State waste control agency calls for fortnightly rubbish collection to cut food waste landfill levels

COUNCILS across Melbourne could switch to fortnightly rubbish collections under a radical plan floated by a state government agency. Some councils have embraced scrapping the standard weekly pick up, sparking a backlash. This is why they want to pick up bins less often.

COUNCILS across Melbourne could move to fortnightly rubbish collections under a plan to reduce food waste ending up in landfill.

A state government agency has recommended that food and garden refuse be collected in special bins weekly, and converted to compost.

But it urged that the standard weekly garbage collection become a fortnightly service, to encourage recycling.

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Some councils have already begun consulting ratepayers about the controversial move.

But Gideon Rozner, from free-market think tank the Institute of Public Affairs, said councils should keep existing services and not inconvenience families with more red tape.

“Councils’ core business is to collect rubbish, fix local roads, and keep rates low,” he said.

“Now it looks like they can’t even get rubbish collection right, thanks to the demands of noisy green bureaucrats.”

The bid to shake up waste services is in a guide for metropolitan councils issued by the Metropolitan Waste and Resource Recovery Group.

It said food scraps made up more than a third of the 878,000 tonnes of Melbourne rubbish sent to landfill last year, and strong action must be taken.

The report Introducing a Kerbside Food and Garden Organics Collection Service said: “Decomposition produces odours, leachate and greenhouse gases which can adversely affect community amenity, the environment and public health.”

Councils remove garden refuse from more than a million metropolitan households, but so far only five municipalities run a service to remove food waste: Nillumbik, Moonee Valley, Wyndham, Hume and Glen Eira.

A state government agency is pushing for fortnightly garbage collection to encourage recycling. Generic picture

It is believed that only Nillumbik, which includes Eltham and Diamond Creek, has a fortnightly general rubbish collection and a weekly organics one.

Bayside Council has told residents it will consider moving to a similar service.

Whether it does so will depend on how much food waste is recycled by households.

Glen Eira Council is also talking to residents about fortnightly rubbish collections after the success of a food scrap recycling trial this year.

“The new recycling service has led to a reduction in the amount of food waste being put in bins and ending up in landfill,’’ said Glen Eira mayor Cr Tony Athanasopoulos.

The report said the best-performing waste systems used fortnightly garbage and weekly food and garden organics collection services.

“This responds to concerns about restricted garbage bin capacity and unsorted waste rotting in (an organics) bin for two weeks,” it said.

“If weekly garbage is maintained, then financial incentives can be considered to reduce the garbage bin size and place the garbage bin out less frequently.”

Melbourne Deputy Mayor Arron Wood said the city council had no current plans to change its rubbish collection service, but “anything that encourages greater recycling uptake is worth considering”.

Melbourne Deputy Mayor Arron Wood said the city council had no current plans to change its rubbish collection service.

“Organics can make up 50 per cent and more of waste produced by Melburnians, and with our restaurants and commercial operators it can go up to 90 per cent,” he said.

Nillumbik Shire Mayor Peter Clarke said that while a fortnightly garbage collection had been running well for years, council would introduce the option of a weekly service for an annual cost of “a few hundred dollars”.

“Our research shows that only 15 per cent of the community would want a weekly collection of general rubbish.

“The only people who have a greater requirement for the weekly service are generally younger families who’ve got nappies and those sort of things,” Cr Clarke said.

The report said providing households with a “kitchen caddy” in which to collect food scraps before putting them in the organics bin had encouraged participation.

“Residents are motivated to participate in food waste recycling when they understand the benefits,” it said.

More details: mwrrg.vic.gov.au

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