Darwin Council has scrapped its annual pre-cyclone clean-up collection service this year which it says is due to “significant operational impacts of Cyclone Fina” that hit the city last November, with Mayor Peter Styles telling residents to rent trailers or call a “mate with a ute” to take their own hard waste to the tip this year.

The City of Darwin said in a statement Monday that while it has concluded the Cyclone Fina “recovery program”, it still has “significant restoration works” continuing that has had an effect on service delivery. Council has pledged to have the service restored in May of next year, but would not say if the August pickups will be ended entirely.

“Postponing the city-wide collection until May 2027 allows us to focus on restoring business-as-usual service levels while continuing to support residents through free year-round disposal options and a targeted assisted pick-up service for those who need it most,” Mr Styles said in the statement.

He added other reasons for the cancelled clean-up service this year while on radio Monday morning, including that council wants to encourage people to recycle more of their hard waste with items such as mattresses and furniture being ruined by rain when it sits on the verge waiting for pick-up.

“If it’s put out in the wet season, it’s all lost,” Mr Styles told Mix FM. “So, it goes in a truck and it’s destroyed. So, we encourage people to perhaps take those things down to the tip and give them to Reviva (tip shop) so that they can be reused.”

Mr Styles added anyone without a trailer to take their waste to the tip can “duck down to Bunnings” or rent trailers from service stations.

He rejected the cancelled service this year was a cost-saving measure for council.

“It’s about getting our staff back out there,” he said, then seemingly contradicted himself.

“If you’re handling stuff in the wet season when it’s slippery, we do it in the dry. We can also recycle all those products rather than having them destroyed by rain, etc, when they’re sitting on the verge.”

He did not explain why he believed items would get wet in August while awaiting pick up from the city.

Mr Styles said the pick-up service would resume next May, but added that council would decide later whether the August pre-cyclone season pick-ups would be scrapped completely.

Mr Styles then aired his grievances with people putting out building materials and commercial waste for the city to pick up. He did not answer the question posed about whether the lack of collection this year could increase the risk of damage if a cyclone hits during the wet season.

“It’s not missiles, it’s just rubbish that’s been put out on the verge that people don’t want to take to the tip themselves,” he said. “As a householder, do you want to pay for that? I was going out talking and doing some straw polling and saying ‘what do you want to pay for?’

“It’s not a cost-cutting exercise, we’ve simply just postponed it until May. Now there are reasons we’ve done that, because it’s easier to collect rubbish and then recycle it. That allows for enhanced safety of workers. And I just ask people to say, if you don’t have a towbar, find a mate with a ute or get someone to sit down and pick it up.”

Council’s statement said Cyclone Fina placed “unprecedented demands” on city staff and became “one of the largest recovery efforts in the city’s history”.

Council has reportedly been pursuing between $6 million and $9 million through a federal disaster recovery scheme following last November’s cyclone.

Residents with mobility issues or accessibility barriers can book “limited assisted pick-up service” between August 10 and September 4. More info is available here.