In what may be a first for regional South Australia, parts of the south coast will get a new monthly recycling collection service focused on deposit bottles and cans.

It won’t be provided by the local councils but a private company, South Coast Recycling & Scrap Metal Co.

The business has been the official bottle and can recycler for the southern Fleurieu for more than 30 years and is now branching out to providing a regular domestic

and commercial collection service.

Managing director Grant Levy says the new service will save the trouble of taking bottles and cans to one of the business’s depots, and will also provide an opportunity to directly donate bottle and can funds to a charity, community or sporting group.

“Our market research survey earlier this year showed strong interest in conducting a monthly collection in the region, so we’re starting out with a selection of areas where the interest was strongest,” he says.

“We’ve got special red wheelie bins with our logo, and have had to undertake modifications to our truck and at our depot to handle the new service.”

Under the program a one-off lease fee will be paid for a bin to be part of the service. 

The first collections are scheduled for September; sign-up is online via the company’s website. 

“Once people have their bin delivered they can book their collection when they have a minimum of 200 items in the bin,” Grant Levy says.

“Our staff will collect the bin and exchange it for another. Each bin is individually numbered for tracking purposes.”

The collection service will be available to households as well as business premises.

A similar service has recently been introduced in some Adelaide suburbs, but this is believed to be the first of its kind in a regional area of South Australia.

The first areas to be covered by the new service will be Encounter Bay, Victor Harbor, Port Elliot, Chiton, parts of Hindmarsh Valley, Hayborough and McCracken, with the first collections scheduled for September.

To sign up, or to get more information about the service, visit the South Coast Recycling & Scrap Metal Co website.