City of Monash Draft Waste and Resource Recovery Strategy · Figure 4-2 Predicted cost for Waste...
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City of Monash Draft Waste and Resource Recovery Strategy May 2017
Transcript of City of Monash Draft Waste and Resource Recovery Strategy · Figure 4-2 Predicted cost for Waste...
City of Monash Draft Waste and Resource Recovery Strategy
May 2017
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Contents
1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 9
1.1 Council’s policy documents ............................................................................................. 11
1.2 Council’s Waste Management Strategy Goals ............................................................... 16
1.3 Profile of Municipality ...................................................................................................... 18
2 Legislative and Strategic Context .............................................................................................. 21
2.1 State Government Policy Directions ............................................................................... 21
2.2 Legislation ........................................................................................................................ 26
3 Sources of Council’s Waste ....................................................................................................... 28
3.1 Household Waste Services .............................................................................................. 29
3.1.1 Contracts 29
3.1.2 Kerbside Residual Waste Services 30
3.1.3 Kerbside Recycling Collection Service 31
3.1.4 Kerbside Green Waste Collection Service 32
3.1.5 Annual Hard Waste 34
3.1.6 Waste Stream Evaluation 37
3.2 Commercial Waste Services ............................................................................................ 38
3.3 Waste Transfer Station .................................................................................................... 40
4 Future Trends ............................................................................................................................. 42
4.1 Waste Trends ................................................................................................................... 42
5 Challenges .................................................................................................................................. 44
5.1 Increase in Residential Densification .............................................................................. 44
5.2 Expectation of Increasing Diversion from Landfill ......................................................... 44
5.3 Substances with Specific Disposal Requirements .......................................................... 45
5.4 Working with CALD Communities ................................................................................... 45
5.5 Multi-Unit Developments (MUDs) .................................................................................. 46
5.6 Recent Introduction of Rate Capping ............................................................................. 47
5.7 Hard Waste Collection ..................................................................................................... 47
5.8 Landfill Closures in South-East Melbourne .................................................................... 48
5.9 Disposal Challenges ......................................................................................................... 48
5.10 Food Organics Disposal .................................................................................................... 50
5.11 Equalisation of Bin Services ............................................................................................. 50
5.12 Litter .................................................................................................................................. 51
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5.13 Bin Contamination ............................................................................................................ 51
6 Opportunities for Improvement ............................................................................................... 53
6.1 Organics Processing ......................................................................................................... 53
6.2 Municipal Waste .............................................................................................................. 53
6.3 Comingled Recycling ........................................................................................................ 54
6.4 Hard Waste Collection ..................................................................................................... 55
6.5 Dumped Rubbish ............................................................................................................. 56
6.6 Waste Charge ................................................................................................................... 57
7 Feedback from the community ................................................................................................. 58
8 Summary of Outcomes .............................................................................................................. 59
9 Action Plan ................................................................................................................................. 61
10 References .................................................................................................................................. 68
Appendix A Council Plan .................................................................................................................. 71
Appendix B Community Engagement Program .............................................................................. 79
B.1 Media Release .................................................................................................................. 79
B.2 Survey ................................................................................................................................ 80
B.2.1 Hard rubbish 80
B.2.2 Food scraps / FOGO 81
B.2.3 Recycling 83
B.2.4 Waste management in public spaces 84
B.2.5 Waste charges & rates notices 85
B3 Workshops ........................................................................................................................ 86
B.3.1 Public Workshops 86
B.3.2 Council Workshop 87
B.4 Other feedback ................................................................................................................ 88
B.4.1 Telephone feedback 88
B.4.2 Listening Posts 88
B.4.3 Council Plan Consultation 88
B.4.3 Other 89
B.5 Consultation outcomes - Main themes .......................................................................... 89
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List of Figures
Figure 1-1 Extent of Municipality Figure 1-2 Waste Hierarchy Figure 1-3 Population growth in Monash 2005-2016 Figure 1-4 Monash population projections Figure 1-5 Languages spoken at home Figure 1-6 Housing Structure of Monash Residents Figure 1-71 Changes in housing composition Figure 3-1 Actual Numbers of Bins in Operation Figure 3-2 Number of Times Residential Bins Were Emptied Household Waste Services Figure 3-3 Domestic Residual Tonnages Figure 3-4 Domestic Residual Service Costs Figure 3-5 Domestic Recycling Tonnages Figure 3-6 Net Domestic Recycling Cost Figure 3-7 Domestic Green Waste Tonnages Figure 3-8 Domestic green waste costs Figure 3-9 Hard Waste Tonnages Figure 3-10 Average weight of hard waste per tenement Figure 3-11 Cost of Annual Hard Waste Service Figure 3-122 Percentage of Recycled Hard Waste Figure 3-13 Domestic Waste Tonnages 2015/16 Figure 3-14 Commercial Residual Waste Costs Figure 3-15 2015/16 Transfer Station Waste Composition Figure 3-16 Waste Transfer Station Tonnages Figure 4-1 Projected Waste Tonnages Figure 4-2 Predicted cost for Waste Disposal and Collection Figure B-1 Media Release Figure B-2 Hard rubbish survey responses Figure B-3 Food scraps survey responses Figure B-4 FOGO support responses Figure B-5 Waste Transfer Station - knowledge survey responses Figure B-6 Waste Transfer Station survey – increasing recycling responses Figure B-7 Illegally dumped rubbish survey question and responses Figure B-8 Waste Charge survey question and responses Figure B-9 Age Group Representation at workshops
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List of Tables
Table 1-1 Other Monash Council Documents Table 1-2 Key elements Table 2-1 Legislation Table 3-1 Waste Service Contracts Table 3-2 Hard Waste Disposal Table 5-1 Landfill Levies Table 6-1 Optional Changes to Residential Bins Table 6-2 Hard Waste Services in Metropolitan Melbourne Table 9-1 Key performance indicators Table 9-2 Action Plan Table A-1 Council Objectives
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Glossary
TERM DEFINITION
CALD Culturally and Linguistically Diverse
C & D Construction and Demolition
C & I Commercial and Industrial
CBD Central Business District
CPI Consumer Price Index
CRL Clayton Regional Landfill
EPA Environment Protection Authority
ESC Essential Services Commission
FOGO Food Organics Green Organics
IAP2 International Association for Public Participation
LGPRF Local Government Performance Reporting Framework
LPO Litter Prevention Officer
MIP Metropolitan Implementation Plan
MRF Materials Recovery Facility
MSW Municipal Solid Waste
MUD Multi-Unit Developments
MWRRG Metropolitan Waste Resource Recovery Group
NEPC National Environment Protection Council
RRC/TS Resource Recovery Centre / Transfer Station
SWRRIP State-wide Waste and Resource Recovery Infrastructure Plan
TAFE Technical and Further Education
VGC Victoria Grants Commission
WMS Waste Management Strategy
WPI Wage Price Index
WRR Waste Resource Recovery
Executive Summary
The City of Monash is situated in the metropolitan region of Melbourne and is home to a diverse mix of people, cultures and backgrounds. Along with most municipalities in Victoria, the City of Monash is facing a range of waste management challenges. These challenges are driven by several factors:
The drive to reduce waste sent to landfill and increase resource recovery; The closure of local landfills and subsequent larger transport distances for disposal of wastes; Increasing cost of the EPA levy; Recent introduction of Rate Capping and its effect on services; Growth in the development of Multi Unit Developments;
Population increase; and
Impending implementation of a food organics recovery scheme
As a result of these changes, the City of Monash has developed this Waste Management Strategy to prepare for the future of the waste industry and deliver a sustainable and effective service to the community. Council has identified five goals that will underpin Council’s commitment to waste management and the Community. They are:
To increase waste diversion from landfill; To minimise waste generation; Leading the way; Serving our customers; and Pride in our city.
The strategic context behind the Strategy is a mix of state and federal policies, legislation and guides which sets out the pathway local government is required to follow. This pathway is a means of incentivising waste minimisation and resource recovery, and reducing our dependence on landfills.
In developing this strategy, there was significant consultation sought with the community and stakeholders to identify areas of importance, improvements and feedback and actions to include in the Strategy. Some of the key actions identified are:
Introduce a food organics recovery scheme; Consider implementing a separate Waste Charge in the future; Introduce an additional at-call hard waste collection; Support innovation and new technology in the waste industry and collection methods; and
Introduce a range of education programs to improve resource recovery and waste minimisation within the community
Glossary
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TERM DEFINITION
CALD Culturally and Linguistically Diverse
C & D Construction and Demolition
C & I Commercial and Industrial
CBD Central Business District
CPI Consumer Price Index
CRL Clayton Regional Landfill
EPA Environment Protection Authority
ESC Essential Services Commission
FOGO Food Organics Green Organics
IAP2 International Association for Public Participation
LGPRF Local Government Performance Reporting Framework
LPO Litter Prevention Officer
MIP Metropolitan Implementation Plan
MRF Materials Recovery Facility
MSW Municipal Solid Waste
MUD Multi-Unit Developments
MWRRG Metropolitan Waste Resource Recovery Group
NEPC National Environment Protection Council
RRC/TS Resource Recovery Centre / Transfer Station
SWRRIP State-wide Waste and Resource Recovery Infrastructure Plan
TAFE Technical and Further Education
VGC Victoria Grants Commission
WMS Waste Management Strategy
WPI Wage Price Index
WRR Waste Resource Recovery
1 Introduction
The City of Monash (Council) has prepared this Waste Management Strategy (WMS) to guide the way waste is managed in the municipality over the next ten years (2017-2027). Figure 1-1 shows the geographic extent of the Monash municipality which is located approximately 20km south east of the Melbourne Central Business District.
There have been several significant changes since the last strategy was prepared approximately 20 years ago:
Growth in the number of Multi Unit Developments (MUDs);
The recent introduction of Rate Capping and its effect on services;
The impending implementation of the comingled green / organics bin;
Closure of local landfills;
The increasing cost of the EPA landfill levy;
Waste collection is subcontracted out rather than being undertaken by Council’s staff; and
Separation of the waste organic stream into green, recyclable and residual wastes each requiring separate management.
The council maintains a key role in waste management for the municipality Error! Reference source not found.through the provision of the following waste collection services:
Residual waste collection on a weekly basis;
Recyclable waste collection fortnightly;
Green waste collection fortnightly;
Commercial waste collection
Annual hard rubbish collection;
Waste collection and maintenance in public areas; and
The Monash Waste Transfer Station
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Figure 1-1 Extent of Municipality
The Waste Hierarchy, developed by the EPA in Figure 1-2, shows the preferred approach to waste management and provides a tool for understanding waste and how resource loss can be minimised. The hierarchy is contained within the Environment Protection Act 1970 and is one of the guiding principles of environment protection. Council is committed to implementing this approach in their Environmental Sustainability Strategy 2016.
•Avoid generating waste in the first place is the highest priority Avoid
•Reduce the amount of materials used or consumed Reduce
•Reuse materials and products to reduce the need for new ones Reuse
•The reprocessing of materials to create new products Recycle
•Recovery of the energy within different materials Recover
•Treatment of materials, usually hazardous ones, to reduce environmental impacts Treat
•The least prefereable option, where wastes are sent to landfill or stored Dispose
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Figure 1-2 Waste Hierarchy
1.1 Council’s policy documents
The Council Plan (2013-17) presents the following Vision and Mission statements:
Council’s policy documents do not contain specific objectives relating to waste management. The following objectives are identified in the Monash Council Plan 2013- 2017 and contain aspects which are applicable to the WMS (Appendix A).
The table in Appendix A contains the strategies to achieve the outcomes as specified in the Council Plan and the waste related actions which support these strategies.
The following Council documents are relevant to the Waste Management Strategy (Table 1-1)
Table 1-1 Other Monash Council Documents
Council Document
Relevance to strategy
Council Plan 2013-2017
(being updated)
This is a four-year plan aimed at expressing the Council’s new direction with the theme of ‘Feel the Difference’ and four key directions;
Ensuring our city has inviting places and spaces;
Achieving a healthy and active Monash;
Fostering confident and connected communities; and
Taking action for our future.
There is a focus on increased community engagement and priorities in health and wellbeing in the community. The financial plan here identifies a key strategy as ‘the maintenance or enhancement of existing service levels and increased maintenance and asset management of Council facilities and infrastructure’. This applies to the waste services provided by the Council.
Monash 2021 – a thriving community
This is a long-term vision for the future of Monash over the next 10 years and sets out priorities over this time. To achieve this, succeeding Council plans must be aligned to support and reinforce
Vision: An inviting city, diverse and alive with activity, designed for a bright future
Mission: Making a difference through community commitment, expertise and leadership
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Monash 2021. There are four areas of focus:
A fair and healthy community: with goals to encourage community activity, planning for refurbishment, creation of community facilities and providing services and support to the people of Monash
A planned and connected city: involves encouraging economic development and improvements to Monash’s infrastructure
An inclusive and safe community: focuses on involving the community and supporting cultural diversity and creativity through festivals and events
A green and naturally-rich city: Directed at improving recycling and litter management and promoting sustainable actions. There are further goals to reduce resource use and greenhouse gas emissions and to educate the people of Monash about environmental issues. The goals for this focus area are:
To keep the green leafy character and value of open spaces
Environmental sustainability is part of business as usual
High quality recreational facilities for organised sport and exercise; and
Where people have a positive attitude to recycling and being water wise
Health and Wellbeing Partnership Plan 2013- 2017
(being updated)
This document identifies the importance of maximising opportunities for all members of the community and improving social engagement. In relation to the WMS, the Health and Wellbeing Partnership Program will influence the goals and overarching outcomes for the community which Council intend and play a large role in the development of the engagement program.
Monash Economic Development Strategy and Action Plan 2013-2017
As a major employment base and thriving location for businesses and jobs, Monash plays an important economic role within the region. For this action plan, the key strategic areas are stated as:
Business Support;
Economic Precincts;
Infrastructure Development and Sustainability; and
Attraction and Investment Strategies.
