• Why are these changes occurring?

• In early 2020, the Victorian Government launched its new waste policy, Recycling Victoria: a new economy.

  As part of the 10-year action plan for this policy, all local councils are expected to transition to a four stream service which includes; recycling, food and garden organics (FOGO), glass recycling and rubbish (landfill).

  This service will help to reduce waste to landfill, improve the quality of recyclables and have a system that we can rely on.

• When will the changes take effect?

• Yarra Ranges has waste service contracts that expire in late 2023, so the changes won’t start until late 2023 at the earliest.

  We will start with the roll out of the Food Organics and Garden Organics bin first, then after the Container Deposit Scheme is finalised we will roll out the glass service.

• What will change within the current kerbside bin service?

• The new four stream waste services will alter what goes in each bin and may alter how often we collect each bin, the size of bins, different waste drop-off options and cost of the waste services.

  The green waste bin will include food organics, and glass will eventually be transitioned out of the current recycling bin.

• What if I don’t have enough space for additional bins within my property or on the street for collection night?

• We are aware that not all households have enough space for a fourth bin, especially in our more urban areas.

  As part of this consultation, we are seeking feedback on other options for our new waste services, specifically for the glass service and whether this will be an individual bin for each household or a bin located at a drop off centre, such as a local supermarket or waste transfer station.

Hard Waste

• How will my hard waste service change?

• We are asking our community how they would like their hard waste service to occur in the future. A lot of residents are happy with the current annual service that occurs between January and March each year; however, some residents would prefer an on call service.

  A blanket service each year results in a lot of litter across our streets as more people are likely to put out hard rubbish as they see their neighbours put it out. An on call service generally reduces the amount of litter that occurs on our streets as less people are putting out hard rubbish at once.

  An on call service would mean that you can book in for a hard waste collection to occur on a week convenient to you. This will incur an increased cost between $70 and $100. The on call service also creates more flexibility for residents so that they can book the service when its needed, such as moving house, instead of waiting until the scheduled time.
• But a municipal-wide hard waste service allows more reuse and repurposing of items through scavenging...

• We know some people in our community like being able to reuse and repurpose items by putting them out on the kerbside during hard waste collections (or any time of year) in the hope that someone else will take them.

  Reusing items is a much better outcome than sending them to landfill, or even being recycled.

  Currently only 25% of hard waste items collected are recycled, the rest is sent to landfill.

  Unfortunately, scavenging can result in many items that could have been reused getting damaged or not being picked up and going to landfill.

  It can also create additional mess on the streets as people rummage through the items. Items collected through our hard waste service are either recycled (e.g. metals, e-waste) or they go to landfill.

  The hard waste service does not collect items for reuse.

  Our preferred method for reuse is for items in good condition to be donated to charity or given away via one of the many online options available.

  This ensures that items are not damaged and can be reused by others.

General garbage collection

• Why does my garbage bin lid have to change colour?

• As part of the Victorian Governments new state-wide policy all bin lids will transition to be the same colour state-wide from 2021 to 2030.

  This will make it easier for Victorians to get their waste right when moving between different municipalities and clear up confusion on what goes in each bin.

• What if I need a smaller or larger garbage bin?

• Residents will continue to be able to choose from a select number of bin sizes to find the right size that suits them.

  For some residents this will mean asking for a smaller bin, for others it will mean asking for a larger bin. Additional fees may apply for larger bins.

• My garbage bin will smell worse if we changed to a fortnightly bin collection.

• Unfortunately, most bins smell, but experience elsewhere shows that there is no difference in the smell of garbage bins after a fortnight when garbage, including nappies and other sanitary waste, was bagged or wrapped in plastic.

  That is, the odour of the garbage bin after two weeks was rated the same by residents as after one week.

  Other councils that have implemented weekly Food Organics and Garden Organics and fortnightly garbage have not reported an ongoing issue with disposable nappies (Lake Macquarie Community Nappy Trial).

• Will this change how I dispose of my nappies?

• In Yarra Ranges, disposable nappies must be put in the garbage bin, even if they are labelled compostable or biodegradable. Nappies should always be firmly wrapped before being placed in the garbage bin.

  We are also asking our community if they would be interested in a nappy rebate scheme to promote the use of reusable nappies. This would further divert waste from landfill and reduce the amount of waste in your garbage bin.

  Regardless of the final service option chosen, residents will continue to be able to choose from a select number of bin sizes to find the right size that suits their needs. For some residents, like those with lots of nappies, this will mean asking for a larger bin. Additional fees may apply for larger bins.

Recycling

• Why does glass need to be separated from our recycling bin?

• Separating glass from other recycling improves the quality of our recycling because pieces of broken glass can imbed themselves into other materials, such as paper, cardboard and plastics reducing their ability to be recycled into high value products.

  By collecting glass separately, we can make sure more of it is effectively recycled – with jars and bottles turned into multiple products, such as new jars and bottles, as well as used in road and footpath construction.

• Why are soft plastics not included in council’s current recycling service?

• Soft plastics are things such as single-use shopping bags, bread bags, pasta and rice bags and plastic wrap. If it can be scrunched into a ball, it is a soft plastic.

  Our recycling processor, Visy, do not accept soft plastics through the kerbside collection for recycling as the plastics clog up the sorting machinery.

  REDcycle has paused its soft plastics collection program. We will update you when there is a new soft plastics recycling scheme. In the meantime please dispose of your soft plastics in your household rubbish bin
  

Composting & Organics

• I already compost at home. Why do I need to put food organics in my green waste bin?

• Great work, you’re already diverting food waste from landfill saving methane emissions.

  We are introducing food organics into the green waste bin as not everyone has the capacity to compost at home, and not all food waste can be composted.

  Introducing food organics within the green waste bin will allow items such as meat, fish & dairy to be diverted from landfill that commonly can’t be composted.

Waste Charges

• Will residents pay more when our services change?

• The waste charge, paid by ratepayers, is reviewed every year and recovers the cost of the annual waste services. The option eventually chosen for our waste services will have a direct impact on the waste charge paid by ratepayers.

  The landfill levy, which is set by the State Government and charges per tonne of waste sent to landfill, is set to increase from July 2021, regardless of any changes to our waste service. ]

  This means the more we can divert from landfill the lower the cost impact will be. It costs more to send food waste to landfill than it does to turn it into compost.

  The more food waste our community puts in food and garden organics (FOGO) bins instead of garbage bins, the less our residents will pay.

  With the introduction the State Government’s Recycling Victoria policy, there is also likely to be an increase in the waste charge to cover the costs of the new glass recycling collection.

  The extent of the increase will depend on a range of factors including frequency of bin collection, the volumes of waste generated by the community, State Government funding, future ‘gate fees’ for each stream and community feedback from this consultation.

  For more information on the waste charge please refer to our Waste Charge page.