Cleanaway

26/10/2026

Join us at the Sustainable Future Festival on the Central Coast for a day of family fun, creative workshops and practical ideas for living more sustainably.

Presented by 1Coast, our partnership between Cleanaway and Central Coast Council, the festival brings the community together to explore ways to reduce waste, reuse resources and care for our beautiful coast.

From hands-on activities and live entertainment to getting up close with a garbage truck, there’s something for everyone to enjoy.

📅 Saturday 14 November, 9am–3pm
📍 Memorial Park, The Entrance
🎟️ Free community event

Come along, get inspired and discover how small everyday actions can help create a more sustainable future.

Find out more: https://www.sustainablefuturefestival.com.au/

22/10/2026

Congratulations to Meti Kitai, a finalist in the 2026 Australian Workplace Health & Safety Awards!

We're proud to see Meti recognised as a finalist for HSR of the Year, celebrating his outstanding contribution to building a safer workplace at Cleanaway.

“As a Health, Safety and Environment Representative (HSER), Meti champions frontline voices by listening to his team on the ground, finding opportunities to improve, then working with them and site leaders to improve health, safety and environmental outcomes,” explained Deb Peach, Cleanaway Executive General Manager, HSE.

Meti shows the important role HSERs play in bringing our people together, encouraging open conversations and making safety a shared responsibility.

Congratulations, Meti, on this well-deserved recognition! Thank you for your dedication to keeping our people safe, every day.

21/10/2026

Some items need more than the right bin.

According to our 2026 Recycling Behaviours Report, chemicals remain one of the most challenging materials for Australians to recycle correctly.

Items like:
🧴 Cleaning chemicals
🎨 Paint products
🌱 Garden chemicals
should not go into household bins.

They need specialised collection points to make sure they are handled safely.

Find your closest household chemical drop-off location: https://recyclingnearyou.com.au/ then visit our website in the link below to learn more about our Recycling Behaviours Report.

Before you bin it, check it.

Household chemicals

19/10/2026

It was great to welcome community members at our Community Open Day on Saturday 17 October at the Melbourne Regional Landfill in Ravenhall Vic.

Visitors enjoyed guided site tours behind the scenes of the operations and information sessions about our new MRL Central proposal.

Our garbage collections truck was a big hit with the kids and so was the sausage sizzle run by the Rotary Club of Caroline Springs.

Thank you to everyone who came along and shared such positive feedback. We look forward to doing it again in 2027 and will announce a date when confirmed.

📣 Community Webinar
We are also hosting an online information session on Thursday 12 November 7pm to 7:45pm about the new proposal and planning process.

To register for the webinar email: [email protected] or call Olga Ghiri on 0478 316 237.

Or stay informed about our proposal by visiting our website using this link: https://www.cleanaway.com.au/mrlcentral

15/10/2026

Cleanaway is moving beyond simply giving people access to AI. We're building the capability, confidence and support to turn AI into practical value across the workforce.

In September, Cleanaway wrapped up a 12-week AI training pilot in Partnership with Affinda with a clear objective in mind: explore what it takes to embed AI into the way we work, moving beyond access to build the skills, confidence and practical experience needed for meaningful adoption.

Through our AI Ambassadors Program, 100 employees from across the business came together to learn, experiment and apply Generative AI to their everyday work.

We’ve seen a real shift:
19% → 92% now use AI beyond basic chat
56% → 94% use AI daily
46% → 82% report saving 3+ hours per week using GenAI

But beyond the numbers, the biggest shift has been in mindset.

As one of our Ambassadors shared:
"I've been adjusting my way of working to consider how I might use AI more. This is a positive step where it wasn't part of my working rhythm prior to this program."
This is what meaningful AI adoption looks like: people rethinking how they work, building confidence and finding practical ways to create value.

Our OpenAI Account Manager observed:
"Cleanaway’s AI utilisation is already on par with some of the strongest adopters we work with in Australia. Their AI Ambassadors program reflects a commitment to building the skills and confidence that help people put AI to work every day."

So, what's next?
We're taking the learnings from our pilot into a broader enterprise rollout, focused on making AI adoption safe, sustainable and scalable.
This includes strengthening our governance and guardrails, introducing Safe Use of AI training, expanding learning and support, and building communities of AI champions to share knowledge and accelerate adoption across Cleanaway.

Our ambition is simple: make AI a practical, trusted part of how we work, with our people at the centre of that change.