Part of the economic vision is to encourage businesses to become more environmentally sustainable which impacts on the waste management services and the businesses involved with it. Monash Council actions for sustainability and waste management include:
Provide businesses with assistance in creating Waste
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Management plans
Support and provide information to businesses about accessing recycling facilities
Provide educational programs on sustainability practices for businesses
Promote Fair Trade initiatives to businesses and at community events
Promote the ‘Monash Pride Crew’ and its services to businesses in and around Activity Centres
Partner with Sustainability Victoria to assist businesses to make demonstrable energy and material savings, and to support the take-up of changed practices
Partner with Yarra Valley Water and South East Water and other water companies as appropriate to assist businesses in water wastage reduction projects
Asset Management Policy
This is a guide to direct the sustainable management of the Council’s approximately $2.1 billion assets to meet current and future needs and to provide best value services. Council managed assets include the delivery of services to the community such as waste services and the contracts which maintain them.
The Asset Management Policy states an approach that balances ‘social, environmental and economic needs for the benefit of current and future generations’. This highlights the need for a more sustainable infrastructure which increases resource recovery and recycled materials.
Environmental Sustainability Strategy 2016 – 2026
This strategy is a 10-year strategy with a vision where ‘Monash is an innovative and environmentally sustainable garden city: resilient, diverse and thriving’, and the mission is ‘Making a difference through environmental sustainability commitment, expertise and leadership’. The strategy aims to help Monash achieve:
Planning and implementing a sustainable future,
Protecting and enhancing our natural environment,
Mitigating and adapting to climate change,
Reducing waste, litter resource consumption and energy use,
Integrating and saving water,
Influencing behaviour; and
Demonstrating leadership and environmental innovation.
The objectives for the Waste and Resource Management priority are:
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Best practice waste and recycling collection and litter reduction services are delivered in a strategic municipal-wide approach
A strategic approach to reducing Council’s corporate waste and environmental impacts is established which recognises the waste hierarchy, life cycle analysis and has sustainable procurement integrity
Reduced community consumption of resources and improved recycling is achieved
The Council further commits itself to reducing its own waste and increase recycling efforts to play a leadership role for the community.
Monash Engagement Framework
The process for engaging with stakeholders and the community is outlined in the Monash Engagement Framework. It is designed to enable Council to make informed decisions reflective of the community’s views and values. The framework utilises approach developed by the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) to make better decisions and build stronger community connections.
The use of an engagement activity is based on four identified triggers;
Council decisions and major developments;
Statutory consultation;
Generation of various Council plans and strategies; and
Market research
Monash Council’s engagements are guided by the principles of being inclusive, transparent, responsive and engaging with the community’s best interest at heart.
Municipal Emergency Management Plan 2013
To combat the economic, social and environmental impacts of emergencies, Monash has prepared the Municipal Emergency Management Plan (MEM). The report enables the municipality to cope with hazards such as fire and flooding. In the event of an emergency, the Waste Services Manager will work closely with the Public Health Coordinator to manage waste disposal.
The Municipal Emergency Management Planning Committee meets twice a year and the MEM is reviewed annually or after it has been utilised after an emergency
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The following waste management aspects are identified in other plans and strategies:
Assisting in the development of waste management plans for businesses;
Information support on recycling facilities;
Adoption of best practice waste and recycling collection and litter reduction services;
Development of a strategic approach to reducing Council’s corporate waste and environmental impacts;
Achieving reduced community consumption of resources and improved recycling;
Reducing Council’s own waste and increase recycling efforts to play a leadership role for the community; and
Provision of waste management services supporting Emergency Management.
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1.2 Council’s Waste Management Strategy Goals
Council’s Waste Management Strategy has identified five goals that will underpin Council’s commitment to Waste Management and the Community. They are:
Increase waste diversion from landfill;
Minimise waste generation through education;
Leading the way;
Serving our customers; and
Pride in our city
Table 1-2 shows the key elements reviewed by the Waste Management Strategy (WMS).
Table 1-2 Key elements
Scope Detail
Infrastructure Transfer Station / Resource Recovery centres; and
Pit upgrades including automated waste loading and separation;
Consolidation points.
Existing and proposed residential and Commercial collections
Recyclables;
Organics;
Hard waste & prunings;
Residual waste (for landfill);
MUDs; and
Litter & recyclable street collections.
Services Litter management;
Dumped rubbish;
Street sweeping;
Engagement and education;
Customer service; and
Internal Services-Green waste disposal, High pressure cleaning of public places, drain cleaning and graffiti.
Data Waste stream quantities;
Population;
Trends;
Areas of concern; and
Areas of savings.
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Challenges and opportunities Rate capping;
Organics;
MUDs;
Aged Residential units;
Commercial/Industrial properties (level of service);
Introduction/promotion of Waste Charges;
Maintain post closure of landfills;
Natural disasters; and
Climate change.
Waste Transfer Station services
Accepted materials;
Waste recycling arrangements.
Strategic framework Council Plan, Environmental Sustainability Strategy 2015 and other policies;
Victorian Government; and
Commonwealth Government.
Innovation opportunities New technologies such as organics processing
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1.3 Profile of Municipality
The following information is available from .id, The Population Experts 1.
Monash City Council is one of the most populous municipalities in the region and is home to 187,286 people (Figure 1-3). This is predicted to increase to 207,727 by 2036 (Figure 1-4) 2. Since 2012, the population growth rate has been 1.4%.
Figure 1-3 Population growth in Monash 2005-2016
Figure 1-4 Monash population projections
1 .id The Population Experts (http://profile.id.com.au/monash/employment-status) Accessed: 13
th December 2016
2 The following information is sourced from .id, The Population Experts
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There is pressure for residential expansion within the municipality which is driven by migrants from overseas and neighbouring Council areas, and from within Monash’s existing residents. This expansion will likely arise from redevelopment of existing residential areas through infill and medium density housing. Activity Centre growth in Monash will also provide a supply of new housing, predicted to be over 100 dwellings per year from 2026. The suburbs which are predicted to have the greatest increase in dwelling numbers are Clayton and Glen Waverley.
The Waste Management Strategy aims to plan for future population growth.
The Monash municipality is very culturally diverse with over 41 languages spoken, and 46% of the population speaking a language other than English at home (Figure 1-5). The most frequently spoken languages other than English, are Mandarin, Greek, Cantonese and Italian. The median age of residents is 38, 2 years older than that of Greater Melbourne. There is also a significantly higher proportion of residents aged older than 64 years (17.2%) compared with Greater Melbourne (13.1%).
Figure 1-5 Languages spoken at home
The Waste Management Strategy aims to ensure that information is made available in multiple languages.
The tenement profile of Monash is predominantly made up of residential buildings (90%) followed by, commercial tenements (6%) and industrial/primary production sites (4%). The occupied
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residential buildings are largely separate houses (78%)3 or semi-detached (12%) (Figure 1-6). Most these residential tenements are occupied by 2 people (32%) and single person households (20%).
Figure 1-6 Housing Structure of Monash Residents
It is also predicted that the dynamics of household types will change with a significant increase of lone person households to 2036, see Figure 1-7. These compositions of housing structures, populations and households all have an impact on the future of Monash’s waste service and reflect a family centric community with an increase of single elderly people.
Figure 1-71 Changes in housing composition
3 Profiles of Victorian Municipalities, 2011,
2 Legislative and Strategic Context
The City of Monash’s Waste Strategy also needs to align with State Government policy and strategies. Initiatives at this level also have implications for aspects of operations at the local level. This section outlines the key documents and identifies aspects that need to be considered in Monash’s Waste Management Strategy.
2.1 State Government Policy Directions
Victoria’s 30-Year Infrastructure Strategy 2016
This strategy is aimed at providing a pathway for the future of Victoria through guiding changes to manage predicted population increases and densification issues. The report identifies improvements and goals for the state’s infrastructure for the next thirty years.
Waste generation is predicted to increase due to population growth and economic activities such as construction of new buildings and infrastructure which places increasing pressure on landfills and resource recovery centres. The current generation of 12 million tonnes of waste by Victorians per year is expected to increase to 20 million tonnes by 2046. Victoria’s landfills have sufficient capacity for a further 10 years, which is driving the push to reduce waste to landfill. Currently, 66% of total waste generated is disposed of at landfills.
Applicable to the WMS is Need 15 which is to ‘Manage pressures on landfill and waste recovery facilities’. Recommendations made are:
Incentivise waste minimisation and remove barriers to increasing waste recovery rates: improve recycled materials used in construction, accelerate actions to increase recovery of organic waste and determine appropriate pricing mechanisms for waste disposal fees; and
Secure capacity for waste management: Provide greater guidance for landfills through planning provisions and minimise barriers to long term investment in waste management infrastructure.
Further considerations were also identified in the strategy:
The success of waste minimisation and recovery is highly dependent on community engagement;
Government has committed to banning E-Waste to landfill; and
Using waste to generate energy as many European countries have adopted.
Key themes include:
Increasing resource recovery;
Banning E-Waste to landfill; and
Moving from landfills to alternative waste technology (AWT).
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State-wide Waste and Resource Recovery Infrastructure Plan (SWRRIP) 2015
The SWRRIP expresses the four following goals:
Landfills will only be for receiving and treating waste streams from which all materials that can be viably recovered have been extracted;
Materials are made available to the resource recovery market through aggregation and consolidation of volumes to create viability in recovering valuable resources from waste;
Waste and resource recovery facilities including landfills are established and managed over their lifetime to provide best economic, community, environment and public health outcomes for local communities and the state and ensure their impacts are not disproportionately felt across communities; and
Targeted information provides the evidence base to inform integrated state-wide waste and resource recovery infrastructure planning and investment at the state, regional and local levels by industry, local government agencies and the broader communities.
The concept of ‘hubs and spokes’ is introduced in this document in relation to the waste management system. Hubs are a facility or group of facilities which manage waste and material streams and the spokes are the sequence of activities that move materials and waste from generators to and from hubs. Monash is part of the Metropolitan Waste and Resource Recovery Group (MWRRG) and not considered to be a location for a hub of state importance.
Planning considerations are expressed for the MWRRG:
Increasing resource recovery in Multi-Unit Developments(MUDs);
Closure of landfills in the Clayton/Kingston and Mornington Peninsula areas;
Increasing recovery from commercial & industrial (C&I) businesses; and
Increasing recovery at RRC/TCs.
Metropolitan Implementation Plan 2016
The Metropolitan Implementation Plan (the Plan) is a roadmap designed to shape the waste and resource recovery infrastructure of the greater Melbourne region for the next 30 years. The main priorities of the plan are to reduce the need for landfilling by increasing resource recovery, and by making use of alternative technologies. To achieve this, four strategic objectives and their actions are identified as:
Reduce waste sent to landfill: Establish infrastructure to recover more resources from municipal waste and create opportunities to aggregate commercial waste streams. Also, facilitate the growth of RRC/TS’s with the metro region;
Increase organic waste recovered: by building the metro organics recovery and processing network;
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Deliver community, environmental and economic benefits: Encourage best practice operations within the waste network and encourage the community and other stakeholders in decision making; and
Plan for Melbourne’s growing population: Facilitate planning for the future of the metropolitan waste system and ensure landfill contingency capacity in emergency events. Review the plan in 2019 to assess whether the new infrastructure will be delivered within the timeframe.
The Waste Management Strategy facilitates Monash’s involvement with the metropolitan organics recovery and processing network. Key initiatives under the Plan include:
Collective contracting for disposal;
Food Organics Green Organics (FOGO); and
Support for Alternative Waste Treatment (AWT).
Getting Full Value – Victorian Waste and Resource Recovery Policy 2013
An integrated policy which presents a Victorian vision and approach to resource recovery that is sustainable, productive and minimises overall costs. The vision is set for 30-years with policy priorities for the next 10-years.
Monash’s waste strategy aims to be consistent with Victorian Government’s strategic directions
Investment Facilitation Framework / Participate Sustainability
Describes the barriers to investment in Victoria’s waste and resource recovery infrastructure with a goal to facilitate or attract such investment to the industry. The Waste and Resource Recovery (WRR) industry is not as visible as other infrastructure projects which limits investment, as does the lack of awareness for investment opportunities and of the procurement, planning and approvals process. Access to data is also a limitation to investment, as available data isn’t real time and commercial contracts often do not show Commercial and Industrial (C&I) and Construction and Demolition (C&D) data. Data on waste flows and quality of feedstock also influences investment decisions and needs to be more available.
A coordinated approach to government interaction with investors is required to improve communication consistency. Getting Full Value4 promotes the use of new technology in the industry, however there is increased risk for investors in new and unproved technology. Demand for reprocessed waste needs to be generated to minimise the risk of stockpiling and reduced revenue.
4 Victorian Government 2013. Getting Full Value. DEPI ISBN 978-1-74287-799-0
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Government procurement of WRR infrastructure and planning to secure necessary land to develop this infrastructure is also a driver to increase investment.
Support for investment in waste resource recovery and AWT infrastructure is available
Collaborative Procurement Guidelines for Regional Waste and Resource Recovery Groups 2015
This framework encourages and facilitates local councils to better work together to aggregate and consolidate waste and material streams and to develop their WRR infrastructure for social, economic and environmental benefits. This collaborative procurement, where two or more councils work together, is an effective way to meet the increasing demands of the waste system, and is overseen by WRRGs. Procurement can be initiated either by local councils or by the WRRG. Collaboration should be considered for new contracts and those nearing expiry and within council documents such as the business plan.
Victorian Market Development Strategy for Recovered Resources 2016
This document identifies that the creation and expansion of sustainable WRR markets is critical for the success of the waste industry in Victoria. It also identifies where the Vic Government can stimulate production and reduce barriers to encourage market growth. This includes collaborative procurement, investment facilitation, product stewardship and specifications, and land use planning for infrastructure.
The market is driven by a ‘push and pull’ effect where the desire to reduce waste to landfill is pushing resource recovery and the pull is generated by consumer and industry demand. There is an imbalance between these forces and in the supply and demand which reduces the viability of industries. Priority materials, which are the focus of the market development, are organics, rubber (tyres), E-waste, concrete and bricks, flexible plastics and glass fines.
The Waste Management Strategy facilitates the creation or expansion of WRR markets where appropriate, especially in the organics market.
Victorian Waste Education Strategy 2016
This strategy aims to increase awareness of the impacts of waste management in a state-wide and coordinated approach. Outcomes of the strategy are to ensure well-informed industry, businesses and households and understanding of how important waste management and resource recovery is through practical action by individuals.
Council will assess opportunities in collaborative procurement to increase value for money in the waste services provided.
