New user pays system for green waste drop-offs

Published on 07 June 2021

From 1 July this year Mildura Rural City Council’s landfills and transfer stations will move to a user pays service for dropping off green waste, in line with the majority of Councils across Victoria.

The move is part of Council’s food and garden organics service, which provides residents with 240 litre bins to dispose of garden waste weekly through kerbside collection, dramatically reducing the need to drop off garden waste at landfills or transfer stations.

This is evidenced by the fact there has been a 30% reduction – or 4,169 tonnes – in green waste dropped off at Mildura landfill since the introduction of the food and garden organics service.

Fees collected through green waste disposal at landfills and transfer stations will cover the cost of processing this waste.

Councillor for Environment and Sustainability Jodi Reynolds said in deciding on the move to a user pays system, and the fees that would be charged for dropping off green waste, Council undertook an exhaustive benchmarking exercise of other Victorian Councils.

This research revealed all metropolitan Councils and 64 of 67 regional Councils employed a user pays system for dropping off green waste at landfills or transfer stations.

It also revealed Council’s proposed charge for the most common quantity of garden waste dropped off at landfills – 6 x 4 trailers (0.5m³) -  was on average less than 20% of metropolitan Councils’ charges and less than half of the average charged by the 64 regional Councils.

The new charges are:

• Water level single axle trailer or ute (.05m³) $8
• Heaped single axle trailer or water level tandem trailer (1.0m³) $18.70
• Caged single axle trailer or heaped tandem trailer (1.5m³ ) $27.50
• Caged tandem axle trailer (2.0m³) $36.30
• Per tonne of green waste $149.50

Cr Reynolds said reducing the amount of green waste passing through the landfill would provide important environmental and social advantages.

“Up until now green waste dropped off at the landfill has been mulched, which is a poorer grade of end product compared to the composting method used to process waste from our kerbside green waste service,” she said.

“And by removing the need to mulch at the landfill it will significantly reduce dust on-site, which during windy days in particular, will reduce any impacts on neighbouring addresses."

Residents are reminded that despite the introduction of the user pays system, the same guidelines apply in terms of items that can and can't dropped off at landfills and transfer stations for green waste disposal.

The following items are acceptable:

• Grass clippings
• Prunings
• Domestic quantities of pallets
• Raw timber/wood (untreated, unpainted, no nails or staples)

Items that can't be dropped off include:

• Food
• Coals/ash
• Treated pine
• Green waste bags
• Cardboard
• Rubbish

Noxious weeds, palm trees and seeds are accepted at Mildura landfill but not at rural transfer stations.

For more information contact Waste Management Services team on 03 5018 8100.

ENDS