CITY RUMMAGES IN YOUR BINS

THE City of Greater Geelong is planning to rummage through your rubbish to get a better idea of the region’s waste habits.

During June and July the rubbish from 225 randomly selected households will be taken to a secure location, their contents meticulously sorted and categorised as part of the planned audit.

The council has emphasised that to protect the privacy of residents, no identifiable details or personal information will be recorded as part of the audit. Those who are worried their recycling habits may not be up to scratch can be assured that the contents of their bin will not lead to any penalties or investigations.

Ratepayers Geelong Incorporated president Andrew Senia said he supported the audit as an investigation into smart waste management strategies, but said it was important to protect privacy.

“You have to be very clever with the whole issue of rubbish and you have to think globally in the sense that there are more answers than just one to combat the problem,” he said.

“The council would have to ensure privacy and confidentiality is protected, but what they are doing is probably a good thing.”

City of Greater Geelong director of city services Guy Wilson-Browne said the program would follow strict Sustainability Victoria guidelines, protecting the community’s privacy.

“There is no way to identify any individual household or its contents through the audit process as materials from the randomly selected houses are mixed together before they are sorted by the auditor,” he said.

Environment and sustainability portfolio chair Cr Sarah Mansfield said the audit would help council form its 2018-23 Waste and Resource Strategy.

“The bin audits will help us capture an everyday picture of how residents use their household rubbish, recycling and green waste bins,” Cr Mansfield said.

“Bin audits are used by a number of councils nationwide and are one of the most effective ways of researching waste disposal habits and recycling knowledge.”

Certain regions will receive notification before the audit and given the opportunity to opt out before it goes ahead.

“Bin audits are used by a number of councils nationwide and are one of the most effective ways of researching waste disposal habits and recycling knowledge.” CR SARAH MANSFIELD “The council would have to ensure the privacy and confidentiality is protected, but what they are doing is probably a good thing.” RATEPAYERS GEELONG I NCORPORATED PRESIDENT ANDREW SENIA