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The strategic directions from 2016 to 2026 are to:
Increase the Victorian community and business perception of waste management as an essential service;
Increase community awareness of waste and support and encourage waste avoidance;
Improve resource recovery and reduce contamination;
Reduce litter and illegal dumping;
Support waste and resource recovery education for schools; and
Strengthen Victoria’s waste and resource recovery education capabilities.
The guiding principles which underpin the strategy’s approach are environmental justice, formation of partnerships, transparency, to lead by example, research and innovation and to support and facilitate others. SV will coordinate the implementation of the strategy and is also responsible for monitoring and evaluating the success.
The Waste Management Strategy will place a strong focus on community education and consultation to achieve goals/outcomes.
Victorian Organics Resource Recovery Strategy 2015
The Organics Resource Recovery Strategy is a framework that aims to eliminate the risks of organics management and to ensure that organics contribute to climate change mitigation and that more organic waste is pulled from the waste stream by diversified markets and products.
A barrier which had limited the success of the organics recovery industry is a lack of a strong and sustainable market for organic materials. High contamination levels in the feedstock, large transport distances and a lack information on the benefits of recycled organic products has led to this barrier. By working with industry and end markets and providing information, the strategic outcome in 5 to 10 years should be an increase in quality and demand for organic materials and greater understanding of recycled organics and the benefits which they present.
The Council works with stakeholders to increase organics recovery within the Monash municipality.
Plan Melbourne: Metropolitan Planning Strategy 2014
A Melbourne wide strategy to better plan water, energy and waste management systems to create a sustainable city. This has a key direction to ensure infrastructure for waste management is secure and to assess opportunities for new waste facilities. This strategy also aims to tackle the logistical issues and infrastructure around MUDs and their waste needs.
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Monash’s waste strategy aims to be consistent with the State Planning Strategy.
2.2 Legislation
Table 2-1Error! Reference source not found. shows the relevant legislation for the WMS.
Table 2-1 Legislation
Legislation Description
National Legislation
Product Stewardship Act 2011 Provides the framework for managing the impacts of different materials and products throughout their lifecycle, including producing, selling, using and disposal. Product stewardship promotes actions like recycling and the design of products with less materials and resources required for manufacture. The Australian Government introduced this act in 2011 as part of their commitment under the National Waste Policy and in Victoria this has led to a number of programs such as ByteBack (computers), BatteryBack (batteries), and PaintBack (paint) for product stewardship. A review of this document is imminent.
State Legislation
Local Government Act 1989 The main legislative instrument for all Victorian Councils which guides their operation and purpose and provides the legal framework for the administration and establishment of Councils. The Act also provides a legislative framework which holds Councils accountable to their communities for functional performance and the use of power and resources.
Local Government (Financial Assistance) Act 1995
The act provides the Financial Assistance Grant Programme which allows local governments to spend the grants according to local priorities.
Environment Protection Act 1970
This is the overarching governing legislation for waste and resource recovery in Victoria. The act has a basic philosophy to prevent pollution and damage to the environment through sustainability and holistic management. The Act establishes the Waste Hierarchy. The creation of the Environment Protection Authority arose from this act, which also sets out the functions, duties and responsibilities for the authority. One such role is the regulation of waste discharge activities and recommending waste management policies.
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Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008
The purpose of this act is to promote and protect the public health and wellbeing in Victoria. Public health includes the absence of disease, injuries, disability and illness in a community.
Local Government (Planning and Reporting) Regulations 2014
These regulations are created under the Victorian Local Government Act and prescribe the content and information to be included in Council documents such as budgets, annual reports, Council Plans and the Strategic Resource Plan.
Victoria Grants Commission Act 1976
This is the state legislation that governs the operations of the Victoria Grants Commission (VGC). The primary function of the VGC is to allocate grants provided by the government to councils of Victoria.
The Waste Management Strategy aims to comply with relevant state and federal legislation and policies.
3 Sources of Council’s Waste
Monash provides residents with a standard 3 bin service consisting of a weekly residual collection, and fortnightly recycling and green waste collections. Residents also receive an annual blanket hard waste collection.
The actual number of bins distributed to the community for residual waste collection is 68,281 (Figure 3-1). This is increasing, along with recycling and organics bins.
The number of recorded ‘bin lifts’, which is the term for the number of times bins are emptied by the contractor, and calculated monthly is also rising (Figure 3-2). This is the method by which the Council is charged by the contractor.
Figure 3-1 Actual Numbers of Bins in Operation
Figure 3-2 Number of Times Residential Bins Were EmptiedHousehold Waste Services
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3.1 Household Waste Services
3.1.1 Contracts
Household waste services operate under different contracts, as shown in Table 3-1
.
Table 3-1 Waste Service Contracts
Service Contractor Contract Number
Commencement Date
Period
Domestic and Commercial Garbage
SOLO Resource Recovery
CF 2010 122A
1 April 2011 7+1+1 years.
April 2020
Assumed food waste in green waste collection for next contract
Domestic and Commercial Garbage Disposal
Wyndham Council (Wests Road Landfill) from Dec 2015
May 2015 6 years
Recycling Collection
SOLO Resource Recovery
CF 2010 122B
1 April 2011 7+1+1 years
Recycling Disposal VISY Recycling CF 2010 122D
1 April 2011 7+1+1 years
Green Waste Collection
SOLO Resource Recovery
CF 2010 122D
1 April 2011 7+1+1 years
Organics Disposal Sacyr, Veolia and Cleanaway
MWRRG Contract
1 April 2017 15 years + 5 years
Annual Hard Waste Collection
WM Waste Management
CF 2014049 (August-September)
2014/15
3+1+1 years
Annual Hard Waste Disposal
Green waste disposal through TPI - MWRRG SE Regional Contract October 2016
New disposal contract to commence with SUEZ
1 July 2017 5+1+1+1
Manufacture and Supply of Bins and Spare Parts
Trident Plastics Pty Ltd CF 2015 093 April 2015 2+1 years
Service Contractor Contract Number
Commencement Date
Period
30
Domestic and Commercial Garbage
SOLO Resource Recovery
CF 2010 122A
1 April 2011 7+1+1 years.
April 2020
Assumed food waste in green waste collection for next contract
Domestic and Commercial Garbage Disposal
Wyndham Council (Wests Road Landfill) from Dec 2015
May 2015 6 years
Recycling Collection
SOLO Resource Recovery
CF 2010 122B
1 April 2011 7+1+1 years
Recycling Disposal VISY Recycling CF 2010 122D
1 April 2011 7+1+1 years
Green Waste Collection
SOLO Resource Recovery
CF 2010 122D
1 April 2011 7+1+1 years
Organics Disposal Sacyr, Veolia and Cleanaway
MWRRG Contract
1 April 2017 15 years + 5 years
Annual Hard Waste Collection
WM Waste Management
CF 2014049 (August-September)
2014/15
3+1+1 years
Annual Hard Waste Disposal
Green waste disposal through TPI - MWRRG SE Regional Contract October 2016
New disposal contract to commence with SUEZ
1 July 2017 5+1+1+1
Manufacture and Supply of Bins and Spare Parts
Trident Plastics Pty Ltd CF 2015 093 April 2015 2+1 years
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3.1.2 Kerbside Residual Waste Services
Monash Council currently provides a 120L waste bin for residual waste. There has been a 1.8% increase from July 2012 to September 2016 (Figure 3-3).
Error! Reference source not found.Disposal cost for residual waste has dropped since November 2015 due to closure of Clayton Regional Landfill and lower rates at Wyndham Landfill. Collection costs have been increasing since 2013 and were $2,992,206 for the 2015/16 financial year (Figure 3-4).
Figure 3-3 Domestic Residual Tonnages
Figure 3-4 Domestic Residual Service Costs
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Collection costs since 2012 have increased by 3.5%, which is more than the increase in tonnage volume (1.8%) and double the population growth rate (1.4%). This is likely to reflect the greater distance to landfill.
Future considerations:
Reduce residual waste tonnages with implementation of FOGO;
Collections will become fortnightly;
More Multi Unit Developments;
Increased densification;
Increased disposal costs;
Potential introduction of weight-based billing; and
Community recognition of increasing need for waste diversion from landfill.
The Waste Management Strategy aims to maximise resource recovery to minimise the volume of domestic residual waste disposed to landfill.
3.1.3 Kerbside Recycling Collection Service
Council provides a 240L bin for kerbside recycling and a fortnightly collection service. Trends in light-weight packaging and a reduction in print media are reducing the tonnes collected (Figure 3-5). Council receives an income for recycling disposal through a contract with VISY based on tonnages collected (Figure 3-6), consequently income is decreasing. Contamination rates within recycling bins are below 4%, with the main contaminants being plastic bags (soft plastics).
Figure 3-5 Domestic Recycling Tonnages
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Figure 3-6 Net Domestic Recycling Cost
Future considerations:
Light weight packaging materials;
Reduction in print media will continue; and
Recycling revenue may decrease further if container deposit scheme is introduced.
The Waste Management Strategy aims to increase resource recovery of recyclable materials to reduce waste sent to landfill and increase service value/income.
3.1.4 Kerbside Green Waste Collection Service
Monash Council provides a 240L bin for green waste to residences and collection runs fortnightly alternating with the recycling collection. Green waste fluctuates more than other waste types due to seasonal variations. Figure 3-7 shows that overall tonnages are slightly increasing with time.
There is a difference between the number of recycling bins and organic green waste bins within the Monash residential service. Currently, there are 14,031 more recycling bins than the organics bins and an average of 12,279 more since 2006.
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Figure 3-7 Domestic Green Waste Tonnages
Figure 3-8 Domestic green waste costs
Future considerations:
Will increase with introduction of FOGO; and
Collection frequency will become weekly.
The Waste Management Strategy aims to manage communications with community during the implementation of FOGO and the changes to collections.
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3.1.5 Annual Hard Waste
Monash Council undertakes one annual hard waste collection between August and September each year. Disposal of these materials is described in Table 3-2. Data on hard rubbish collection tonnages and composition is provided by the contractor in an annual report5. The average amount of hard waste tonnes collected each year is increasing, with 5,030 tonnes recorded for 2016 (Figure 3-9). Scrap metal tonnage increased by 152.9% between 2015 and 2016. The average weight of hard rubbish collected per participating tenement is also increasing with each year and was 71.6kgs in 2015/16 (Figure 3-10Figure ).
Table 3-2 Hard Waste Disposal
Waste Type Destination Recycler/Disposers Name
Scrap metal Noble Park Sims Metal
Green Waste Victory Rd, Clayton Cleanaway
CFC containing appliances
Knox Transfer Station Knox City Council & WM Waste Management Services
Residual Waste Carroll Rd, Clarinda Cleanaway Waste Transfer Station
E-Waste Notting Hill Waste Transfer Station
Monash City Council & Techcollect
Mattresses Notting Hill Waste Transfer Station
Tic Group
E-Waste Notting Hill Waste Transfer Station
Stewardship Scheme
Textiles, Mobile phones, Ink cartridges
Notting Hill Waste Transfer Station
Mobile muster, Close the Loop
5 WM Waste Management Services, Annual Collection of Green Organics (Prunings) and Hard Rubbish for Monash City Council,
2016
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Figure 3-9 Hard Waste Tonnages
Figure 3-10 Average weight of hard waste per tenement
The cost of each annual hard waste collection, provided by Council, is increasing and was approximately $1,030,000 in 2016 (Figure 3-11). Similarly, disposal rates show an increasing trend because of tonnages collected, levy rates and the changing composition of the hard waste. Disposal costs fluctuate according to the composition, the more recyclables, particularly metals, which are present, the lower the volume disposed and hence disposal costs.
Of the 71,078 residential tenements in Monash, it is estimated that there is between 75% and 80% uptake of for the service.
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The Waste Management Strategy aims to maximise waste and resource recovery in the hard waste collection service to minimise the volume of waste sent to landfill and costs.
Figure 3-11 Cost of Annual Hard Waste Service
The percentage of recycled hard waste shows an increasing trend since 2004. The most recent collection in 2016 however increased recycled material by 5.5% (Figure 3-12). The most recycled material in 2016 was scrap metal, 10.9% in 2016, followed by green waste, 8.8%.
Figure 3-121 Percentage of Recycled Hard Waste
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The Waste Management Strategy aims to maximise resource recovery in the hard waste collections to reduce waste sent to landfill
3.1.6 Waste Stream Evaluation
The total waste collected through the kerbside services (residual, recyclables and green waste) for the 2015/16 financial year was 66,087 tonnes and of this waste 49% went to landfill (Figure 3-13) and 51% was recovered.
The main materials which make up municipal solid waste (MSW) are paper and cardboard, food waste and plastics6, and this is similar for Monash residents. Figure 3-13 shows the annual composition of Monash’s 3 bin waste stream. The average annual waste generated per tenement in Monash is 883kgs which is residual, recyclable and green waste. An additional average of 71.6kgs is collected through the hard rubbish for each participating tenement.
Figure 3-13 Domestic Waste Tonnages 2015/16
The Waste Management Strategy aims to maximise recovery of recyclable materials to improve service costs
6 Sustainability Victoria, Victoria’s Waste & Resource Recovery Infrastructure Investment Prospectus, 2015
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3.2 Commercial Waste Services
Commercial properties have a 240L bin for waste collection. There is a difference between the services provided for commercial collections as the frequency is determined by the location of the property. The former City of Waverley area receives two collection services per week, and the former City of Oakleigh receives one collection per week. Often, businesses opt to pay for a private service for their waste collection as Council provisions do not meet their requirements.
A recycling service is available at an additional cost to commercial properties which are within or adjacent to residential areas. Properties outside of these areas are encouraged to take their recyclables to the transfer station or organise a private service.
Costs for commercial waste show different trends, with collection costs increasing and disposal costs reducing (Figure 3-14). The main cause for the reduction in disposal costs is the change in landfill sites in November 2015.
There are currently 4,726 commercial tenements and 2,777 industrial/primary production tenements within the Monash Municipality, totalling 7,503 tenements. According to Monash bin counts, there are 6,951 commercial bins in operation, leaving 552 businesses not receiving the Council’s waste service. Furthermore, businesses may have a combination of private and Council services.
