MUNDARING residents are set to receive three extra recycling-centre passes while the shire searches for a way to deliver its postponed hard-waste collection.

The additional passes will increase each household’s annual allocation from three to six at no extra cost.

The measure follows frustration among residents who placed furniture, mattresses, appliances and other waste on their verges for a collection expected to begin from August 5.

Shire of Mundaring chief executive officer Jason Whiteaker said the traditional hard-waste collection had not been cancelled, but the shire could not yet say when or how it would be delivered.

“Our goal remains to deliver a hard waste collection service later in the 2026-27 financial year,” he said.

“Right now we’re working through the available options and can’t yet confirm exactly how or when it will happen.”

The shire will provide another public update within a fortnight, even if it has not secured a final solution by then.

Mr Whiteaker said the shire recognised that additional passes would not help every affected resident.

“Extra tip passes won’t solve the problem for everyone,” he said.

“Some residents have already placed hard waste on their verge, while others simply don’t have a trailer, ute or other way of getting items to the community recycling centre.

“We’re actively looking at what support can be offered in those situations and will share more information as soon as we can.”

Residents have been asked by the shire not to place any more hard waste on their verges while those options are considered.

The shire has not announced what will happen to items already placed outside despite earlier reports that residents could leave the material on their verge if it was safe to do so.

The collection problem arose after the shire went to market for a contractor and received one submission.

Mr Whiteaker said the bidder could not provide the collection within the required timeframe, while the contractor that previously serviced Mundaring was no longer operating locally.

As reported in Mundaring announces exit from EMRC, Mundaring withdrew its membership from the Eastern Metropolitan Regional Council from July last year.

At the time, Mr Whiteaker said the decision to withdraw was informed by an assessment of future strategic alignment and potential financial exposure and that sustainable waste management solutions was a priority for the shire.

“To be honest, we fully expected to deliver the service this year and continued exploring other options in the hope we could find a solution before needing to update the community,” he said.

“Looking back, we recognise many residents would have preferred to hear from us sooner, even if we were still trying to work through the problem.

“That’s fair feedback, and we apologise for the frustration and uncertainty this has caused.”

The shire’s green-waste verge collection is unaffected and is scheduled to begin in Swan View on August 17.

Mr Whiteaker said no rates offset was proposed because the shire was still working towards providing a hard-waste service during 2026-27.

The shire is also reviewing how hard waste could be collected in future, including a possible pre-booked collection service from 2028-29.

“We recognise that residents expect more than an explanation,” Mr Whiteaker said.

“They expect a solution, and that’s exactly what we’re focused on finding.

“Thank you for your patience while we continue working through the issue.

“Our focus remains on finding a solution and keeping the community informed every step of the way.”