Assisted waste collection service

Step 1.Check with family, friends or neighbours

Before you apply for the Blue Dot Service, check if a friend, family member or neighbour can take your bins to and from the kerb to be emptied each week. There may be someone close to you who is more than happy to help.

Step 2.Download the Blue Dot Service Application form

To apply for the Blue Dot service using a paper application please download the Blue Dot Service Application Form here

The form will require the applicant to complete Section 1 including a declaration that there are no other available people to assist with moving the bins, such as family, a friend or neighbour. Section 2 is to be completed by your doctor, certifying that there is a genuine need for the service.

Step 3.Take the form to your doctor

It is essential that the doctor fills out Section 2 of the form, which confirms the applicant’s legitimate medical need for the service and whether the condition is temporary or ongoing. Once submitted by the doctor, the form will be sent directly to the Council. Any incomplete application forms submitted will not be processed.

Please note: As the applicant, you will be responsible for any costs associated with the doctor's appointment.

Step 4.Submit the completed application form

Completed Blue Dot Service Application forms can be sent to Council by:

Mail:      Lake Macquarie City Council, Box 1902 Hunter Region Mail Centre, NSW 2310

Email:    council@lakemac.nsw.gov.au

In Person:   Lake Macquarie City Council, Speers Point Library, 139 Main Road, Speers Point NSW, 2284

Step 5.Inspection

To be eligible for the Blue Dot Service, your property must meet Council's Work Health and Safety requirements. Once we receive your application, we will assess the property to ensure it meets these requirements.

Step 6.Notification of application outcome

You will be notified in writing of the outcome of your Blue Dot Service application within ten working days of its receipt by the Council's Waste Services team.

For approved applications, you will receive written confirmation about where the bins should be stored at the front of your property and the start dates for the assisted collection of the green waste, recycling, and general waste services.

Step 7.Terms and conditions

Please take a moment to review the terms and conditions of the Blue Dot Service:

1. Where the property is assessed by Council as presenting unacceptable Work Health and Safety risk to collection staff, the applicant will not be provided with a Blue Dot Service and will have to make alternative arrangements for bin presentation.
2. Blue Dot Service applications and services are not transferrable and relate to the Applicant and the Applicant’s property only.
3. The Applicant or next of kin, neighbour or friend must advise Council’s Customer Service Team if the Blue Dot Service is no longer required or if circumstances change, eg change of address or lengthy hospital stay etc.
4. If the Applicant moves to another property, then the Applicant must notify Council’s Customer Service Team via phone or in writing of the change of address to enable an assessment of the new property for the Blue Dot Service.
5. Council may place an identification tag (reflective tape or disc) on the Applicant’s bin(s) to assist collection staff in identifying the bin(s).
6. Blue Dot Service recipients are asked to bag all garbage – not recyclables or green waste – where possible to assist Council’s collection staff in servicing the bin.
7. The bin(s) must be visible and accessible from the front of the property and not behind locked gates. Council and its contractor’s staff will not enter back yards, enclosed outdoor areas or the rear of dwellings.
8. The approved Blue Dot service will remain valid indefinitely or require renewal every two years, depending on whether the recipient's condition or circumstances are ongoing or temporary, as certified above. If renewal is required, the applicant will receive a renewal notification letter including advice on how to renew.
9. Applications will NOT be processed if the application form is not fully completed and signed by all parties.