Meander Valley Council has announced several changes to waste services in the hope of securing a more sustainable future for the municipality.
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Mayor Wayne Johnston said the council was making the announcements before finalising Meander Valley's new Waste Management Strategy to give residents time to prepare for significant changes.
"Over the coming months, we will be expanding our collection of food organics and garden organics [FOGO] and waste and recycling collection services in a staged approach where it is cost-effective to do so," he said.
"It's an exciting step towards our long-term sustainability and we will be working hard to support our residents throughout this transition."
Despite direct costs such as purchasing additional waste bins, the council said that the savings gained from diverting organic wastes away from landfills should offset this investment.
But due to the large amount of food and organic material that ends up in general waste, the council also said that general waste collection will be moved to fortnightly collection.
Mr Johnston said the council's waste management overhaul mirrored the direction of a number of local councils who were faced with the rising financial and environmental costs of landfill.
"The new services will bring big benefits, but they do rely on everyone establishing good waste habits," he said.
The changes will affect 3456 households across Prospect Vale, Hadspen and Travellers Rest will join the collection service.
"Council is making a substantial investment in waste management to provide more sustainable and cost-effective services longer term," he said.
"Importantly, we are taking this step ahead of the introduction of the state government's waste levy, so we can minimise the costs to our ratepayers."
From July 1, the state government will be charging a levy on the amount of waste going to landfill, commencing at $20 per tonne.
The levy is set to increase to $40 per tonne by 2024 and then $60 per tonne by 2027.
Mr Johnston said about 50 per cent of Meander Valley's kerbside waste by weight is made up of food and organic waste with a further 15 per cent made up of misplaced recyclable material.
The breakdown of this organic material produces large amounts of greenhouse gases, something the council is taking steps to reduce in line with state and federal governmental climate target goals.
Mr Johnston said by improving how those products were diverted, the council could reduce the impact of the waste levy for ratepayers and improve sustainability simultaneously.
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