The future of work is changing, and we're helping shape it at Cleanaway.
Explore career opportunities: https://www.cleanaway.com.au/careers

07/10/2026

Ever wondered why batteries can’t go in your household bins?

It’s because even small batteries can create big risks.
When batteries are crushed inside collection trucks or recycling facilities, they can ignite and cause fires that put people, equipment and essential services at risk.

Batteries and rechargeable devices need their own recycling journey.

Help protect our drivers and teams.

Learn more about battery disposal through Greenius, our online recycling education platform.

01/10/2026

We’re getting better at recycling batteries, but what about the batteries we can’t see? 🔋

Our 2026 Recycling Behaviours Report found 71% of Australians know batteries don’t belong in kerbside bins.

But many everyday items have hidden batteries inside, including:
📱 Mobile phones
🎧 Wireless headphones
🪥 Electric toothbrushes
⌚ Smart watches

When these items are placed in household bins, they can become damaged during collection and processing, creating a serious fire risk.

The simple rule: If it charges, don’t put it in your household bin.

Find your closest battery recycling drop-off point at https://bcycle.com.au/industries/drop-off-points/ then visit our website for more insights from our 2026 Recycling Behaviours Report.

Not for your household bin

30/09/2026

“I surprised myself.” That’s how Margaret describes 20 years in the waste industry.
And honestly, when she started at Citywide 20 years ago, she probably would have been just as surprised.

Margaret Maniatis didn’t set out to work in waste. She was drawn to a customer-focused role, joining Citywide as a Customer Liaise Executive with one key mission: save customers who wanted to cancel.

Fast forward 20 years and she’s seen it all. Different managers, organisational changes, new technology, changing waste systems, the Citywide transition to Cleanaway and plenty of learning along the way. She’s also gone from not knowing much about waste to knowing a lot about bins, trucks, runs, transfer stations and what makes the whole thing work.

Her secret to making it this far?
“Never stop learning and be open to growing, embrace change but never lose sight of your core values.”

And perhaps the most Margaret thing of all? She’s still looking ahead, hoping to see better waste systems in Australia.

So, Margaret, here’s to 20 years of saving customers, navigating change, learning new things and apparently surprising yourself along the way.

Read Margaret's full story: https://www.cleanaway.com.au/newsroom/from-citywide-to-cleanaway-margaret-s-20-year-journey

29/09/2026

🎉 Congratulations to our 2026 MRL Community Benefit Fund recipients! We’re proud to announce the eight local organisations sharing $50,000 in community funding through Round 7 of the MRL Community Benefit Fund.

This year’s grants will support projects across Melbourne’s west, from community support and food relief to youth wellbeing, emergency services, sport, sustainability and community connection.
👏 Congratulations to:
• Caroline Chisholm Society | $8,000
• 1st Caroline Springs Scout Group | $2,000
• Lions Club of Taylors Lakes | $5,000
• Melton Fire Brigade - CFA | $8,000
• Orygen | $8,000
• SecondBite | $7,000
• Team Sports 4 All | $4,000
• Western Emergency Relief Network - WERN | $8,000
Thank you to these organisations for the work they do to strengthen our local communities.
Discover more about the MRL Community Benefit Fund and the incredible work these organisations are doing: https://www.cleanaway.com.au/cbf/mrl

27/09/2026

46,800 Australians engaged in Cleanaway sustainability education and community programs in FY26. Through Cleanaway’s Centre for Sustainability (C4S), our teams work with businesses, councils, schools and communities to turn sustainability goals into practical behaviour change.

In FY26, our programs delivered:
• 1,411 education and engagement sessions across schools, communities and commercial customers.
• 24,043 session participants engaged through workshops, customer sessions, site visits and other education programs.
• 323 school education programs, reaching 12,835 students across primary and secondary schools.
• 78 community events, connecting sustainability education with local communities.
• More than 699 municipal engagement activities, supporting councils and communities with practical waste and recycling education.

The opportunity goes beyond education. C4S helps organisations turn knowledge into action by reducing contamination, improving resource recovery and influencing the everyday behaviours that shape waste outcomes.

Whether you’re a small business, a major organisation, a council or an education provider, C4S can help turn your sustainability goals into practical action.

Find out how Cleanaway’s sustainability education and engagement programs can work for your organisation. https://www.cleanaway.com.au/education