The number of weekly bin services for residual waste has declined since 2013. This suggests that the weekly collection service is not sufficient for commercial tenements and so they are opting for a private waste service. However, for the twice weekly service in Waverley, the bin numbers are increasing, as are the numbers of recycling bins. There are also significantly less recycling bins (484) in use than residual bins (6,951).
Visy currently provide large skips for cardboard collection which goes some way towards compensating for the lack of kerbside recycling.
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Figure 3-14 Commercial Residual Waste Costs
The Waste Management Strategy aims to optimise ways to provide waste services to commercial properties and equalise the service across the municipality. The Waste Management Strategy aims to maximise resource recovery of recyclable materials from collections to commercial businesses to reduce waste sent to landfill.
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3.3 Waste Transfer Station
The Monash Waste Transfer and Recycling Station is located at 380 Ferntree Gully Rd, Notting Hill and is open 7 days a week. Materials which are accepted at no charge are:
TVs and computers;
Household paint;
Paper and cardboard;
Polystyrene (for amounts under ½ m3);
Car oil (up to 30L);
Fluorescent tubes;
CFL globes;
Car and alkaline batteries;
Engine blocks (free of oil);
Mobile phones and mobile phone batteries; and
X-ray film.
The composition of the waste received at the transfer station is mainly general waste (47%) followed by 29% organics and 13% concrete/bricks, see Figure 3-15. Waste is brought to the Transfer Station by residents, Council’s contractors and private contractors. The Council receives a range of different waste types such as mattresses which, through an agreement with Tic Group, have no cost for disposal. The concrete and bricks are taken to a recycling facility and used as road fill base which is free of charge. Under the Federal Government’s National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme, E-Waste is managed and disposed of free of charge by TechCollect, a not-for-profit E-waste recycling service.
Figure 3-15 2015/16 Transfer Station Waste Composition
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Tonnages of different wastes fluctuate at the transfer station, Figure 3-16, but there is a general increase of organics and general waste which is dependent on residents bringing in these tonnages. Contractor works and residual waste fluctuate.
Figure 3-16 Waste Transfer Station Tonnages
The Waste Management Strategy aims to maximise resource recovery at the Waste Transfer Station to reduce waste sent to landfill.
4 Future Trends
4.1 Waste Trends
Projections have been calculated for the next eight years for a business as usual scenario for the costs and tonnages of the waste services. Figure 4-1 shows the tonnages collected with current services and the assumed introduction of FOGO in 2019/20.
The main factors which will be influencing Monash’s waste expenditure in future years are:
Expected higher rates for 2022 new garbage disposal contract;
2019/20 green waste disposal contract rates expected to increase with new technologies for treatment of food waste;
EPA levy increases;
Mattress disposal costs at an additional $150,000 per annum;
Cost of fuel increases; and
CPI increases.
The major change for waste tonnages is the introduction of food organics recycling which will reduce the amount of residual waste and increase organics recovery. This is expected to be introduced across the Metro region in the 2019/20 financial year.
The income for recycling disposal is predicted to reduce in the coming years which reflects the reduction in tonnages collected due to light weight packaging and reduction in print media. All other collection and disposal costs are projected to increase (Figure 4-2). In 2025, the total cost for the waste service is predicted to be approximately 68% higher than 2015/16 costs. This is inclusive of taxes and levies.
Currently, within Council’s hard waste contracts, mattresses are accepted and disposed of for free. This arrangement is due to expire in 2018 and this will see Council having to pay for mattress disposal which increases the cost projections. It is estimated that approximately 6,000 mattresses will be disposed of per year at a cost of $25 each which equates to an extra $150,000 a year.
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Figure 4-1 Projected Waste Tonnages
Figure 4-2 Predicted cost for Waste Disposal and Collection
The Waste Management Strategy aims to reduce waste sent to landfill to minimise the costs of waste disposal to the community.
5 Challenges
Monash City Council faces challenges in the waste services which it provides:
5.1 Increase in Residential Densification
Densification is a term used by planners, designers, developers and theorists to describe the increasing density of people living in urban areas. This densification puts pressure on waste management, infrastructure and operations. According to the 2011 census, Monash has a density of 20.67 persons per hectare, which is much higher than the average for Greater Melbourne (3.98). The Monash suburbs with the highest population density were:
Hughesdale (34.91pp/ha);
Oakleigh East – Huntingdale (27pp/ha);
Chadstone (24.87pp/ha); and
Ashwood – Burwood (23.25pp/ha).
In 2015, Monash’s density increased to 22.99 people per hectare. In addition to increased generation, densification also creates challenges for waste collection, particularly MUDs.
The Waste Management Strategy aims to ensure collection efficiency.
5.2 Expectation of Increasing Diversion from Landfill
State documents like the SWRRIP and Metropolitan Implementation Plan express aims to reduce the amount of waste going to landfills, but there are barriers to achieving this. General trend over the last 20 years has been increasing public opposition to new landfills, however the cost and complexity of approvals and infrastructure are restrictive to the development of alternatives to landfill. Other than Hallam Rd and Taylors Rd Landfills, there are no residual waste treatment facilities which operate in in the south eastern and eastern metropolitan areas to accept large volumes of commercial and municipal waste. Alternatives to landfill for residual waste are not yet available, but may be within the term of the strategy.
New or improved RRC/TSs are required in all regions of metropolitan Melbourne to manage the growth in waste recovery. There are challenges in identifying and securing suitable land for siting infrastructure. Closures of landfills in the south east of Melbourne will apply pressure on resource diversion and recovery and this is increased by the lack of new landfills scheduled as well.
The Waste Management Strategy aims to facilitate improvements to waste services
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infrastructure and plan for future requirements.
5.3 Substances with Specific Disposal Requirements
Problem materials are those which are dangerous to our health and/or environment and usually have specific disposal needs. Hazardous wastes must be classified (Category A, B or C) and sent to specially licensed landfills.
Batteries are a problem material as they are made up of heavy metals and toxic materials such as mercury, lead acid and nickel. Approximately 97%7 of batteries end up in landfills. Furthermore, it is possible for lithium ion batteries to explode which causes more issues with their disposal and management. The challenge for batteries is making diversion convenient.
Asbestos remains a hazardous waste which poses problems for disposal and management. Asbestos must be correctly packaged and labelled and handled with care, and can only be disposed of at facilities licensed by the EPA to accept this material. The closest disposal site for domestic asbestos is Wollert (accepts domestic and commercial) and the closest disposal site for commercial asbestos is Lyndhurst.
Chemicals and toxic liquid wastes such as paint, cleaners and pesticides cannot be disposed of in regular waste and recycling bins, they must be disposed of separately at a chemical drop-off. Their disposal poses a threat to the environment and humans through handling and so their management is an issue. Detox Your Home is a collection service for households which is funded by the landfill levy and delivered by local governments.
The Waste Management Strategy aims to improve resource recovery and disposal pathways for specific materials within Monash.
5.4 Working with CALD Communities
Monash is a culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) community which presents a range of challenges in communication, engagement and priorities for waste management services. 46%8 of the Monash population speaks a language other than English at home which indicates the importance of working with and considering CALD communities. After English, the other main languages spoken at home are Mandarin, Greek, Cantonese and Italian.
Community engagement is a process of involving citizens in decision-making processes through listening, relationships and collaboration and special attention is required when working with CALD communities. Barriers to working with CALD communities involve the lack of communication
7 Clean Up Australia Ltd, Battery Recycling Fact Sheet, 2010
8 .id, The Population Experts (http://profile.id.com.au/monash/language?WebID=160) Accessed: 5
th December 2016
47
resources available and relevant to these groups. Considerations such as providing interpreters for verbal translations and printed material so that fair access to the information is enabled.
The Waste Management Strategy aims to enable participation from the Culturally And Linguistically Diverse community in its engagement program and education programs.
5.5 Multi-Unit Developments (MUDs)
The growth of Melbourne’s population has led to the expansion of MUDs and this is similar for Monash. Monash has 523 MUD sites, 71% of these are residential, 19% commercial and 10% industrial which presents significant challenges to the waste services provided to these buildings and residents. Many of the challenges are derived from poor planning systems, such as poor access for collection vehicles and a lack of storage space provided for waste and recycling bins and hard rubbish. Generally, there is also a lack of kerbside space for bin presentation which impacts on amenity and limited opportunities for the residents to recycle. Older public housing developments have an absence of recycling infrastructure and reduced waste capabilities compared to newer developments too.
These issues lead to significant differences in the types of waste collected, recycled and diverted from MUDs. Typically, according to the MIP9, a metropolitan household has 10% recyclable material which is not recovered, whereas the figure for a MUD is 42%. The MIP also states that bin contamination rates are generally higher in MUDs, at an average of 25%, when compared to general households which are about 13.5%
The Metropolitan Implementation Plan calls for better developed MUD policy to ensure adequate waste bin storage, collection and street space. Insufficient or poor recycling facilities is a definite barrier to recycling behaviour in MUDs and leads to higher rates of dumped rubbish around these developments, despite the Best Practice Guide10 stating that the disposal of garbage and recyclables should be equally convenient. The Monash ‘Recycling Education Program’ was conducted around Monash University and Clayton shopping centre. It focused on MUDs and student accommodation facilities. Through educational activities and tools such as bin stickers and signage installed at MUDs and bus stops, dumped rubbish and bin contamination was reduced. This program shows that waste management in MUDs poses a particular challenge to the Council, but there are program outcomes which can be implemented to improve the issues.
The Waste Management Strategy aims to improve planning for Multi Unit Developments and increase resource recovery from these sites.
9 Metropolitan Waste and Resource Recovery Group, Metropolitan Waste and Resource Recovery Implementation Plan, 2016
10 Sustainability Victoria, Guide to Best Practice for Waste Management in Multi-Unit Developments, 2010
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5.6 Recent Introduction of Rate Capping
In 2015 the Victorian Government introduced a rate capping system called ‘Fair Go Rates’ which controls the general rate increases for councils during each financial year. This rate capping impacts on the ability of local governments such as Monash to deliver services such as waste collection and disposal and has resulted in the consideration of a Waste Charge. From a recent review of the waste service expenditure, Council found that increases in the cost of providing the service is likely to exceed the annual rate cap which highlights the need for consideration of the Waste Charge. Although the Rate Cap states that it does not apply to service rates and charges, Monash is one of the few Councils which includes services under general rates.
The rate cap introduced by the Essential Services Commission applies only to general rates and municipal charges which account for about 88%11 of the total revenue raised by councils. The annual rate of change in the CPI is the main driver for how the cap is calculated, alongside the Wage Price Index (WPI). The ESC acknowledges that the Rate Cap can’t account for the diversity and different needs of the 79 various Victorian councils and so a variation process has been established for Councils to account for other cost pressures through an application process.
Council is working with an estimated rate cap of 2% for its long term financial plan.
The Waste Management Strategy aims to ensure that waste services can be sustainably provided to the community and ensure value for money where appropriate.
5.7 Hard Waste Collection
Hard waste collections provide households with the opportunity to dispose of materials which are not usually accepted in the weekly or fortnightly collections. The annual collection of hard rubbish and green organics has been provided to the ratepayers of Monash for the last 20 years and is an expected service which occurs over approximately 5 weeks between August and September.
Scavenging is an issue central to the hard waste collection service. It is the practice of people going through the presented material and taking items of appeal. This can be either incidental, for example residents walking past and seeing something which they like, or planned by organised scavengers which target items of financial value. The pilfering of high value materials inflates the cost of collection for Council by decreasing the value of the recovered items. Scavenging can cause amenity problems by scattering material outside of the prescribed presentation area.
In the 2015-2016 hard waste collection, the contractor WM Waste Management Services, issued 3,276 Unacceptable waste or ‘knockback’ notices for issues such as unwrapped glass, paint, tyres,
11
Essential Services Commission, A Blueprint For Change Local Government Rate Capping and Variation Framework Review Final Report, 2015
49
recyclables and asbestos. In the 2014-2015 collection, only 275 notices were issued. This indicates the need for community education on correct presentation and accepted materials for the service.
5.8 Landfill Closures in South-East Melbourne
Landfills in the Clayton South precinct have reached capacity and are closing which presents a significant challenge for metropolitan waste management. These landfills receive/received wastes including MSW, industrial and solid inert. It is predicted that the south-east catchment has approximately 8 years12 of landfill capacity remaining and there are no new proposed landfills scheduled which adds further pressure to this issue. On a wider scale, it is estimated that the total of Victoria’s landfills has capacity for 10 more years of landfill waste.
Although there are aims to reduce waste sent to landfill, it is unlikely that the area will be able to cope with future waste growth, driven by increased population. Residual waste will then need to be transported to alternative landfills which are likely to be some distance away which increases transportation cost and time. Alternative recovery options, driven by the Victorian market are likely to be an alternative
The Waste Management Strategy aims to minimise reliance on landfills and reduce the need for large transportation distances for waste disposal.
5.9 Disposal Challenges
The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) regulates and oversees the performance of landfills. All landfills are required to comply with the Environmental Protection Act 1970 to reduce the impacts made to the environment. Regulations and compliance documents make it difficult for residents to understand how to properly dispose of their waste and can restrict the recovery of waste materials.
The EPA requires the operators of landfills to pay a levy for each tonne of waste that is deposited at the licensed site. This is called the landfill levy and was introduced in Victoria in 1992. It is aimed to create an incentive to investigate different ways to reduce the amount of waste generated and disposed at landfills. For each tonne of metro municipal waste deposited at landfill for 2014/15, there was a fee of $58.5013, which has been increasing annually, see Table 5-1. This value is set by the Treasurer of Victoria for every financial year.
12
Sustainability Victoria, Statewide Waste and Resource Recovery Infrastructure Plan Victoria 2015-2044, 2015 13
EPA Victoria, (http://www.epa.vic.gov.au/your-environment/waste/landfills/landfill-and-prescribed-waste-levies) Landfill and Prescribed Waste Levies, Accessed: 6
th December 2016
The Waste Management Strategy aims to improve community education on the hard waste service.
