The City of Greater Bendigo will change the collection frequency of household red general waste bins and green organics bins in the second half of 2023.
At the January Council meeting, Council agreed the collection of general waste bins will move from weekly to fortnightly, and the collection of organics bins will move from fortnightly to weekly.
The changes would only apply to homes that are in an organics collection area.
At this stage, there will be no change for rural properties that do not have an organics collection service. However, this is expected to be reviewed in the next 12 months.
Mayor Cr Andrea Metcalf said this was the biggest behaviour change regarding household waste disposal for most Greater Bendigo residents since the organics collection was first introduced in 2016.
“Council acknowledges this is a significant shift in how we have traditionally managed waste collection, however following the 2022 waste services review we also know nearly half of what is currently in general waste bins should either be in our recycling or organics bins,” Cr Metcalf said.
“Our landfill will close this year when it reaches capacity and becomes a transfer station, so we cannot keep going the way we’re going and keep sending waste unnecessarily to landfill when it can be properly recycled or repurposed.
“Organic waste is really valuable and can be turned into great compost for use on parks and gardens, instead of rotting in landfill and emitting greenhouse gases. Likewise, household recycling can be turned into other products, extending the life of plastic bottles and containers, paper, aluminium cans and foil, aerosol cans and more.
“At the moment we expect organic waste is ending up in general waste bins because these bins are collected weekly and people are concerned about the smell.
“By making the switch, then this should be less of a problem for households. We understand there will still be concerns about products like nappies, however a trial undertaken by Lake Macquarie City Council found odour was no more of an issue two weeks after disposal than after one week, provided soiled nappies were placed in plastic bags or wrapped in newspaper and the general waste bin was kept in the shade.
“More than 17 other Councils have already made the same bin collection switch and they have seen an increase in the amount of food and organic matter diverted from landfill. The City has recently signed an agreement to process organic waste locally and the Victorian Government has set a target for all Victorian councils that no organic waste is sent to landfill by 2030.
“Putting the right thing in the right bin or making the extra effort to dispose of waste via our Heathcote, Goornong or Strathfieldsaye transfer stations or Eaglehawk Recycle Shop, has never been more important.
“I believe the City is very innovative when it comes to waste management and responsive to changes in the market to make it as easy as possible for residents to dispose of their waste correctly, and is very committed to waste education in the community.
“This decision is another step on our waste journey and while it is a significant change, I am confident with time we will be able to adapt and see an increase in diverting organic and recyclable material out of landfill.”
The City has recently introduced soft plastic collection points at the Eaglehawk Recycle Shop and all transfer stations, is trialling the disposal of old sports equipment at Strathfieldsaye Transfer Station, and coming soon transfer stations will have a textiles collection point (more details to come).
To find out more about how to dispose of your waste properly, download the A-Z waste guide and follow the list below:
- Farm chemical containers (Drum Muster initiative – bookings essential)
- Eaglehawk Recycle Shop
- Goornong Transfer Station
- Heathcote Transfer Station
- Household paint (Paint Back initiative)
- Eaglehawk Recycle Shop
- Heathcote Transfer Station
- Strathfieldsaye Transfer Station
- E-waste (anything with a plug, battery or power cord)
- Eaglehawk Recycle Shop
- Goornong Transfer Station
- Heathcote Transfer Station
- Strathfieldsaye Transfer Station
- Hard waste (whitegoods, furniture, metals, wood, car parts, tools)
- Eaglehawk Recycle Shop
- Goornong Transfer Station
- Heathcote Transfer Station
- Strathfieldsaye Transfer Station
- A range of private contractors may be able to assist
- Sport equipment (excluding clothing, shoes)
- Strathfieldsaye Transfer station
- Food and organics waste
- Green organics bin at home
- Domestic garden waste (free disposal)
- Eaglehawk Landfill
- Heathcote Transfer Station
- Recycling (hard plastic tubs, plastic beauty bottles, plastic cleaning bottles (incl. spray bottles), cardboard/paper/magazines, aluminium, glass jars, bottles, lids, tin cans, aerosol cans).
- Yellow/blue lidded recycle bin at home
- Soft plastics (chip/biscuit packets, cling film, frozen food pages, packaging e.g. toilet paper, dry pet food bags, green bags etc.)
- Eaglehawk Recycle Shop
- Goornong Transfer Station
- Heathcote Transfer Station
- Strathfieldsaye Transfer Station
- COMING SOON - Textiles
- All clothing, including shoes, sheets, towels, soft furnishing e.g. cushions and pillows, rugs (not carpet), wetsuits
- Not accepted – backpacks, swimwear, underwear, waterproof mattress protectors, curtains with hooks and eyelets, carpet, reusable shopping bags – polypropylene and plastic ‘canvas’ bags, these are soft plastics