About the service
HomeCycle is a free and easy way for Inner West residents to recycle and repurpose items that don’t belong in household bins. Using this service will help divert materials from landfill and support charities and relief organisations.
Residents who live in the Inner West Local Government Area. We do not accept items from commercial operators, businesses, schools or organisations.
- Check what items can be collected.
- Book your HomeCycle Pickup or call (02) 7256 6246 (a minimum of two bags or boxes applies per booking).
- Prepare your items for pickup
- Leave items in a safe and accessible spot near your front door by 7:30am on your pickup day. A SMS reminder will be sent the day before your booked pickup.
- Please ensure no other items are left by your front door to prevent them being picked up by mistake.
- A SMS notification that the driver is on the way will be sent.
- Your items will be picked up on your booked pickup day and a SMS notification will be sent once items are picked up.
- The driver will leave your reusable bags where you left them – don’t forget to retrieve them. Thinner plastic reusable bags will be taken and recycled.
- Your preloved items are picked up and sorted by our friendly team members and processed by various local service providers, contributing towards a circular economy. Find out more about what happens to your items.
Households are limited to three bookings per household per year, however wait times between bookings will be dependent on demand.
No, the HomeCycle service is for small items that are tricky to recycle and goods that are in reusable condition for donation. The Council cleanup service is for large items like broken furniture and damaged items, unusable timber and bed frames, used floor coverings, broken small appliances. Residents are encouraged to consider donating items for reuse via social media platforms or dropping off directly where available (e.g. charity shops, community recycling centres, B-cycle etc.). This will ensure residents who need the HomeCycle service the most (e.g. those with a physical disability or no private transport) can access it.
SCRgroup is contracted by Inner West Council to run the HomeCycle service. SCRgroup is an Australian BCorp certified reuse and recycling company. It is Australia’s largest collector of clothing and textiles for the purpose of reuse first. HomeCycle was launched in 2022 to support councils to pickup clothing and textiles and other tricky to reuse or recycle items from resident doorsteps.
Items we accept
Find out what items are accepted or not accepted.
Worn and torn clothing and textiles are accepted. Underwear and socks are not accepted.
No, this service is for small items that generally fit into a reusable shopping bag or box only.
Bookings and pickups
Book a HomeCycle Pickup online or call (02) 7256 6246.
If you need to change or cancel your booking, log into your account or call SCRgroup on (02) 7256 6246
Each booked pickup must have a minimum of two bags (or equivalent sized boxes). Please ensure your items can be lifted by one person. There is no maximum limit to the number of bags you can put out for pickup.
A minimum of two bags streamlines our pickup process and contributes significantly to environmental sustainability. More bags per pickup means reduced transportation and a lower overall carbon footprint, maximising the recycling outcomes.
Please box or bag your items into separate categories, as they go to different places:
- Clothing, manchester, shoes, fashion accessories and toys. (please no underwear, socks, pillows, doonas or wet clothing) Note: please bag/box toys in usable condition separately and ensure batteries are removed.
- Small household appliances, electronic waste (batteries removed)
- Soft plastics (bagged)
- Problem waste (small household batteries, mobile phones, printer cartridges, coffee pods, blister packs and X-rays). Note: Please place coffee pods and batteries into their own clear, sealed, soft plastic bags for safety and to prevent leaks.
Clearly label the items “HomeCycle” so our drivers know what is being picked up. Do not leave items you want to keep in the same area to avoid confusion about what is being picked up.
If you need to change or cancel your booking log into your account or email [email protected] or call SCRgroup on (02) 7256 6246.
Sorry to hear you’ve had an issue with your pickup.
If items were left behind, it is likely they are not accepted in the HomeCycle service.
If your pickup was missed, please contact SCRgroup on [email protected] or call (02) 7256 6246 to reschedule your booking.
If you did not present items for pickup, please re-book your pickup by logging into your account.
Please note that multiple non-presentations may result in suspension of the service.
- Clothing and linen in good condition are donated to charity or reused in communities that need them.
- Unwearable clothing is repurposed rags for the industrial sector.
- Electronics are sorted and broken down into various materials for recycling. Batteries can be recycled into new ones. Mobile phone components can be used to make new technology, reducing the need for the mining of raw materials.
- X-rays have the silver removed and turned into new silver products, like jewellery, and the remaining film is added to road base bitumen.
- Coffee pods are separated for their resources. Coffee grounds are composted and the aluminium casings are recycled into new products.
- Printer cartridge recycling recovers the plastics, metals, ink and toner where it is resold as raw materials for manufacturing.
- Soft plastics are delivered to APR Plastics where they are shredded, chemically treated and processed into reusable oil and carbon ash.
Thank you for recycling your unwanted household items and diverting waste from landfill!