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There are further challenges to waste disposal with respect to e-waste. This comprises of electronic equipment that has a plug or battery, and includes items like televisions, computers, mobile phones and white goods. In 2014, approximately 80,87014 tonnes of e-waste were generated in Melbourne, and is a waste stream growing at a rate three times faster than municipal waste in Australia15. According to Clean Up Australia16, e-waste is responsible for 70% of the toxic chemicals in landfills. This highlights the importance of effective and sustainable e-waste recycling and disposal. The Victorian government is considering and preparing to ban e-waste from landfills which will potentially impact on TS processes. A notice of intention has been posted for the e-waste ban and legislative changes are expected in late 2017 to early 2018. A new waste management policy and complementing guidelines will also be prepared to ensure appropriate management of the materials.
Table 5-1 Landfill Levies17
Year Metro and Provincial
Municipal Industrial
2011/12 44.00 44.00
2012/13 48.40 48.40
2013/14 53.20 53.20
2014/15 58.50 58.50
The Waste Management Strategy aims to reduce waste sent to landfill to avoid the high costs of the EPA Levy.
The Waste Management Plan aims to reduce waste sent to landfill by improving E-Waste recovery
Council supports advocacy for better use of the Landfill Levy and the Sustainability Fund.
14
Metropolitan Waste and Resource Recovery Group, Metropolitan Waste and Resource Recovery Implementation Plan, 2016 15
Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, Managing e-waste in Victoria, 2015 16
Clean Up Australia Ltd, E-Waste Fact Sheet, 2015 17
EPA Victoria (http://www.epa.vic.gov.au/your-environment/waste/landfills/landfill-and-prescribed-waste-levies) Accessed: 19th
December 2016
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5.10 Food Organics Disposal
Food organics is becoming an increasingly important waste material which requires management. Food organics is waste from households or industry like food scraps and out of date products which are thrown away. The Metropolitan region is divided into three areas for organics disposal which currently does not include food waste and Monash is within the South Eastern Tender Catchment. The Food Organics, Green Organics (FOGO) initiative is proposed for Monash in 2019 and is the combination of food scraps in with the garden organics collection.
There are challenges, such as community concerns associated with odour and separation processes which slow the process of introducing FOGO as they indicate the need for extensive community education. FOGO will likely involve a change in kerbside bin collections from weekly residual waste and fortnightly green services to weekly FOGO bin and fortnightly residual waste collections.
Contamination rates for the FOGO initiative will need to be managed to keep processing costs at a minimum, ensure that the composted products can be used and meet regulatory requirements. Likely contaminants are non-biodegradable plastic bags used to store and transport the food organics between kitchen and bin.
Overarching waste management documents all identify recovering food organics as a means of reducing waste sent to landfill and Monash council documents like the Environmental Sustainability Strategy aim to solve organic waste problems.
The Waste Management Strategy aims to facilitate the introduction of an organics recovery scheme and community education.
5.11 Equalisation of Bin Services
There is currently a discrepancy between the bin collection services provided to Oakleigh and Waverley commercial businesses. Waverley currently receives two services per week, whilst Oakleigh receives one. To rectify this, Council can either limit the Waverley bin collection to weekly, or increase the Oakleigh service to twice a week.
Furthermore, approximately 1,666 residential ratepayers do not receive the Council bin collections but contribute, through their annual rates, to these services. The reason for this is accessibility for garbage trucks. Waste collection services are provided by body corporate in these instances.
Council can also take the opportunity to change both the commercial bin lid and residential green waste to the Australian standard18Error! Reference source not found..
18
Sustainability Australia, Away from Home, Waste Signage Guidelines, 2007
Material Body Lid
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Table 5-2 Standard Australian Bin Lid Colours
5.12 Litter
For the year of 2014/15, Monash Council spent $2.347 million on the collection and disposal of litter from major sources and litter hotspots such as:
Cigarette butts,
Charity bins,
Public reserves and sporting facilities,
Building sites,
Shopping precincts
Bill posters; and
Trader laneways.
The Council provides street garbage bins, street sweeping and the removal of dumped rubbish as key services to reduce litter. The occurrence of litter is linked to antisocial behaviours such as graffiti and vandalism which affects the wellbeing of the community.
5.13 Bin Contamination
Bin contamination occurs when items which do not belong in a bin are placed there. Common contaminants of recycling bins are plastic bags and wrappings and garden waste. Monash Council carry out a Bin Inspection Program each week through an ‘open lid’ inspection. This is carried out by inspectors and through the kerbside collection contractor. Those bins found to be contaminated are stickered with advisory information on what the contamination is. Currently, the Council are stickering 27 garbage bins, 27 green waste bins and 9 recycling bins per month.
The Waste Management Strategy aims to reduce contamination rates in bins to improve resource recovery.
Rubbish (residual) Dark Green or Black Red
Paper/Cardboard Dark Green or Black Blue
Green Waste/Organics Dark Green or Black Lime Green
Recyclables (mixed) Dark Green or Black Yellow
Food Waste Dark Green or Black Burgundy
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6 Opportunities for Improvement
6.1 Organics Processing
MWRRG is developing an organics processing network for metropolitan Melbourne and Monash is situated in the South Eastern Tender Catchment. When completed it will provide opportunities for food and green organics processing facilities. Currently, 40%19 of residential waste (by weight) to landfill is food organics, so organics processing has the potential to significantly reduce waste to landfill. This strategy would likely see a change in bin services to a weekly food and green waste collection, and fortnightly recyclable and general waste collection. Limitations to the success of this strategy mainly lie with the community as there is the potential for reduced customer satisfaction from amenity complaints and changes to services. Furthermore, there is likely contamination of these bins from plastic bags by residents. Organics processing facilities are not yet available however, and so this option cannot be immediately implemented.
Within Council education programs, there is a capacity to improve community knowledge on organics composting as a strategy to reduce landfill waste. Currently, Monash has the ‘Compost Revolution’ program to encourage composting. Increasing the capacity and ability of residents and commercial businesses such as restaurants and cafes to compost and reduce food waste is a method of improvement. This can be achieved through community engagement with the issue and through developing and implementing new education programs.
There is a disparity between the number of residual waste bins (68,281) and organics bins for households (61,971). This difference of 6,310 bins indicates a greater capacity for organics recycling through the introduction of new bins to residences.
The Waste Management Strategy aims to encourage community support for organics recovery and processing.
6.2 Municipal Waste
Monash Council currently provides a 120L waste bin for residences. There are options for bin size changes shown in
Table . All charges are added to annual rate bill.
There is evidence that a reduction in bin size to an 80L capacity will reduce waste generated by households and encourage recycling. There are several options for introduction of this plan such as
19
Sustainability Victoria, Food Waste in the Garbage Bin, 2013
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giving households the option to reduce their bin size for a reduced Waste Charge (if a Waste Charge is introduced) or for reduced annual rate fee. The Council may also choose to change bins for the whole municipality so that immediate effects can be observed. Or lastly, bins can be reduced when they are reported damaged or missing by residents, thus saving costs on delivery. This strategy has been implemented by Whitehorse Council as part of their 2011 WMP, by charging residents an extra $44 a year if they decided to keep the 120L bin, rather than accept the new 80L. The issues to be considered with this plan are:
Increased contamination of recycling bin if 80L waste bin is not enough
Larger waste requirements of families and other large waste generating households
Increased compaction of waste inside bins
The Waste Management Strategy aims to explore options of bin size reduction to reduce waste sent to landfill in conjunction with the introduction of FOGO collections.
6.3 Comingled Recycling
Monash Council has the option of allowing residents to increase their recycling ability through increasing their bin size or recycling capacity. Residents can request an additional 240L recycle waste bin, or upgrade the existing 120L bin at an annual cost of $191.50 (Table 6-1). Reducing the cost of a larger bin upgrade could be an incentive to increase recycling rates for residential waste generators. This cost could be reduced or a once-off payment rather than a yearly addition to the rates.
Table 6-1 Optional Changes to Residential Bins
Current Bin Changes to bin size Annual Cost
120L Garbage bin Upgrade to 240L garbage bin $191.50
240L Garbage bin Additional 120L garbage bin $191.50
240L Garbage bin Additional 240L garbage bin $383.00
240L Recycling bin Additional 240L recycling bin $191.50
240L Organics bin Additional 240L Organics bin $191.50
Commercial recycling rates have the potential for major improvement as average tonnages collected since July 2014 are approximately 7tonnes per month. There are currently only 484 commercial recycling bins in operations too. Increases in commercial recycling bins in operation has the potential to have an impact on reducing waste to landfill and increasing recovery rates. Only
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those commercial properties which are within or adjacent to residential properties are able to receive the recycling collection (at an additional cost). Removing this location restriction may
improve commercial recycling uptake.
6.4 Hard Waste Collection
Monash Council will introduce an ‘At-Call’ collection service. Surrounding and metropolitan councils offer different hard waste services, as shown in Table 6-2. The most common collection is a booked service, neighbouring Boorondara and Knox allow residents to book 2 hard waste collections for each financial year. This type of service can reduce the amount of scavenged material from the site and thereby increase the revenue made from providing the service. The At-Call system has a greater potential to accommodate the needs of residents or tenants that depart properties during various times of the year, or those residences with a higher turnover in occupancies such as student housing. This can reduce the amount of dumped rubbish and is particularly applicable to areas with student residences such as Monash University.
Evaluations on the cost-effectiveness should be made and considerations as to whether a new service should be additional to the annual collections, or replace them, and the number of collections allowed per household. The Metropolitan Implementation Plan has analysed future needs and suggests that ‘there is a need to make hard waste collections more cost effective and to increase the amount of materials that can be recovered from collections’.
A 2011 Public Place Recycling (PPR) project conducted by Monash City Council showed an increase in recycling rates at Monash Shopping Village in Mt Waverley. Through the research which was conducted, introduction of new bin designs and education, there was a 50% drop in recyclables in litter bins and a reduction in landfill garbage and low bin contamination rates. This project shows that there is potential for increased public place recycling and reduction in landfill waste through the introduction of these designed bins. The Waste Management Strategy aims to explore ways to incentivise waste minimisation and resource recovery
Blanket Collection Booked Collection Combination
Monash Mornington Glen Eira Frankston
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Table 6-2 Hard Waste Services in Metropolitan Melbourne20
6.5 Dumped Rubbish
In Metropolitan Melbourne, illegally dumped rubbish costs local governments approximately $7.5million a year. There are ‘hot-spots’ for dumped rubbish such as outside of MUDs and along roadways, and the presence of illegal waste can often lead to additional dumping. On average, the Waste Transfer Station records 274.75 tonnes of dumped rubbish a year. 2015/16 recorded the highest amount of dumped rubbish in recent years with approximately 310 tonnes. Currently Monash Council responds to reports of dumped rubbish by collecting within 24hours. This quick turn-around has little impact in reducing the incidences of dumped rubbish in the municipality.
An option for improvement is to increase the visibility of rubbish dumping and inappropriate hard waste presentation by using high-vis tape. By first identifying the site as a problem with the tape, residents and locals will be discouraged from illegal dumping. A trial conducted in 2012 resulted in 60% of the rubbish being removed by the responsibly party. This encourages residents to take responsibility for their waste. However, taping does have the potential to impact on the Council’s community satisfaction through reduced amenity and complaints.
Another option to reduce dumped rubbish, and litter, is to introduce a Litter Prevention Officer (LPO) to pursue offenders and encourage community education on the issue. Currently, the Community Amenity Department investigate dumped rubbish if evidence is found on site. However, an LPO can respond more quickly to reports of littering and rubbish dumping and can provide beneficial community education. Programs such as ‘Don’t Trash Monash’ which are already being implemented should continue as well.
The EPA encourages people to report illegal dumping through hotlines or apps.
20
Metropolitan Waste and Resource Recovery Group, Hard Waste Services Leading Practice Guide, 2016
Cardinia
Yarra Ranges
Whittlesea
Stonnington
Moreland
Moonee Valley
Peninsula
Casey
Greater Dandenong
Knox
Maroondah
Whitehorse
Manningham
Boroondara
Yarra
Bayside
Port Phillip
Hobsons Bay
Wyndham
Melton
Hume
Maribyrnong
Melbourne
Banyule
Nillumbik
Kingston
Brimbank
Darebin
The Waste Management Strategy aims to explore options for a different hard waste service provided to the community including an additional user pays at call service.
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The Waste Management Strategy aims to address the issue of dumped rubbish within Monash.
6.6 Waste Charge
Currently, the cost for Monash’s waste service is included in the general rates which residents pay on an annual basis. With the recent introduction of Rate Capping by the ESC, the general rate increases are controlled and limited each financial year by the ESC. Cost projections of waste service expenditure for Monash’s waste service show that the cost of providing it will likely exceed this cap. Reasons for this increase in expenditure include increasing:
Disposal tonnages;
EPA waste levy;
Fuel prices;
CPI prices; and
Disposal and collection costs with new waste contracts such as the new green waste contract in 2019.
Council views the Waste Charge as a challenge due to the importance it places on customer satisfaction and service. The most recent Community Satisfaction Survey in 2016 showed that in regard to rates, the community was most concerned about increasing rates without noticeable service improvement. Without the separate Waste Charge, however, Council’s ability to provide other services will be unreasonably impacted.
Different models for possibly introducing the charge may be considered, such as having an Environmental Charge for all properties instead which covers services like street sweeping and cleaning of public places. This may address the inequity experienced by 1,666 residences which do not receive waste services from Council. This is generally in MUDs where private waste services are often used. Before the introduction of this charge however, Council should conduct a further review into Waste Charge options and the waste budget.
While there is no financial imperative currently the Waste Management Strategy may explore the possibility of a Waste Charge at a future date should costs increase above a sustainable level.
7 Feedback from the community
Feedback was gathered from the community to help direct the strategy and gain input from residents and Monash visitors. Different methods were employed to achieve this and garner opinions and ideas from a range of demographics, these methods were:
An online survey;
Community workshops; and
Phone and email comments.
The four broad topics of public services, food organics recycling (FOGO), possible introduction of a waste charge and options for hard rubbish, were developed for the feedback and engagement methods. There was a general trend of feedback for each topic over the different methods which is summarised below:
Public Services: there was a consensus to increase opportunities for small item recycling, such as batteries, light globes and plastic bags (soft plastics), in public places like supermarkets and public facilities like the library. Dumped rubbish was identified as an ongoing nuisance and increased surveillance was suggested as a solution. It was also clear that an education program on the functioning and pricing of the Waste Transfer Station would be beneficial.
