Council acts over trash collections

KINGBOROUGH Council has served notice to the waste management company that had four of its rubbish trucks destroyed by fire last week that it is in breach of its contract.

As Kingborough residents continue to endure kerbside rubbish collection delays after the trucks were destroyed at Mornington last week, councillors were told yesterday Aussie Waste Management had been served with two notices by the council.

Kingborough manager of engineering services David Reeve said Aussie Waste Management was issued with a notice by the council on Thursday after the fire that it was in breach of its contract.

Mr Reeve said the council had also issued the company with a similar notice regarding the service it was providing before the fire.

“That is correct,” he said, in response to a question from Councillor Dean Winter.

In October, Kingston and Blackmans Bay residents did not have their waste collected after multiple Aussie Waste Management collection vehicles, including a standby vehicle, broke down.

Kingborough council will not extend the contract with the company, which ends in October and has an option for a two-year extension.

Cr Winter said he had no confidence Aussie Waste Management could complete its contract with the council and had been told another truck had broken down a day after the fire at Mornington last week and was unable to collect rubbish in Taroona.

“This is a fundamental, basic level of service that council is currently unable to properly deliver,” he said.

Aussie Waste Management could not be contacted last night.

Police said yesterday investigations were continuing into the fire. The early morning blaze at the Aussie Waste Management depot took two fire crews several hours to bring under control. Four trucks were destroyed, leaving a bill of more than $500,000.

Aussie Waste Management collects rubbish from about 12,000 properties in the Kingborough municipality.

At least 3000 residences were left without rubbish collection on the day of the fire.

A Kingborough Council spokeswoman said disruptions to collections were continuing, but most of last week’s collections — apart from a few streets in the Margate area — were completed yesterday.

Residents should put bins out when scheduled and leave them out until collected, the spokeswoman said.

Collections scheduled today at Huntingfield, Blackmans Bay and Howden will begin once yesterday’s collections have been completed.

The collections may extend into tomorrow.

Recycling collection for those areas is on track to start and finish today.