THE City of Greater Bendigo is extending organic waste collection to all rural households.<\/p>\n
Mayor Cr Andrea Metcalf said about 5500 homes would gain an extra bin in November.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe City\u2019s organic waste service has been successfully operating in urban areas of Greater Bendigo since September 2016,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn more recent years the service has been further extended to the townships of Heathcote, Elmore, Goornong and Axedale and it is now time to provide an organics collection service for all remaining rural households in Greater Bendigo.<\/p>\n
Cr Metcalf said there would be no costs to householders before the beginning of next July.<\/p>\n
\u201cCharges for the service will only commence in the 2024\/25 financial year,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce the rural residents have utilised the organics service for six months, they will be able to apply for an exemption in May 2024 if they can demonstrate the ability to manage their organic waste.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe City will deliver a new organics kerbside bin, a kitchen caddy and a roll of compostable caddy liners along with a range of information to all rural households.<\/p>\n
\u201cInitially the new organic rural collections will be fortnightly on the opposite week to their recycling collection.\u201d<\/p>\n
From February this will change to weekly, with general waste bins emptied fortnightly.<\/p>\n
Cr Metcalf said these changes were the result of a 2022 review which found that 46 per cent of rubbish going to landfill should have been in either the recycling or the organics bin, of this 28 per cent was organic food and garden waste.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy making the switch to when general waste and organics bins are collected, the City\u2019s aim is to reduce the amount of general waste being collected and stop about 7000 tonnes of organic material and 4500 tonnes of recyclable material per year from going to landfill,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
These changes are in line with State Government\u2019s kerbside reforms and are part of the Recycling Victoria: A new economy plan, which seeks to reduce waste and create reliable recycling systems.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
THE City of Greater Bendigo is extending organic waste collection to all rural households. Mayor Cr Andrea Metcalf said about 5500 homes would gain an extra bin in November. \u201cThe City\u2019s organic waste service has been successfully operating in urban areas of Greater Bendigo since September 2016,\u201d she said. \u201cIn more recent years the service […]<\/p>\n