserve a future for the next generation.
Finally, a group hand painting was done in honour of this year’s NAIDOC Week theme.
“Given this years NAIDOC theme “Voice, Treaty, Truth” the group hand painting was not only fun and colourful but also represented a togetherness in which meaningful and constructive conversations can be fostered. It was awesome to see everyone take part in the celebrations in a true inclusive fashion. A great time was had by all.” said Westley Trist.
Contact us to learn more about how we make a sustainable future possible for communities across Australia.
We’re proud to announce that following the completion of our ‘Reflect’ Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP), Reconciliation Australia have endorsed the next stage in our journey, our ‘Innovate’ RAP. Our ‘Reflect’ RAP was our introduction to reconciliation and through that process we have built stronger relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to increase respect, understanding and meaningful collaboration. We will continue this into our second RAP.
One of the key outcomes from our ‘Reflect’ RAP was learning what does and doesn’t work for Cleanaway to ensure we’re effective in the engagement process. As part of the ‘Innovate’ RAP we’re identifying activities that are the best fit for our business, making them more achievable and enduring.
Cleanaway Executive GM HR, Johanna Birgersson gave an insight into our approach, “For Cleanaway, reconciliation is about creating a level playing field for all employees while working with communities in a way that enables economic independence, whilst caring for country.
“We have built the foundations by educating our staff about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and heritage as a proud part of a shared national identity. We know that diversity makes us stronger as a business and we’ll continue to nurture a more culturally diverse community of employees, partners, customers and suppliers.”
It is an exciting time to move to this next stage in reconciliation as we continue to integrate the progressive work of Toxfree. Toxfree was committed to closing the gap between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in the communities where we work and similarly had worked through a RAP. They have made great progress in local communities working with customers who care and expect the same.
Cleanaway CEO and Managing Director, Vik Bansal, explained, “we remain committed to reinforcing and extending our partnerships with Traditional Owner groups, through joint ventures focused on a common goal of providing sustainable opportunities for local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.”
Reconciliation Australia have provided support and guided us through the framework to develop measurable targets and activities that ensure we have a clear pathway to be successful. In her endorsement of our ‘Innovate’ RAP, Karen Mundine said, “We wish Cleanaway well as it embeds and expands its own unique approach to reconciliation. We encourage Cleanaway to embrace this journey with open hearts and minds, to grow from the challenges, and to build on its successes.”
Our commitment to closing the gap for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is one of the ways we’re delivering on our mission to make a sustainable future possible. We’re excited to be launching our ‘Innovate’ RAP to our customers, stakeholders and the wider community, and we look forward to communicating about key milestones along the journey.
Click here to read Cleanaway’s ‘Innovate’ RAP (2018-2020).
Cleanaway has marked a turning point in the company’s history, as it welcomes the first of two fully electric collections vehicles which form part of a three-month trial.
CEO and Managing Director, Vik Bansal said “this is an exciting step forward for our business as we continue to work toward our mission of making a sustainable future possible. With almost 5,000 vehicles on the road each day servicing homes and businesses all over Australia, we are looking for ways to do that more sustainably.”
Despite excitement about the first of a new generation of waste collection vehicles, the ability to deliver a consistent and reliable service remains a core focus.
“It’s important that we continue to deliver a consistent service each day to the households and businesses who rely on us. Sustainability is about more than removing emissions at all costs. If service levels drop or waste collection costs increase significantly for ratepayers – that isn’t sustainable.” Bansal said.
The two fully operational vehicles are among the first in Australia to be servicing kerbside collections, which means they’ll be under pressure to carry full loads and complete scheduled runs every day. “Cleanaway is optimistic about proving the reliability of the technology” said Paul Young, Cleanaway’s Head of Fleet. “The trial is designed to encourage fast learning so that the electric vehicles can continue operating once the trial has ended, allowing Cleanaway to introduce more electric and combination fuel vehicles to the permanent fleet.”
With zero emissions, the vehicles are expected to run for 180-200 kilometres before needing to recharge. The brakes also regenerate – reducing repair and maintenance costs, and the consumption of other parts like brake pads.
The vehicles will also significantly reduce noise which makes early morning or late-night collections possible for some waste streams, such as green waste, which could reduce the impact for other road users in highly congested areas.
The first vehicle began servicing household collections in Hobsons Bay early this morning. City of Greater Geelong and Moonee Valley will also host the vehicle during the trial to ensure it is tested across a variety of terrain and in different municipal settings.
Mayor of Hobsons Bay Councillor Jonathon Marsden said the trial of the electric waste vehicle is exciting for Hobsons Bay and will complement the great work already happening in the sustainable transport realm.
“Council is a proud leader in supporting low emissions vehicles,” said Mr Marsden.
“We were part of a hydrogen fuel cell electric car trial with Toyota and now join this trial of an electric waste collection vehicle with Cleanaway.
“These initiatives support our key priorities in the Hobsons Bay 2030 Community Vision of exploring sustainable practices and growth through innovation, technology, job creation and education. It’s also a step in the right direction of Council’s draft Waste and Litter Management Strategy 2025 to trial alternative fuels in the waste, recycling and litter collection fleet.”
These vehicles are not yet in mass production but were commissioned by Cleanaway in conjunction with SEA Electric and Superior Pak. These vehicles have been assembled in Bundaberg, with the first arriving in Melbourne earlier this month for commissioning, training and testing before today’s first run.
Contact us to learn more about how we’re making a sustainable future possible for communities across Australia.
Cleanaway’s recent DIY beeswax wrap stall at University of Technology Sydney attracted almost 100 participants, demonstrating a simple and fun alternative to single-use plastic packaging.
