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[1]," 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[2].
"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."
To understand more about this decision, visit www.bendigo.vic.gov.au/binchanges
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).
