Question - City Services

1. On what date did the government's 2024 Autumn Leaf-Bag Giveaway first ‘go live’ on the Access Canberra website.
2. On what date/s did government-sponsored advertisements for this giveaway first appear on Facebook and other social media outlets.
3. How many autumn leaf bags were available in this giveaway.
4. How many autumn leaf bags remained in stock when the government promoted this giveaway in a Twitter post on 6 May 2024 at 10:30am (https://x.com/actgovernment/status/1787278629967106500/photo/1).
5. When (date and time) did the giveaway close because the leaf bags were out of stock.
6. Did any households that registered for an autumn leaf bag not receive one because the bags were already out of stock; if so, (a) how many households and (b) were they informed that they would not be receiving a leaf bag.
7. Will additional autumn leaf bags be made available during 2024; if so, when will they be available.

 (1)The leaf-bag giveaway went live on the Healthy Waterways section of the Environment website on 23 April 2024. It was not featured on the Access Canberra website. 

(2) Campaign advertising ran on social media from 1 – 6 May 2024.

(3) An initial 2,000 bags were originally purchased for giveaway. Due to the demand, additional bags were purchased, and 3,748 bags will be delivered to households.

(4) On 6 May 2024, the 2,000 pre-purchased bags were fully allocated, and social media posts were progressively ceased. However, a further 1,748 bags have been purchased to meet community demand. 

(5) The offer closed at 12pm on 6 May 2024.

(6) No household that placed an order will miss out on a leaf bag. A second purchase was made to cover all orders received. The expanded offer has meant that the delivery time will be longer than anticipated for some households. The Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate have contacted all households who provided an email address with their order to provide an update.

(7) Whilst no further leaf-bag giveaways are currently scheduled for the remainder of 2024, the Healthy Waterways team are considering future options to assist in the management of leaves in the urban landscape as part of developing Healthy Waterways Plans for catchments across the ACT. 

The interest in the leaf bag program is an indication that the ACT community are concerned about the health of our waterways and supportive of ACT Government programs to manage leaves and improve waterway health.