Our NSW Education team members Rebecca Evered, Evelyn Hwang and Jess Arundell came armed with beeswax beads, pieces of cotton fabric, rolls of baking paper and irons to demonstrate just how easy it is to create reusable beeswax wraps.
“Beeswax wraps are a great alternative to plastic shrink wraps,” explained Education Manager Rebecca Evered. “Besides covering leftover food, they can also be used as a sandwich wrap for eating on-the-go, as a snack pocket and even for wrapping bouquets of flowers.”
UTS were delighted with the successful engagement event, commending the team on how well-organised the stand was and the high level of positive response from participants. In particular they were pleased with how easy it was to engage with for both staff and students, international students and participants with English as a second language. Seb Crawford from UTS said, “The stall provided lots of opportunities for conversation about broader sustainability around waste and consumer choice.”
Sustainable beeswax wraps in all its reusable glory
Jess showing how beeswax wraps can be made using only fabric and beeswax beads
Evelyn demonstrating how quick swipes of a hot iron can help set melted beeswax unto the fabric
UTS students having a go at making their own beeswax wrap
Reusable bottles and lunch boxes also make good alternatives to single-use plastic
The team also had other single-use plastic alternatives on hand and tips on how to manage waste in our daily lives.
Our Tullamarine depot recently organised a donation drive to help our Mechanic Leading Hand Michael Fereday’s daughter, Mackenzie, raise raise funds for charity.
“When she was younger, Mackenzie had a friend who had leukaemia and he passed away at the age of three,” said Mel, her mother. “Mackenzie was four at the time. Her friend lost all his hair and that’s how she remembers him, so that really affected her.”
Mackenzie decided to donate her hair to make wigs for those who have lost their hair due to a medical condition, through Variety’s Hair with Heart initiative. The money raised goes directly back into its programs, helping kids who are sick, disadvantaged or have special needs.
“I may only be eight but I want to make a difference. So just before my ninth birthday on 5 April, I am going to cut my hair and donate it to kids in need. I’ve been growing my hair since I was six and only had a little trim since.”
Wigs cost families up to $6,000, lasting 1-2 years, meaning families can spend tens of thousands of dollars on the purchase of wigs throughout a child’s youth.
By making a donation to Variety, you can help provide a wig or other vital equipment to a child in need. Thank you for helping kids in need.” said Mackenzie in her appeal for donations.
On her big day last week, the Tullamarine team hosted a morning tea where Mackenzie’s braids were cropped off while Cleanaway staff raised funds through a donation drive and raffle.
Mackenzie showing off her freshly cropped locks with her proud parents, Mel and Michael.
Altogether, $2,300 was collected – $1,300 on that day and $1,000 through online donations, many times more than the projected goal of $500. All funds were donated to Mackenzie’s Hair with Heart initiative.
Well done Mackenzie. What an inspiration for charity and sustainability!
Contact us to learn more about how we make a sustainable future possible for communities across Australia.
Cecil Hills Primary School recently collected bottles and cans to raise money for their support unit class to go on valuable life skills excursions. NSW’s Return and Earn container deposit scheme was the perfect fundraising initiative to engage students in a sustainability activity, while doing something for their peers.
The container drive raised several thousand dollars with students participating enthusiastically – including competing for a party for the class that brought in the most containers. Teachers filled a whole trailer with containers before bringing it to their local Cleanaway Automated Depot for processing and payment.
“We chose to fundraise using the container drive as there are so many associated learning benefits for the students. Understanding the environment benefits of reducing litter, recycling and making money to aid our school community is brilliant. The life skills students learn through the program are also invaluable,” said Paul Matten, Deputy Principal of Cecil Hills Primary School.
The school’s support unit students were then invited to visit Cleanaway’s Eastern Creek Container Sorting Facility. They received a special lesson delivered by Cleanaway’s Education Team and toured the New South Wales hub of the container deposit scheme. Following the program’s success, the school will now be fundraising using Return and Earn for the whole of Term 4.
Contact us to find out more about how we support communities across Australia to make a sustainable future possible.
In November 2017, Cleanaway launched our Carbon Fund – a national grants program to support communities in implementing carbon reduction solutions.
Overseen by Cleanaway Stakeholder and Community Engagement Manager Olga Ghiri, $35,500 from the fund was given to four schools surrounding the Melbourne Regional Landfill.
One year later, here are the carbon reduction initiatives they completed:
Creekside K-9 College, Caroline Springs
The school used the grant for their Be a Planeteer project and installed new solar panels as well as a new composting system. The bins system was also upgraded to improve waste sorting and reduce recycling contamination.
Students at Creekside K-9 College improved recycling rates by purchasing new bins
Kororoit Creek Primary School, Burnside Heights
For their Be Part of the Solution, Not Pollution project, the school brought in new recycling bins and set up a new composting system to support the newly introduced Garden Club. Students also cultivated a new garden of vegetables and herbs in the school yard and proudly sell their produce at a weekly stall.
Students at Kororoit Creek Primary School with their Garden Club
Lakeview Senior College, Caroline Springs
The school used the funds for their with their Lakeview Waste Minimisation Project. The school successfully improved recycling rates of plastics, glass and aluminium streams through an improved bin system and other waste reduction initiatives such as new signage and educational materials to improve waste behaviours in the school community.
Parkwood Green Primary School, Hillside
Within a year, the school constructed their own Breathe Easy Recycle Centre, a recycling enclosure where paper and plastic materials are brought to be sorted. A new concrete slab was laid to support the new enclosure and new bins were purchased for each classroom. The school also established a green team of students as sustainability leaders.
Cleanaway works closely with schools and communities to provide educational programs for better waste management and sustainability habits. Contact us to get started on a sustainable future.
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Our skip bin site is currently under development and will be ready very soon. Please call 13 13 39 for all skip enquiries and bookings. Thank you for your patience.
