Onka to consider fortnightly green bin service at May meeting

Onkaparinga Council — the only metro council in SA with a monthly green bin service — will consider coming in line changing to a fortnightly pick up.

Jenny Clark of Port Noarlunga South with her green waste bin, which she would like collected twice a month. Picture: Stephen Laffer

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Onkaparinga Council will debate moving to a fortnightly green bin service at its meeting on May 21.

Onkaparinga is the only metropolitan council in SA which collects green waste monthly instead of fortnightly — but many of its ratepayers have long been pushing for collection every two weeks.

Mayor Erin Thompson said she supported a shift to emptying the bins more frequently.

The council, she said, had been able to get the price down “significantly” since the move was rejected by elected members in 2018.

Last year, the council estimated it would cost $2.7 million for a fortnightly service, assuming the council’s bulk green organics drop-off service ended.

This was seen at the time as too expensive.

“Personally, I support a more frequent green bin collection and believe that this is a service we should be delivering for our ratepayers,” Ms Thompson said.

“However, there are some other significant pressures on this budget which we ... will need to consider.”

She pointed in particular to the so-called China Sword development, under which more than a million tonnes of Australian recycling waste is no longer being accepted by China.

Onkaparinga, under existing regulations, allows each property two additional green bins at an annual cost of $30 for each.