Shire’s recycling rates in line with expectations

THE four-bin service now in place in the Surf Coast Shire has cut the level of waste heading to landfill by a third as expected, according to the latest data, but this figure could rise even higher.

The shire has rolled out several changes to encourage homes and businesses to recycle more, including introducing a fourth, purple bin for glass.

“The introduction of our new four-bin kerbside service has significantly reduced the amount of waste being sent to landfill,” the shire’s acting general manager of governance and Infrastructure John Bertoldi said.

“In February this year, 33 per cent less waste was sent to landfill compared to February of last year, but there’s potential for this to increase to more than 50 per cent.

“This figure is in line with what we were expecting at this point – with February being the first month of the new system – but based on audits conducted prior to the commencement, and anecdotal reports, much more can still be diverted from landfill.

“Follow-up audits are currently being undertaken, so this will give us a more up-to-date snapshot of how the system is performing.”

He said the four-bin system – green for food organics and garden organics (FOGO), purple for glass, yellow for all other recyclables, and red for general household waste – was the standard kerbside waste service across the shire.

“The only residents that don’t have this are some rural properties, as the kerbside waste service is optional in those areas,” Mr Bertoli said.

“All residents have access to free glass drop-off skips located at all of our Anglesea, Lorne and Winchelsea transfer stations.

“We are also working on having these sites set up to accept food organics and garden organics.”

The glass collected by the shire is being crushed into a sand replacement product, to be used across the shire.

“While the material won’t be suitable for all applications, it will be used wherever possible,” Mr Bertoldi said. “We are also encouraging the glass processor to develop other markets around the region so there is less dependency on council to use this material.

“This will create a more robust market for recycled glass into the future.”

He said the shire had also run meetings about the changes to the bin collection service, including recently at the Anglesea Farmers Market, the Deans Marsh Market, and a pop-up session in Lorne over the school holidays.

If any schools or groups would like the shire to arrange an information session for them – either online or in person – phone 5261 0600 or lodge a request online.