FOGO: overall, most people were in favour of introducing food organics recycling into their waste system. Main concerns were that the initiative would be a disincentive to compost at home and that the process may attract rats.
Waste Charge: results from the survey show that 53% of respondents require more information on the charge before they can decide whether to support it or not. Top feedback themes for the Waste Charge was support for a user pays system if it were introduced, comments to reduce council spending to avoid the charge and requests for further information on what other services would be impacted if the charge was not introduced. Approximately 25% of survey respondents did not want a separate waste charge in their rates.
Hard Rubbish: Generally, most people are satisfied with the current annual blanket collection but would support a change to a combination service which retained the annual blanket and offered a booked collection. Workshop discussions highlighted a concern that community amenity may be impacted with a booked collection, but recognised a need to cater to the more transient residents within Monash.
A more detailed analysis of the community engagement is provided in Appendix B.
8 Summary of Outcomes
Increase waste diversion from landfill
By maximising resource recovery, the high costs of the EPA levy can be avoided and reliance on landfills is reduced. Further cost savings can also be made by reducing the need for large transportation distances and generation of domestic residual waste. Monash can achieve this by introducing more disposal pathways for specific materials and increasing the recovery of recyclables, particularly from commercial properties, for greater service value and income. Specific materials include E-Waste, batteries and light globes which presented as a particular issue by the community. Minimising contamination rates within the kerbside bins will improve recovery rates in the organics and recycling waste stream and reduce residual waste volumes. Lastly, by maximising resource recovery in the hard waste collection Council can further increase waste diversion from landfill.
Minimise waste generation through education
Education is an essential aspect of delivering the objectives of this strategy and ensuring that participation from the whole community is encouraged. A strong focus is placed on community education and consultation to achieve the strategy’s outcomes. The CALD community is an integral part of Monash and will be involved by ensuring that information and programs are made available in multiple languages.
The strategy has identified areas which require further community education such as improving the hard waste collection system and exploring ways to incentivise waste minimisation. Through the consultation sessions, it was further identified that a strong education program is required for the implementation of FOGO and other organics recovery strategies. A strong focus is also required on communication between Council, the community and other stakeholders for the success of the organics program.
Another area for increased education is the Waste Transfer Station. Improving knowledge on how to use the facility and the charges applied to different waste streams will likely improve resource recovery and use of the Transfer Station.
Leading the way
The Waste Management Strategy can place Monash in a position of leadership amongst its peers by facilitating improvements to waste infrastructure and supporting investment in resource recovery and AWT infrastructure. By planning for future requirements, population growth and the future drivers of change within the industry, Monash can deliver an effective and sustainable
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service to the community. Monash is also able to facilitate the creation or expansion of WRR markets and its involvement within the metropolitan organics recovery and processing network.
Assessing opportunities for collaborative procurement to increase value for money in the waste services and exploring options of bin size reduction will also position Monash as a leader within the industry.
Serving our customers
The City of Monash highly values satisfaction and performance ratings and places a strong focus on providing the best service to its community and ensuring value for money where appropriate. Improvements to service costs can be achieved by increasing recovery in the recycling waste stream and exploring the possibility of introducing a separate Waste Charge. Ensuring consistency with the Victorian Government’s strategic directions and State Planning Strategy and compliance with relevant legislation and policies is essential to providing an appropriate waste service. Furthermore, consideration of planning requirements for MUDs, commercial properties and RRC/TCs will enable effective waste services in the future.
The community consultation identified areas of improvements for waste services which included a different hard waste method of delivery and an increased number of services to MUDs. Monash should also consider the housing structure and tenements within the municipality to equalise the service and optimise ways to provide waste services to commercial properties.
Pride in our city
Pride in our city is an important objective for the WMS and was prevalent during the consultation sessions. By addressing the issue of dumped rubbish within Monash and ensuring collection efficiencies, residents will be encouraged to take pride in the amenity of their municipality and actively participate in maintaining those standards. Communication between Council and residents will further engage the community and foster a sense of importance and pride.
9 Action Plan
The following key performance indicators in Table 9-1, will allow a snapshot assessment of Monash’s performance against other Councils and in relation to the actions in this strategy.
Table 9-1 Key performance indicators
The action plan detailed below (Table 9-2) has been developed through the processes of community consultation and service review and are designed to enable achievement of the objectives of this strategy. Priorities are given a value between 1 and 3, with 1 being the highest priority. These values were determined from the outcomes of the community consultation sessions, where a strong priority was given to issues of municipal amenity and costs to rate payers.
Table 9-2 Action Plan
KPI Current (2015/16) Target by 2022 Target by 2027
Waste diversion rate 50.99% 60% 75%
Residual kgs per tenement per year 454 420 400
Recycling kgs per tenement per year 222 240 260
Organics kgs per tenement per year 251 275 300
Annual kerbside waste generation per resident 352 320 300
Corporate Waste generation as a commitment of working towards zero waste generation
60% of 2017 90% of 2017
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Service Current Service Option Measurement Priority
Increase waste diversion from landfill
Product Stewardship
Large amount of packaging noted by Monash residents and council members in the waste stream
Encourage residents to purchase reusable and durable products (promote product stewardship)
Volume of waste sent to landfill
Volume of recyclables 1
Domestic Residual Waste
120L bin standard Start a trial area with 80L residual bins to reduce amount of waste to landfill. If successful, extend the trial area and then implement throughout municipality
Number of 80L bins in operation
Volumes of waste sent to landfill
2
Composting and organics
Green waste collected fortnightly from kerbsides
Introduce an organics recovery scheme where food waste is put in the green waste bin (FOGO)
Implementation of FOGO within Monash 1
Council selling worm farms and compost bins
Council to continue to encourage home organics recycling through composting and worm farms to reduce waste to landfill.
Number of worm farms sold 2
Compost Revolution programs Expand program with education officer and targeted houses with high levels of organics in bins (identified through bin audit)
Bin Audit
2
Difference of 6,310 less organics bins than residential residual bins
Introduce an organics bin to those residences that don’t currently have one in preparation for FOGO
Percentage of residences with organics bins 2
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Commercial Bins
Bins distributed and collected separately to participating businesses
Identify business areas with available space for a communal/shared recycling bin. Trial area with large bin to encourage commercial recycling
Number of shared commercial bin spaces
Percentage of commercial properties served by Council recycling service
2
Commercial and Industrial Properties
No uniform service as a legacy of Council amalgamations
Limited Council waste services
Investigate the cost of a bi-weekly service to all commercial properties
Volume of recyclable material from C&I properties
Implementation of standard service to all C&I properties
3
Conduct an audit of bin contents to identify dominant waste type and opportunities for resource recovery
Volume of waste sent to landfill
Volume of recyclables collected
3
Minimise waste generation through education;
MUDs
MUD Recycling Education Program Continue and extend the program beyond Clayton
Bin contamination rates at MUD sites
Occurrence of dumped rubbish at MUD sites
2
Litter Cigarette butts recorded as most littered material in Monash
Develop an education program directed at preventing cigarette litter
Reports of cigarette litter 3
Leading the way;
Corporate Waste
Environmental Sustainability Strategy aim to ‘reduce Council’s corporate waste’
Education for Council staff to reduce corporate waste
Volume of corporate waste 1
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MWRRG
Monash is part of MWRRG Consider participation in collective contracts being facilitated by MWRRG
Implementation of actions determined by MWRRG and collaboration with other Councils
2
New Technology
Overarching push by SWRRIP to develop growth in technology within the waste sector
Support innovation for the introduction of new technologies in waste management
Implementation of new technologies
Preparedness for use of new technologies
3
Serving our customers
Bin Audits
Accurate information of bin numbers and use
Conduct an in-depth bin audit for residential and commercial bins to investigate:
The need for additional bins
Opportunities for better recycling
MUD bins and opportunities for improvements
Services to schools and organisations
Data verification for Waste Charge design and implementation
Establish data on current volume of contaminants and type of contaminants
Audit conducted
1
Waste Charge
Approved in principle by Council but delayed introduction to allow more investigation
Conduct a separate investigation into options for a possible Waste Charge
3
MUDs
Lower recycling rates and inequitable services
Conduct a review of bin sizing Recycling rates
Volume of recyclable material collected
2
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Poor vehicle access and storage facilities
Implement/enforce requirements in development applications to ensure adequate waste facilities and access
Accessibility in new developments
Number of Council services to MUDs
2
Aged Residential Units
Implement/enforce requirements in development applications to ensure adequate waste facilities and access
Number of Council services to aged residential units
2
Poor vehicle access and storage facilities
Implement innovative waste collection systems as a requirement in development plans
Consider InSinkErator installation to reduce waste to landfill and enable easier waste management by residents
Results in annual ‘Know Your Council’ report for waste services
3
Review of WMS Release of WMS in 2017 Review and update WMS periodically to
consider new technologies or opportunities Review conducted
3
Pride in our city
Dumped Rubbish
Identified as an issue by residents and Council.
Reported dumped rubbish is removed with 24hrs
Promote reporting of rubbish dumping and littering
Education on dumped rubbish
Enforcement of dumped rubbish fines and notices
Number of dumped litter reports
Occurrence of dumped rubbish in municipality
Volume of dumped rubbish collected
1
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Hard Rubbish Collection
20.9% recycle rate Enforce shorter presentation time to increase value of hard waste materials, and reduce the occurrence of scavenging
Enforcement of presentation time through notices and penalties for non-compliance
Hard rubbish out for a maximum of 24 hours before collection day
Increase in percentage of recycled materials from collection
Number of notices issued for non-compliance
1
Illegal/ Professional Scavengers Request placement of hard rubbish within the boundaries of the residence (within front yard or driveway)
Number of reports of professional scavengers to Council
Percentage of recyclable materials gained from collection, particularly metals
2
Annual brochure on hard rubbish presentation
Improve communication in brochure and provide stricter instructions on acceptable rubbish and presentation
Number of knockback notices issued
1
Additional at call fee per service collection Number of dumped rubbish complaints
1
Litter Management
Monash Pride Crew and Waverley Industries
Employ extra member to Monash Pride Crew and extend service to smaller shopping centres
Size of area managed by Pride Crew
Number of complaints to Council for public litter in these areas
1
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Litter Prevention Strategy 2009-2013
Finalise and implement the Litter Prevention Action Plan 2017-20
Community access to new plan
Implementation of plan
1
Street sweeping on a 5-week cycle Release GPS information on sweeper routes to the community
Number of complaints regarding lack of sweeping
3
10 References
.id, The Population Experts. (2016, December 13). Community Profile. Retrieved from http://profile.id.com.au/monash/employment-status
.id, The Population Experts. (2016, December 5). Community Profile. Retrieved from http://profile.id.com.au/monash/language?WebID=160
.id, The Population Experts. (2016, November 29). Population Forecast. Retrieved from .idcommunity: http://forecast.id.com.au/monash
Australian Packaging Covenant . (2016, December 19). Australian Packaging Covenant. Retrieved from About APC: http://www.packagingcovenant.org.au/pages/about-apc.html
City of Greater Dandenong. (2011). Profiles and Victorian Municipalities.
City of Monash. (2010). Monash 2021.
City of Monash. (2011). Engagement Framework.
City of Monash. (2011). Environmental Sustainability Road Map 2011-2015.
City of Monash. (2013). 2013-2017 Economic Development Strategy and Action Plan .
City of Monash. (2013). Council Plan, 2013-2017.
City of Monash. (2013). Health and Wellbeing Partnership Plan 2013-2017.
City of Monash. (2013). Municipal Emergency Management Plan.
City of Monash. (2013). Municipal Emergency Management Plan. City of Monash .
City of Monash. (2016). Environmental Sustainability Strategy 2016 - 2026.
City of Monash. (2016, November 29). Our Profile & Growth. Retrieved from http://forecast.id.com.au/monash
City of Monash. (2016, November 24). Our Values, Vision and Mission. Retrieved from http://www.monash.vic.gov.au/About-Us/Council/Our-Organisation/Monash-Values
Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning. (2016, November 23). Know Your Council. Retrieved from https://knowyourcouncil.vic.gov.au/councils/monash
Department of Envoronment, Land, Water and Planning . (2015). Effective Engagement .
Environmental Protection Authority Victoria . (2016, December 19). Landfill and Prescribed Waste Levies. Retrieved from EPA Victoria: http://www.epa.vic.gov.au/your-environment/waste/landfills/landfill-and-prescribed-waste-levies
Essential Services Commission. (2015). A Blueprint for Change, Local Government Rate Capping and Variation Framework Review Final Report. Essential Services Commission .
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Infrastructure Victoria. (2016). Victoria's Draft 30-Year Infrastructure Strategy .
Local Government Victoria . (2016). Local Government Better Practice Guide Strategic Resource Plan. Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning.
Metropolitan Local Government Waste and Resource Recovery Fund . (2016). Improving Resource Recovery with Residents at Multi-Unit Dwellings .
Metropolitan Waste and Resource Recovery Group . (2016). Metropolitan Waste and Resource Recovery Implementation Plan. Metropolitan Waste and Resource Recovery Group.
Metropolitan Waste and Resource Recovery Group. (2016). Hard Waste Services Leading Practice Guide.
State Government Victoria . (2013). Getting Full Value, The Victorian Waste and Resource Recovery Policy. Melbourne: Victorian Government.
State Government Victoria . (2014). Plan Melbourne Metropolitan Planning Strategy . Melbourne : Victorian Government.
Sustainability Victoria . (2015). Investment Facilitation Framework / Participate Sustainability . Melbourne: Sustainability Victoria.
Sustainability Victoria. (2010). Guide to Best Practice for Waste Management in Multi-unit Developments.
Sustainability Victoria. (2011). Kerbside Recycling in Metropolitan Melbourne - Social Research Summary .
Sustainability Victoria. (2013). Food Waste in the Garbage Bin. Melbourne : Sustainability Victoria.
Sustainability Victoria. (2013). Victorian Litter Strategy 2012-2014.
Sustainability Victoria. (2015). Collaborative Procurement Guidelines for Regional Waste and Resource Revocery Groups. 2015 : Sustainability Victoria.
Sustainability Victoria. (2015). Statewide Waste and Resource Recovery Infrastructure Plan Victoria 2015-44. Melbourne: Sustainability Victoria.
