Councillors this week voted to hold four throughout the year, to continue to allow residents to properly dispose of larger items that cannot be included in kerb side collection.
The first will be held in two weeks.
While it will mean a loss in revenue for council - after user pays fees were introduced last year - council said the community had demonstrated a desire for the free weekends to continue.
“It is something the community has come to expect from council,” Mayor Ashley Hall said.
“It also stops waste from being dumped in other areas like the forests.
“A lot of people save their bulky stuff specifically for these free weekends, and I think the rates we pay now are sufficient to cover it.”
Cr Hall said there may be some changes to the rules for the free waste weekend, however, which may include limitations on the number of large items that can be disposed of in one trip.
Council CEO Jack Bond said the free waste weekend at the Deniliquin Waste Depot is also designed to benefit the residents of the Edward River villages, where there is no kerb side rubbish collection and where they only have access to waste transfer stations.
User pays fees were implemented at the waste depot on July 1 last year.
Before that, the disposal of residential green waste and residential general waste had been free to ratepayers.
Large household items were excluded from the free list, but the free weekends allowed for free disposal.
A report to council noted that hosting free waste weekends while the user pays system is in place could result in $15,000 in lost revenue for council.
The 2025 free waste weekends have been set for March 8 and 9, June 14 and 15, September 13 and 14 and December 6 and 7.
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