On a regular basis, we clean and maintain roads, streets, footpaths, laneways, street bins, local parks and reserves and other public spaces.

You can help us maintain Yarra's cleanliness by requesting a cleaning service or reporting a maintenance issue below. 

How do I request a street cleaning service?

To request a cleaning service online, choose from the below: 

• Dumped rubbish and litter removal in streets, laneways or public spaces (for example: excessive litter or dumped waste)
• Syringe pick up
• Weed removal from streets, gutters or laneways
• Blocked or flooding stormwater drain
• Stormwater drain – smell from pit or other
• Dead animal removal 
• Overflowing bins
• Commercial waste or hard rubbish in streets, laneways or public spaces

How do I report a maintenance issue? 

 To report a maintenance issue online, choose from the below: 

• Damaged street furniture (objects placed or fixed in the street for public use, for example a broken bench or rubbish bin)
• Damaged or dirty street signs 
• Park maintenance (for example: overflowing bins, toilets)

How do I report pollution and littering?

Report to the appropriate authority below:

• Air or water pollution occurring from an industry or business to the EPA Pollution Watch Line.
• Litter being thrown from a car to the EPA Litter Report Line.

Weed control in Yarra

We use several methods of weed control in Yarra depending on the location.

Location	Weed control method	Why do we use this method?
Laneways Footpaths Kerb and channel Tree squares Park garden beds Park mulched tree beds	Glyphosate-based herbicide	In these large-scale locations, glyphosate-based herbicide is the most effective and efficient product available.   We spot-spray to minimise use and we find that most of Yarra’s invasive plants respond well to spot-spraying at the minimum concentration. We use this product sparingly and closely track our herbicide use. We have found that over the last 12-months we used 87% less glyphosate-based concentrate than the recommended label usage.   According to available information, there is very little run-off from glyphosate based herbicide and in most cases the product begins to break down and be absorbed by the soil immediately. Within a few days, the effects in soil become harmless to vegetation.   We do not spray on windy days.   Glyphosate-based herbicide is approved by The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority. Alternative products require much higher concentrations to be effective and there is little scientific data available for alternative products.
Natural habitats	Specialised herbicides, including some limited use of glyphosate-based herbicide	In natural habitats we use specialised products, most of which are not glyphosate-based.   We use glyphosate-based herbicide only when there is not an effective or efficient alternative and to mitigate against the risk of losing significant biodiversity because of weeds.
Playgrounds	Manual removal	We manually remove weeds in playgrounds. This is possible because of the relative small scale of these locations and is desirable because of the high levels of community activity.   Manual removal is not suitable for larger areas.
Around:   Childcare centres Kindergartens Schools Hospitals Retail areas	Steam technology	In other areas of high community use and pedestrian activity, we use steam technology. The use of steam technology is being assessed as it requires diesel engines to generate the steam, which may have ongoing environmental implications.

No Spray Register

In large-scale areas such as laneways and footpaths, Council uses a glysophate-based herbicide for weed removal.

Property owners can request for their property to be added to a No Spray Register if they do not want Council to spray for weeds. Please note if your address is added to the No Spray Register you will be required to remove the weeds around your property.

If you would like to be added to the No Spray Register please email us at [email protected].

Nature strips in Yarra

Nature strips form an integral part of the landscape in Yarra, and they add great aesthetic value to a suburb.

A ‘nature strip’ is the area of public land that stretches from the boundary of a private property to the road. Nature strips run parallel to a footpath, and as such it is important that they do not pose a risk to public safety (for example, a trip hazard or a fire risk).

Council relies on the established community expectation that residents maintain and mow the nature strip abutting their property to present a neat and tidy street frontage.

Street trees planted on nature strips are maintained by Council in accordance with Yarra’s Street Tree Policy (PDF 214kB) and residents are not permitted to plant, prune, or remove any trees within the nature strip.