Sustainability Victoria. (2015). Victorian Organics Resource Recovery Strategy. Melbourne: Sustainability Victoria.
Sustainability Victoria. (2015). Victoria's Waste and Resource Recovery Infrastructure Investment Prospectus.
Sustainability Victoria. (2016). Victorian Market Development Strategy for Recovered Resources . Melbourne: Sustainability Victoria.
Sustainability Victoria. (2016). Victorian Waste Education Strategy . Melbourne: Sustainability Victoria.
Victorian Government. (2013). Getting Full Value, The Victorian Waste and Resource Recovery Policy . Melbourne: Victorian Government .
WM Waste Management Services. (2016). Annual Collection of Green Organics (Prunings) and Hard Rubbish for Monash City Council . Boronia .
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WorkSafe Victoria. (2008). A Handbook for Workplaces, Safe Collection of Hard Waste.
Appendix A Council Plan
Table A-1 Council Objectives
Key Directions Community Outcomes Strategies to Achieve Outcomes Waste Related Actions
Ensuring our city has inviting places and spaces
Enhanced parks, open spaces and trails across Monash
Review the accessibility and quality of public open spaces across Monash for development of a new Public Open Space Strategy for Monash - ‘Creating Better Spaces’
Improve walking and cycling trails, including connections between existing public open spaces and links to activity centres across the City
Further develop amenities and facilities within parks and reserves that reflect preferences expressed by communities
Reduced litter in open spaces; and
Improved waste management to lower climate change impacts
Access and safety needs are attended
Upgrade footpaths and pedestrian continuity
Explore Monash becoming an ‘age-friendly City’
Equitable access to waste services;
Improved infrastructure to support growing population;
Reduce manual handling of bins; and
Ensure bin locations are accessible and safe.
Impacts of the density of residential developments are monitored and manage
Gather data and identify better means for understanding the cumulative impacts on streetscapes and local communities
Adopt an evidence-based approach to the management and ongoing renewal of our City’s public tree canopy
Utilise our annual planting program to improve the amenity and liveability
Better management of MUDs waste servicing;
Better access to MUDs collection bins;
Better communication between service providers and residents of MUDs; and
Revised and implemented policies which govern waste planning in new developments
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of local areas associated with increasing residential density
Pursue new strategic plans and policies to provide stronger direction about residential developments of increased density
Build community understanding of development and housing issues
Activity Centres across Monash remain vibrant
Undertake studies on major activity centres (MACs) across the City, identifying priorities for planned changes. Studies to also include:
A focus on railway station ‘precincts’ and transport interchange points, giving them a stronger focus and legibility (through urban design treatments, transport planning, pedestrian continuity and signage);
Analysis of local opportunities, costs and benefits of locating Community Centres/Hubs within each MAC; and
Consult the Public Art Policy regarding the possible inclusion of public art in our cultural and activity centres.
Develop design guidelines for future developments in and around activity centres through the preparation of Urban Design Frameworks, Structure Plans and other appropriate planning tools;
Increased waste collection at Activity Centres by ensuring recycling bins are present
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Improve the maintenance and viability of activity centres across Monash; and
Continue to develop our Library Service and the Monash Gallery of Art.
Achieving a healthy and active Monash
Increased use of our parks, spaces and leisure facilities
Build on the Active Monash initiative and campaigns; and
Work with local sporting clubs and community groups to maximise the use of parks, open spaces and Council’s leisure facilities.
Reduced litter in open spaces;
Street sweeping services; and
Community behaviour change programs
Residents inspired to remain physically active and healthy
Identify key health issues for the Monash population and the priorities for attention over the next four years for promoting an ‘Active and Healthy Monash’
Implement the relevant actions from each of the following Council strategies: The Positive Ageing Action Plan
and the Monash Baby Boomer Strategic Action Plan
The Monash Early Years Plan and Monash Youth Plan 2013/17;
The updated Monash Women’s Leadership and Participation Strategy;
Physical Activity Plan (developed by Council’s Youth and Recreation Services team); and
Action Plans within the Monash Access and Equity Framework 2013/17.
Reduced litter in open spaces;
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Encourage independence of residents aged 65+ through the Department of Human Services Active Service Model;
Review and update the strategies for promoting active ageing in Monash; and
Support a ban on smoking in alfresco dining areas across Monash.
Strengthened community resilience to the harm from gambling
Consider the recommendations of the 2012/13 Gambling Research Project; and
Strengthen the focus and work of the Monash Responsible Gambling Taskforce.
Fostering confident, connected communities
Communities across Monash celebrate their creativity and diversity
Promote Monash as a diverse and harmonious City;
Encourage participation in arts and cultural activities, including support to community organisations or individuals involved in arts and cultural activities; and
Promote the presentation of art and culture within Monash
Community concerns about personal safety are positively addressed
Gather comprehensive data on the levels of safety (perceived and actual) and promote facts about the level of personal safety in Monash relative to other areas in Melbourne;
Advocate to State Government our community’s concerns about safety of railway station precincts, particularly at night, and the expressed need to take action to
Community engagement with council planning;
Management of hazardous wastes in public places (e.g. syringe disposal); and
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improve lighting in all parking areas adjacent to and servicing railway stations in Monash; and
Work with traders and/or business owners to improve their understanding of community safety issues and undertake trials for improvement.
Communities and organisations promote respect and equality and prevent violence against women
Implement the Generating Equality and Respect Project which aims to build equal and respectful relationships between men and women and preventing violence against women.
A stronger sense of community is fostered within local areas
Encourage community gatherings, events and resident meetings to be held at the local level (and providing opportunities for residents to get to know each other) by maximising the use of Council’s local facilities and public open spaces for these community gatherings;
Conduct meetings of Councillors and the community at the local level;
Develop a local area Community Engagement Model aimed at harnessing strengths and stakeholders (local services, businesses, community and sporting clubs as well as individual members) of that local community; and
Redesign Council’s grants program to strengthen civic participation and community connections (including
Community engagement within council plans; and
Community education reinforcing values in parallel with waste diversion messages.
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communities of interest and geographic communities).
Taking action for our future Our natural and built environment is protected
Focus on our ‘Environmental Sustainability Roadmap’ and strengthening our ecological sustainability;
Continue work on Water Sensitive Urban Design as a step towards becoming a ‘water sensitive’ City;
Work towards transitioning our street lighting to more energy-efficient technology;
Develop long-term options for waste management, including options of reducing waste to landfill; and
Protect and enhance the viability of Council infrastructure and spaces.
Sustainable waste management is implemented;
Increased waste recovery and recycling;
Improved waste management to lower climate change impacts; and
Less waste sent to landfill
Our local economy is more resilient Actively promote commercial and industrial land/opportunities for Monash, as an investment in securing more employment opportunities and diversity for our local and regional economies;
Provide information and services to businesses to encourage further growth and development in the sector;
Implement a Buy Local campaign;
Support the work of the Monash Enterprise Centre - a self-sustaining business incubator, assisting individuals seeking to re/locate their businesses to an “office environment”; and
Generation of more jobs through new/improved waste and recycling industry; and
Increased recycling to make use of valuable waste which would otherwise go to landfill
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Promote investment in the Monash Technology Precinct as Victoria’s primary strategic location for high technology research and development industries.
Innovation and adaptability is cultivated
With the Monash Leadership group, develop a program to improve the organisational culture including specific strategies to support and drive innovation;
Commit to long-term planning and monitoring change over time; and
Monitor and respond to the rollout of the National Broadband Network (NBN).
Innovation in RRC/TS to promote higher recycling rates and less waste to landfill;
Support the introduction of new technologies,
Removal of regulatory barriers to new technologies; and
Innovation in the conversion of organics to energy
Investment in our children and young people is continued
Implement the strategic approach to service delivery and planning contained in the Council’s Access and Equity Framework-Monash Early Years Plan, 2013/17; and
Work to ensure young people in Monash are valued, respected, healthy and engaged.
Creating a more sustainable waste industry by reducing waste to landfill and increasing recycled materials; and
Creation of jobs through an improved and increased waste and recycling industry.
Appendix B Community Engagement Program
Council decisions, developments and strategies are a trigger for community engagement within Monash City Council. The Monash Engagement Framework is guided by the principles of inclusiveness, transparency, responsiveness and timely engagement. Input from community members and stakeholders are an essential part of the WMS and have been achieved through several methods which have adopted these principles. A combination of methods was chosen to encourage responses from broad cross section of the community.
The methods of engagement were:
Media releases;
Online survey;
Workshops; and
Phone and email comments.
B.1 Media Release
A media release concerning the development of the WMS advertised the program to encourage community discussion and consideration of the community’s waste needs. Previous engagement surveys conducted by JWS Research in 2016 indicated that a Council newsletter sent via mail was the preferred method of receiving Council information and communications. The media release was presented in the Monash Bulletin which is sent to every household within the municipality as a hard copy. Residents can also subscribe via email to the Bulletin. The Bulletin is available in English, Chinese, Greek and Italian.
The release encouraged further input from residents by outlining feedback options and providing contact information. Figure B-1 below shows a copy of the media release to the community.
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Figure B-1 Media Release
The Bulletin also contained a link to an online survey which contains questions concerning the future of Monash’s waste service and encourages feedback on relevant issues.
B.2 Survey
The survey consisted of seven questions and further opportunities to provide comment on each topic. Each question and comment was optional and designed to be easily understood. The topics and a summary of the responses are as follows:
B.2.1 Hard rubbish
Currently Monash has a ‘blanket’ collection where hard rubbish from every household is picked up at the same time of the year.
Many other metropolitan councils offer a ‘booked’ collection, where hard rubbish is collected from households upon request by individual residents. Some councils offer a combination of both.
22. If Monash Council was to consider a change to hard rubbish collection, which of the following options would you prefer?
No change, retain the one free annual collection
One free annual collection across the whole Council and the option of a booked collection at an additional cost
One free booked collection per year and the option for another booked collection at an additional cost
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Another option
Please outline your suggestion:
A summary of the responses is presented in Figure B-2.
Figure B-2 Hard rubbish survey responses
B.2.2 Food scraps / FOGO
23. Does your household currently recycle food scraps? (e.g. for pets or for composting for use in your garden)
Yes, always or often
Yes, sometimes
No
I don’t know
24. In the future, it may be possible to stop food waste being sent to landfill. Instead, organic material such as food could be picked up as part of household collections.
To do this, households may be supplied with a KITCHEN BIN for food waste. This food waste would then need to be placed into your GREEN WASTE BIN.
Would you be prepared to support this?
Kitchen bin for food waste
Yes
No
Unsure
Do you have any comments on this initiative?
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25. What else would help you to recycle more of your food waste?
The introductory question to this topic aimed to gauge how many people are currently motivated to recycle food scraps within their household. The results are presented in Figure B-3. This shows an indication of support/participation for the FOGO initiative.
Figure B-3 Food scraps survey responses
To further understand this, the next question directly asks whether the initiative is supported. A summary of the responses is presented in Figure B-4. Support for FOGO was strong. Space was provided for comments on FOGO, most of which expressed support and positivity for the change. Concerns were expressed regarding odour and attracting rats through the process, and many comments stated that compost bins provided by the Council would help households to recycle more food scraps.
Figure B-4 FOGO support responses
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B.2.3 Recycling
This section intends to gain a broad perspective of how Monash residents believe recycling could be improved. The first question asks whether people know that they can drop off recyclables at the transfer station and offers space for comment:
26. Did you know that you can drop off recyclable materials at the Monash Waste Transfer Station (380 Ferntree Gully Road, Notting Hill)?
Yes
No
Unsure
Comments/questions :
The summary of the responses to this question is presented in Figure B-5. By understanding whether people know about the Transfer Station, education programs and feedback can be implemented to encourage use/improvement of the facility. The open feedback generally centred around increasing opportunities for battery recycling and advertisement on Transfer Station services. There were also comments relating to pricing at the Transfer Station and the need to reduce it.
Figure B-5 Waste Transfer Station - knowledge survey responses
The next question asks how households could best improve their recycling and provides space for comment (Figure B-6). The suggestions from survey respondents had a focus on increasing the number of public bins and education on recyclable items. There were also many comments asking for soft plastics recycling (plastic bags) to be introduced around Monash and in the kerbside service.
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Figure B-6 Waste Transfer Station survey – increasing recycling responses
B.2.4 Waste management in public spaces
Illegally dumped rubbish has been identified as a major issue within the community and is addressed in this section. The survey asks people to gauge the magnitude of the problem dumped rubbish.
Space was provided for additional comment, asking respondents to suggest improvements to waste services and litter control in public places. The main suggestions were to increase education and signage in public places on how to recycle and properly dispose of waste. Many responses called for increased surveillance in problem areas and fines. More bins in public places such as parks was also a recurring theme.
Figure B-7 Illegally dumped rubbish survey question and responses
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450
Small problem
An ongoing nuisance
Big problem
It is causing significant environmental risks
I do not know
28. How much of a problem is illegally dumped rubbish?
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30. Are there any improvements or other waste & recycling services that you think Council should investigate?
This was an open question to identify issues which have not already been addressed in the survey and to further identify areas of importance to the community. The responses here reiterated previous themes, such as increased education and more opportunities to recycle. This indicates the selected survey topics have addressed the major issues of concern to the community.
B.2.5 Waste charges & rates notices
The potential introduction of a waste charge is recognised by Council as a matter which may be of concern to residents. This section provides a more detailed explanation on the subject and a combination of responses, both open and closed. A comment section was also provided. Most respondents required more information before an opinion could be formed (Figure B-8). Strong support was expressed for a user pays system or decreases in funding to areas of non-core spending such as festivals and events.
31. As you may be aware, the Victorian Government has placed a cap on rates, limiting how much councils can increase their rates each year.
The cost to Council of providing waste services is expected to increase at a higher rate than the cap, over the next decade. This is due to external factors such as the State Government increasing fees for disposal of household waste at landfill sites.
To meet these increased costs, Council has the option of introducing a separate waste charge. This charge would be paid by ratepayers at the same time as rates each year. In the first year, Council would reduce its rates by the equivalent amount of the charge so no ratepayer would be charged more in that first year. However, in future years, the charge may increase at a higher rate than rates, due to increased waste costs incurred by Council.
