Residents and ratepayers rubbish Adelaide Hills Council’s move to flips bin collection service

An Adelaide council has flipped its bin collection service – but the move has been rubbished by local residents and ratepayers.

An Adelaide council has flipped its bin collection service, opting to pick up organic waste more regularly but decrease its general waste collection service.

After October 24, residents in large parts of the Adelaide Hills Council area will have their green bins for organic waste picked up weekly but their blue bins for general waste be reduced to a fortnightly pick up – unless they opt out of the move.

It comes as the state government revealed laws requiring councils to provide weekly kerbside collection for general waste in metropolitan Adelaide would be reviewed as part of a broader exploration of the “circular economy”.

The aim of the bin collection change is to reduce the amount of rubbish that goes to landfill, particularly organic waste.

A recent bin audit included 227 bins from within Adelaide Hills Council area, revealing an average of 56.3 per cent of resources were diverted from landfill by placing them in either the recycling or green organics bins.

From October 24, residents in part of the Adelaide Hills Council area will have their green bins picked up weekly, but their blue general waste bins reduced to a fortnightly collection.

The Hills trial will be active for 12 months and take place for over 600 households and a small number of businesses in parts of Woodside and Lenswood.

Rural properties in the trial area will also get a green waste bin for the first time.

However, South Australian Federation of Residents and Ratepayers Associations president Kevin Kaeding said councils should not be decreasing services.

“Councils want to save costs, but what are they giving back?” he said.

“You pay high rates and you’re getting less service – if you’re going to cut services, cut rates.”

Mr Kaeding said he supported the increase of green waste pick up but it shouldn’t come at the expense of existing services.

Adelaide Hills Mayor Jan-Claire Wisdom said the council’s move would improve service with additional green bin collections.

“This provides the opportunity to redirect more food and green organics away from the blue to the green bin and so decrease the amount that goes to landfill,” she said.

“This in turn means that less unfriendly gas emissions such as methane from landfill sites and therefore a more sustainable environmental process dealing with waste disposal.”

Adelaide Hills Council Mayor Jan-Claire Wisdom said the change involved improved service options with the additional green bin collections.

Adelaide Hills Council elected member Leith Mudge said he believed the council had made a positive decision born from the wish of residents.

Adelaide Hills Council elected member Leith Mudge said he believed the council had made a positive decision born from the wish of residents.

“From my perspective, it’s something residents have been pushing for so it is actually something residents have brought up a number of times,” he said.

“Some think weekly blue bin collection is overkill,” he said.

“In my household, that is the situation – we mainly put the blue bin out fortnightly because we recycle heaps … we don’t have the volume of waste to put in the blue bin.”

In 2022, Holdfast Bay Council became the first council in the state to opt for weekly green bin collection and fortnightly general waste collection.

Residents can “opt out” and return to weekly general waste collection.

A state government spokesperson said those legislative requirements would be reviewed next year. “The EPA is in the process of reviewing the Environment Protection (Waste to Resources) Policy 2010 to support a more circular economy,” the spokesperson said.

“A discussion paper will be released early in 2024 for consultation … consideration of the requirements on councils to provide weekly kerbside collection service for general waste in metropolitan Adelaide council areas is expected to be included.”

Originally published as Residents and ratepayers rubbish Adelaide Hills Council’s move to flips bin collection service