Councillor says waste anomoly will be fixed

Rural residents who are not on a kerbside garbage collection route are not included in Baw Baw Shire’s new hard waste service but Cr Michael Leaney has assured it’s an anomaly that will be sorted out.

Property owners not on a kerbside collection route who previously received free hard waste disposal vouchers have not been included in the new system, but not for long.

Cr Leaney, who recognised the “anomaly” before the report was presented to council on March 8, said timeframes required council to deal with the matter when it was on the agenda.

But, he said, rural residents could “watch this space” as the matter would be addressed.

Baw Baw Shire Council’s hard waste collection service will be revamped from July 1 with the existing vouchers being discontinued and replaced with an on demand kerbside collection.

Information provided from the shire to The Gazette last week indicated rural residents who previously received hard waste vouchers (issued with their rates notice), for use at shire transfer stations, would no longer have access to the hard waste service.

The shire’s acting community assets director David Dunstan, said under the current model, all property owners were issued with two hard waste vouchers each year, regardless of whether they pay for kerbside garbage collection services .

“This is offered to all property owners as a gesture of goodwill by council,” he said.

But, Mr Dunstan said from July 1 when the new system is introduced, “property owners who are not subscribed to and pay for kerbside waste services will no longer receive an additional free of charge hard waste collection or voucher.”

Cr Leaney said when the matter was discussed at a council briefing session before the March 8 meeting, he realised the officer’s report was ambiguous in relation to rural properties.

Cr Leaney said residents who don’t receive a garbage service would not miss out on the hard waste vouchers.

“We are in the process of trying to make it work. There’s not a lot of properties affected so we just have to come up with a solution to allow that to happen.

The new service endorsed by council earlier this month means every property with a council provided kerbside garbage service will be eligible for one on-demand kerbside hard waste collection of up to two cubic metres each financial year, at no additional cost.

Hard waste vouchers issued with the previous rates notices will remain valid for use until they expire on August 31.

The new system will essentially replace the voucher system.

Mayor Joe Gauci said introduction of an on demand kerbside collection puts the power back into people’s hands and offered a flexible service that can be booked for the resident’s convenience.

“We understand that it’s not always easy to load up a car or trailer and get down to the tip so we will be reintroducing a kerbside hard waste collection that residents can book in any time throughout the year.

Cr Gauci said in some declared garbage areas, such as Walhalla and Tanjil South, where kerbside garbage services cannot be accessed, residents can opt to have the hard waste collection swapped for a waste card, similar to the voucher system.

In addition to the on demand kerbside hard waste collection, council will also retain the existing two annual booked kerbside hard waste collections in March and October at a cost of $62 or $30 for pensioners.

Council officers have begun to develop the specification to tender the new kerbside hard waste collection service.