MOORABOOL Shire councillor Steve Venditti-Taylor\u2019s war on waste \u2013 both legal and illegal \u2013 continues, as he pushes for at least a permanent hard rubbish collection in the municipality.<\/p>\n
Cr Venditti-Taylor was one of two councillors (the other Cr Sheila Freeman) who submitted notices of motion earlier this year seeking an investigation of kerbside hard rubbish collections and subsidising other waste services.<\/p>\n
Their motions followed a trial of subsidised services for one, three-cubic-metre transfer station pass, a free green waste month and a half-price mattress disposal month.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll these services plus other options will be explored and costed to inform a report to Council anticipated by the end of the year,\u201d Shire CEO Derek Madden said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe report will also consider the draft waste service standards the Victorian Government is mandating across Victoria.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe residents in Bacchus Marsh are really crying out for a hard rubbish pick-up,\u201d Cr Venditti-Taylor said.<\/p>\n
He said a lot of elderly people or those with disabilities often could not make it to a tip even if they had a voucher.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the end of the day they have to pay someone to get rid of the rubbish, so people want the kerbside pickups \u2013 that\u2019s the feedback I\u2019ve got,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAny services that we offer are going to be subsidised anyway, so if the general public wants them, that\u2019s what we\u2019re there for.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can\u2019t have nothing; at the moment we\u2019re running the illegal dumping campaign\u2026which is doing a fantastic job.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cr Venditti-Taylor pointed to a post on the Shire\u2019s Facebook page earlier this week, which called on builders to secure their materials on-site so that rubbish from construction projects does not escape.<\/p>\n
He is a strong voice on illegal dumping and makes regular posts on his personal Facebook page, describing the problem as \u201ca massive priority\u201d as a new councillor.<\/p>\n
The Shire was recently in a dispute with the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) over more than 1200 empty acetylene cylinders left on two truck trailers on public land at Merrimu, just east of Bacchus Marsh.<\/p>\n
It objected to having to pay $500,000 to have the cylinders removed after an EPA clean-up order, and as recently as last week called on the authority to act on what it claims is industrial waste that remains inside the property boundary.<\/p>\n
But the Shire believes its calls are being ignored.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MOORABOOL Shire councillor Steve Venditti-Taylor\u2019s war on waste \u2013 both legal and illegal \u2013 continues, as he pushes for at least a permanent hard rubbish collection in the municipality. Cr Venditti-Taylor was one of two councillors (the other Cr Sheila Freeman) who submitted notices of motion earlier this year seeking an investigation of kerbside hard […]<\/p>\n