LAUNCESTON aldermen at a meeting this Monday will discuss the merits of establishing a commercial organics processing facility and a new kerbside food and garden recycling service.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Residents that opt into the new service would need to pay a $65 registration fee for a 240-litre wheelie bin to be collected fortnightly – on the alternate week to the council’s current recycling service.
The new processing facility would be established at the Launceston Waste Centre.
A bin audit undertaken on behalf of the council in 2014 found that food organics represented 52 per cent of waste found in kerbside bins.
In a report to alderman, acting Infrastructure Director Shane Eberhardt said diversion of organics from landfill would prolong the life of a normal landfill cell by a year and save up to $245,500.
The service is expected to remove 10,647 tons of organics from the tip a year.
In a survey on consultation website Your Voice, Your Launceston, 360 respondents – or 94 per cent – said they supported the concept and would participate in the service.
The service is expected to cost the council $500,000 a year with half of that figure to go towards collection and the other half to composting costs.
The council has allocated $200,000 in this year’s budget towards new bins and associated education material.
Alderman will decide on whether the council should formally adopt the proposal at a future council meeting.
