Forced green waste bin costs will come from tip rehab fund

MOORABOOL residents will be slugged with the cost of the state government-mandated rollout of green waste collection services.

They will have to pay the estimated cost of $428,000 for bins and kitchen caddies as the shire recoups an inital outlay of that amount over three years through green waste service charges.

Councillors voted at an unscheduled meeting last week to draw the upfront cost from the shire’s Landfill Rehabilitation Reserve, with the recouped money to be paid back into the same fund.

The state government requires all 79 Victorian councils to introduce a four-bin system (including food and organics, or FOGO) by 2030.

The system includes red lid (general waste), yellow lid (recycling), purple lid (glass), and green lid (FOGO) bins.

According to an officer’s report tabled at the meeting, the cost of a 240-litre green waste bin will be $55 and kitchen caddies will be $10 each.

Cr Rod Ward moved the recommendation on the basis that a green waste service was mandated.

Cr Tom Sullivan objected to the money for the purchase being taken from the rehabilitation levy, but shire chief executive Derek Madden assured councillors that recouped cash would be paid back into the same fund.

Councillors Ally Munari and Paul Tatchell also spoke against the move, with Cr Munari saying she had noticed “an outpouring of anger over this” on social media.

She said many people were already very organised for dealing with their green waste by composting, and they were the residents she had to answer to.

“The purple glass bin being forced upon us a few years ago really didn’t sit well with a lot of us and here we are again,” she said.

Cr Tatchell’s opposition stemmed from what he described as an urban lens being applied to the entire shire.

“…[T]hat Ballan is now considered urban goes against what the town is all about,” he said.

“There’d be people out there that even if they’re not taking the collection they’d be paying for the bin.

“The government thinks it knows what’s best for everybody; people are getting sick of it.”

When Cr Ward closed debate, he said he did not disagree with Cr Tatchell’s point but the state government had shifted about $2 billion of costs to local government over the past decade.

“This is a responsible way of funding it without putting the cost (directly) back on ratepayers,” he said.

Councillors voting for the recommendation were Moira Berry, Sheila Freeman, mayor Steve Venditti-Taylor, John Keogh and Ward.

Against the recommendation were councillors Sullivan, Tatchell, Munari and Jarrod Bingham.