At the Shire of Collie council meeting on June 16 there was a motion passed to approve the undertaking of a community based survey to establish if there is a need to implement an organics recycling program for Collie.
If the motion passed it would mean that residents would have a third bin for the purpose of recycling organic waste.
In the recommendation that was put forward, one of the reasons for introducing the organics recycling stated; ‘the cost of managing waste is a significant issue to the community, and therefore the options for reducing waste and recycling are focussed on the options that have the lowest cost to the community’.
In an extract from the motion presented at council it stated that there will likely be a cost to the community if the organics recycling is implemented.
‘While increasing recycling rates are likely to result in increased costs to the community, there are also regulatory and licensing requirements that the Shire of Collie must comply with that are likely to ultimately result in higher costs to Council.’
The recommendation mentioned the importance of the individual to take responsibility for the environment, and the positive long-term impacts that introducing the system could have on reducing landfill.
Council has received funding of $117,000, (effectively $30 per bin) from the Better Bins Program administered by the WA Waste Authority to offset the significant start-up costs of organic waste collection services and to support the introduction of Organics Recycling.
If introduced, the new organic bins will be pale green colour with a pale green lid, and are estimated to cost $50 per unit, which will be offset by the funding council has received.
The bins will be used for anything that has been produced from plant or foodstuffs, such as; meat, bones, fruit, vegetables, fish, eggshells, pet litter and waste, lawn clippings, leaves, weeds and flowers.
Waste and recycling services would occur on alternate weeks, so that collection consists of two bins weekly, and the organic materials that are collected will be treated and processed to form compost.
A recommendation in the report stated that if the organics waste bin system is not adopted by council there will have to be another waste reduction strategy developed and financed.
A report on the outcomes of the community survey will be presented to council on July 28.
