Last year, Council participated in a tender process for waste and recycling collection services to enable us to implement the four-stream waste system, in line with the State Government’s legislation that requires Victorian councils to provide a four-stream system to all households by 2030.

Community feedback was considered in assessing the tender submissions, along with a range of criteria, including cost, environmental outcomes, performance, benefits to the local economy, ability to meet the objectives of the circular economy.

At the Scheduled Meeting of Council on 22 March 2023, Council announced its preferred contractors to deliver four-stream waste and recycling collection services. from 1 July 2025. We are currently in contract negotiations with the preferred contractors.

In appointing the contractors, Council also determined the format of the four-stream kerbside service, which includes:

• Fortnightly collection of general waste
• Fortnightly collection of mixed recycling
• Weekly collection of food and garden organics (new service)
• Monthly collection of separate glass recycling (new service)

While it has been confirmed that the four-bin service will be introduced where kerbside collection is currently mandatory, specific details regarding residents who live outside of these areas is yet to be finalised and Council is waiting on clarification from the State Government.

In implementing the new waste services there are still significant decisions to be made.

Some of these decisions will rely on policies yet to be finalised by the State Government, while others are decisions for Council. These decisions include:

• Where will the four-stream service will be mandatory?
• Where will the kerbside services be available?
• What size bins will comprise a standard suite of bins?
• Will people be able to opt out of any of the waste streams, and under what circumstances?
• How will the additional services be funded?
• How will these new services impact the Waste Service Charge on Council rates?

We expect to be able to provide this information to our community later this year or early next year.

Council has not yet decided how the new waste collection services will be funded.

Once the finer details of the service (see FAQ above) are confirmed, they will influence the levels of service we provide and therefore any impact to the Waste Service Charge collected via Council rates.

Ways in which Council can recover the costs of providing the new service include the Waste Service Charge collected via Council rates, through revenue collected at our Resource Recovery Centres for disposal of waste and by reducing expenditure in other areas to offset any additional costs. Council will be considering the implications of these options.

That’s great to hear! And keep up the good work. As you may already know, the food and garden organics service will provide you with a convenient and environmentally-friendly way to compost items that you wouldn’t typically put through a home compost or a worm farm.

For example: noxious weeds including gorse and blackberry, rose prunings, meat and seafood – cooked or raw – dairy products, spoiled food, rice and pasta, citrus and onions.

If your property is currently within the compulsory waste charge zone (township areas of the Shire) the organic bin service will also be mandatory. As with the other waste services, it is necessary to have a critical mass of properties subscribed to the service to make it viable, which is why the compulsory waste charge zones are in place.

Outside of the compulsory waste charge zone, it is yet to be finalised where the services will be available and who will be required to have them or not. This depends partially on the release of the State Government’s Service Standard for Kerbside Services, which will determine requirements for minimum levels of service. The initial discussion paper released on the topic, which Council responded to, indicated that outside of township areas residents would be able to opt out of having an organics service by demonstrating alternative management of organic waste. However, where a recycling bin is provided, it must be accompanied by a glass recycling bin.

No question, bins are smelly!   But, by diverting your food waste to the Food and Garden Organics bin (collected weekly) most of your smelly waste will be picked up sooner rather than later.  A key learning from other municipalities that have Food and Garden Organics bins in place is that it really helps to have some garden organics under and over your food waste to reduce the smell.

Bagging landfill items correctly, keeping bin lids closed and storing bins in the shade can also help to reduce smell.

A trial study by Lake Macquarie City Council, addressed concerns around increased odour and limited space in a fortnightly landfill collection. The study found that when households disposed of recycling and FOGO waste in the right bins, wrapped soiled nappies in plastic bags or newspaper, and stored the bin in the shade, space and odour issues were avoided.  

The study found that the smell of the nappies in the bin was no worse at the end of 2 weeks than at the end of 1 week. 

A recent audit found more than 70% of kerbside waste going to landfill in Murrindindi Shire could be recycled or composted, significantly reducing our greenhouse gas emissions. If community members use the four-stream system correctly, we can divert a significant portion of waste from landfill and our general rubbish bins and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The new glass only recycling service and food and garden organics service will support our community to better manage their waste and lead to better environmental outcomes including making better use of our recycled material,and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

In rare situations where the 120L general waste bin is inadequate, households will be able to get an extra bin or larger bin. Council is yet to determine what extra costs will apply for additional bin services for each stream, or whether additional general waste capacity must be matched by additional recycling capacity to ensure people are not simply failing to recycle.

Council is awaiting further clarification from the State Government regarding where the service will be mandatory and who can opt-in or opt-out of the service. This includes requirements for businesses or commercial operators. We hope to have more information to share with our business community later this year.