If Council doesn’t introduce a separate waste charge, there is the potential that other Council services may need to be reduced as increased waste costs will put pressures on Council’s overall budget. Most other Victorian councils already have a separate waste charge.
Figure B-8 Waste Charge survey question and responses
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500
I accept that a waste charge may need to be introduced in Monash
I don’t want a waste charge, even if not having a waste charge means that other Council …
I need more information before I can make up my mind
31. As you may be aware, the Victorian Government has placed a cap on rates, limiting how much councils can increase their rates
each year. Please tell us your preference:
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B3 Workshops
Workshops help to build a consensus for action by presenting the information and encouraging an open discussion on opportunities for improvement between Council and attendees. These discussions build credibility and public acceptance of the WMS outcomes and actions. Three workshops for public participation were held, with an additional workshop for Council members to provide their input. The timing and locations were selected to enable access for a range of community members and to receive feedback from a diversity of people. Four major topics were identified for the workshops:
Public services which Council provides,
Possible introduction of the waste charge,
Possible adoption of the FOGO initiative; and
The hard rubbish collection.
The workshops were announced at Council’s Environment Committee meeting in February. Following this there were three public workshops and one internal workshop for Council staff.
B.3.1 Public Workshops
Overall, 25 people attended the public workshops with most people aged between 45-65 or older, see Figure B-9. Those aged 25-35 in Monash were not represented at the workshops. This is a demographic which was likely better targeted through the online survey.
Mount Waverley was the highest represented suburb at the workshops as 32% of the attendees were residents of this area. Ashwood, Chadstone, Huntingdale, Notting Hill, Oakleigh South and Wheelers Hill were not represented.
Figure B-9 Age Group Representation at workshops
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From these workshops, some general trends were revealed within each of the discussion topics. There was broad agreement on the need to increase the number of smaller recycling collection points for items such as batteries and light globes at places commonly frequented such as supermarkets or public facilities such as libraries and community centres. Introduction of larger recycling points like drop off centres was not generally favoured. People tentatively liked the idea of recycling vending machines although concerns regarding vandalism and the potential for the areas in which they were placed. Support for the container deposit scheme was also tentative, with limitations on the cost of creating and running the centres.
Further information dissemination is necessary on the transfer station, especially on the materials which are accepted free of charge. Many of the attendees were not aware they could take some items there for free and requested more information and better advertising on this. A clearer explanation on what constitutes a cubic metre would also be beneficial to help customers determine what they will be charged before they arrive at the Transfer Station.
The introduction of recycling food organics in the green waste bin was well received. Most participants were accepting and supportive of the initiative. There were concerns about FOGO being a disincentive for composting at home and there was a strong demand for a lot of information to be disseminated before it is introduced. A number of attendees also expressed the desire to have free access to the composted product.
The possible introduction of a waste charge was met with mixed responses, the attendees generally supported the idea of a user pays system, where the charge would be tailored to their household, but overall disliked the idea of waste charges not being capped. Many attendees considered that while rates are now capped the recent rates increases resulting from increasing property prices should be adequate to cover increasing waste costs for Councils.
There was a strong feeling that Council should focus on ‘Roads, Rates and Rubbish’. Other suggestions included a reduction of Council’s other services like festivals or functions to balance out the rising costs of the waste service. The need for a fairer system was recognised but this alone was not sufficient justification to have the waste cost outside the Rates Cap. One resident suggested using a rebate system to address inequity.
The hard rubbish discussion was mainly centred around the issue of dumped rubbish and whether a change to the collection service would reduce this problem. Most favoured a change to the service which would introduce a combination of both the annual blanket collection and an additional booked service. There were concerns about the amenity impacts of a booked collection which recurred over the workshops, and the need to provide a more flexible service for transient residents.
The timing of the hard waste collection was questioned – particularly in relation to the bundled green waste. The current timing precedes the main greenwaste generation season – it was considered it would be more helpful if the collection could be delayed by 6 to 8 weeks to mid-late October.
B.3.2 Council Workshop
Key points raised during the Council workshop are as follows:
A container deposit scheme is likely to be attractive to sporting clubs as a fundraising initiative;
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Concern that additional drop off centres may become dumping grounds;
Accessibility to transfer station is an issue for those without trailers (eg students) – offer trailers for rent;
Library is a key interface providing opportunities for information dissemination; and
Potential changes to the way the waste charge is being implemented may occur.
B.4 Other feedback
B.4.1 Telephone feedback
A further outlet for community engagement was the option for residents to converse with Council representatives via telephone. This provides a quick and convenient way for the community to provide feedback. The information was recorded in the call centre’s system and was collated for analysis.
The feedback related to preferences for Hard Waste Collections only:
Collections at Call 69
Current Blanket collection 105
B.4.2 Listening Posts
Council provides additional opportunity for input through regular ‘listening posts’. The Listening Posts are a mobile booth which is set up in public areas such as parks or shopping centres. The booth is staffed by Council personnel or Councillors and provides an opportunity for any member of the community to raise any issue, there is no formal agenda.
Through the consultation period there was only two waste related comments received. The first comment was that they were “apprehensive about changes to waste collection policy. They are happy with current system. They are conscientious and compost and don't have much rubbish. If council was to introduce weighing, they feel there would be new problems where other people may put rubbish in their bins’.
The second comment was a resident who only partially fills the bin each week but resented paying the same as those who fill the bin completely. She suggested a discount should be available for people who produce less rubbish.
B.4.3 Council Plan Consultation
Separate consultation was undertaken by Council between October 31 and 25 November as part of the preparation of the Council Plan. Consultation included an online survey, online discussion, email, telephone and face-to-face consultation.
Whilst not specifically targeting waste matters the final question addressed the waste strategy and the waste charge. The question was:
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Council is developing a waste strategy and is planning to introduce a waste charge. There will be substantial community consultation about this in February next year. Do you have any feedback on waste services? What are your thoughts on the waste charge?
Only 81 of the 174 respondents commented on the question. Of these only 14 (17%) supported the introduction of a waste charge while 38 (47%) did not. The remainder did not state a position (2/81) or partly accepted (4/81).
Respondents strongly felt that waste collection should come under the general waste charge. There were also reservations about the effectiveness of smaller bins as waste would be placed in the bins of others instead. Another suggestion was that waste charges only apply to investment properties.
Other general comments included:
The need for at-call hard waste collections;
User pays waste costs;
Ability to have larger bins if requested;
Improvements to collections;
Ability to easily recycle difficult wastes such as soft plastics and batteries; and
Request for a free tip voucher each year.
B.4.3 Other
Additional feedback was obtained through unsolicited feedback and some additional one-on-one meetings. Additional items raised through these included:
Concern that collections from commercial premises did not optimise recovery of recyclable materials;
More education needed for what can be recycled;
Recyclable materials not being recovered during hard waste collections;
Initiatives to ‘dob in a neighbour’ does not build community;
Separation and chipping of the greenwaste collected during hard waste collections and making this available to the general public;
Provision of a periodic ‘brick amnesty’
B.5 Consultation outcomes - Main themes
The following are the major outcomes of the community consultation program:
Strong support for Council’s goal of waste reduction;
Need to promote work of Monash Pride group;
Additional collection points need to be where people normally frequent;
Need additional collection points for difficult wastes such as batteries and light globes;
Bins in public spaces – have phone number for community to contact if bin is full;
There were a number of requests for provision of free compost/mulch;
Strong support for the FOGO initiative;
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Explore deferring Hard waste Collection to mid to late October to suit the bundled greenwaste;
Greater information dissemination is needed for the Transfer Station both regarding wastes accepted and disposal costs;
More opportunities to recycle soft plastics needed;
General support for the re-introduction of a container deposit scheme;
There is currently poor understanding of the issues around a potential waste charge;
The prevailing view is that Council will use the potential waste charge as a way of circumventing the Rates Cap;
If a waste charge were to be implemented then there was a strong view that the basis for charging needs to be wastes generated;
If charging by waste generated there is a need to stop people filling someone else’s bins
Dumped rubbish is viewed as a significant problem;
Need to increase awareness of acceptable behaviour;
Greater flexibility for Hard Waste collections including the ability to book a collection; and
Separation and chipping of the greenwaste collected during hard waste collections and making this available to the general public;
Attachments – Workshop comments
Workshop 1Date: 27th February 2017
Location: Monash Civic Centre, Function Room
Time: 7pm
Council Member: April Williams
No. of Attendees 6 + Cnr Saloumi
Suburb Age Group Dwelling Type Language at Home Government Pension
Ashwood 0-25 Separate House 6 English 6 Yes 3
Burwood 25-35 Unit or Apartment No 3
Chadstone 35-45 Semi Detatched
Clayton 45-65 1 Other
Glen Waverley 4 65-75 2
Hughesdale 75+ 3
Huntingdale
Mount Waverley
Mulgrave 2
Notting Hill
Oakleigh
Oakleigh East
Oakleigh South
Wheelers Hill
GENERAL NOTES
The return on the container deposit may not be worth it
Contested the 5 week cycle of street sweeping, claimed that their streets were swept maybe 2-3- times a year
There are GPS trackers on the street sweepers - could this information be released/available to the community to see?
Transfer Station prices are too expensive, which is causing people to dump rubbish
People are not bound by Council borders, they will take their rubbish to whichever TS is nearest
Drop off Centres: didn’t seem to think that this is a good idea, 'why go to these places when people already have a recycling bin'
The cost of creating and running these centres were questioned, not favourable if they drove up rates even more
Container deposit: young people won't care about getting the money back
Vending machines: tentatively accepted the idea
Cnr Saloumi brought up an idea similar to the Australian Packaging Covenant
Possibly promote APC further in the community
Put the waste charge out into the community as a SWOT analysis
Comments that many people do not use other Council services like sports grounds, but still pay for their maintenance. If they have to pay for
waste service as a 'user pays' scheme, then shouldn't that be applied to all council services?
Publicise the reporting of commercial scavengers to Council who will follow up and try to resolve the issue
The combination option appeared to be the favourite
Can they charge per bin lift?
It's the only way to identify costs in the future. It is a sound business decision and enables people to see where their money is going
Upset that they hadn't heard of FOGO before
Felt like the council had already decided on the initiative without their input
Need to be clear that FOGO, although approved by Council, it is not going to be forced upon residents. If the community doesn't want to
participate, then they do not have to
There was a lack of knowledge on how council can help to resolve issues, e.g. providing GPS tracking on whether a particular street has been
swept
PUBLIC SERVICES
HARD RUBBISH
FOGO
WASTE CHARGE
Seemed happy with the idea of keeping hard rubbish within the front yard or drive way
Educate people to the odour created by not washing out their recyclables to improve conditions for the workers at the sorting facility
Cautiously positive
They like the idea of being able to opt in or out
When explaining, the idea of FOGO did not seem to be easily understood, this indicates a need for clear and simple education
Not convinced that their separated heaps are collected by separate trucks, apparently it all goes into the one truck
Generally happy with it as it is
Believe that requested pick ups will result in rubbish on the verge for a long time
Environmental concerns relating to vehicles constantly driving around making pick-ups
There is a need to address student housing/moving
Professional scavengers identified as an issue
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Workshop 2Date: 9th March 2017
Location: Monash Seminar and Training Centre
Time: 7pm
Council Member: Simon Hill
No. of Attendees 5
Suburb Age Group Dwelling Type Language at Home Government Pension
Ashwood 0-25 Separate House 3 English 3 Yes 1
Burwood 25-35 Unit or Apartment 2 Chinese Mandarin 2 No 4
Chadstone 35-45 Semi Detatched
Clayton 2 45-65 5 Other
Glen Waverley 65-75
Hughesdale 1 75+
Huntingdale
Mount Waverley 1
Mulgrave
Notting Hill
Oakleigh
Oakleigh East 1
Oakleigh South
Wheelers Hill
Create a mulching area closer to Monash
- Odour complaints however
Interested in the difference in greenhouse gas emissions between sending to landfill and the associated transport, or
composting
Transfer Station:
- Seemed confused about what is accepted there
- It is getting very busy which is off-putting
Public Bins:
- At public bin sites, people reported seeing both the residual and recycling bins being emptied into the one truck
- Have a sticker system on public bins so that people can take a photo of that sticker (to identify the bin) and send it to Council
to alert them that that bin requires emptying
Vending Machines:
- Like the idea, especially if it gives out vouchers
- Worried about vandalism
- Could be located inside supermarkets. Like the idea of depositing waste and getting a voucher, doing the shopping, and
Accessibility & Ease of Access:
- It is hard to find places to recycle
- Places like supermarkets are a good idea for recycle places because most people frequent them
Want to introduce tip shops
- Have a tip shop in a shopping area with a shop front so that it is visible and easy to access
- Want a better facility for people to recycle old furniture
Want more information on what is recyclable
Will require a heavy education program
Leave it in the general rates so that it doesn't rise unfairly
Should be a charge on the red bin, don't charge for recyclable or green bin services because they promote good behaviour
Yes, the waste system should be fair to MUDs
- But MUDs should have to be serviced by Council, find a way to deliver the service to them
- Don't allow private contractors
Minimise the costs of other services too
- Look at Council as a whole and see if there are reductions which could be made to reduce costs to ratepayers
FOGO
WASTE CHARGE
PUBLIC SERVICES
Very concerned about the travel distances for disposal
Would FOGO be a disincentive for people to compost at home?
Didn't realise that it would take ALL types of food - they liked that idea (they thought it would just be green food scraps which
they already compost at home)
The waste charge will encourage FOGO
Want to get the wood chips back from the green organics which they put in their bin
Locations for drop off centres:
- Bunnings stores
- Service stations
- Additional places for smaller items (batteries/globes etc)
- Libraries
Overall supported the initiative
If people add in the food, will it make the bin weigh too much?
- There may be a health and safety issue for elderly people in moving the heavy bins
- May get too heavy for other people to wheel to the kerb
Supported the user pays system if it were to be introduced
Want more options besides a yes or a no
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Want a hard rubbish collection more than once a year
Like the compromise of the combination service
Didn't know what a cubic metre was
Need more incentive for reducing household waste
Very obvious that they did not know what could be accepted for free at the transfer station
More education on what can be recycled
GENERAL NOTES
HARD RUBBISH
Mattresses:
- Collected for free in the hard rubbish collection, but residents have to pay to dispose of it at the TS
- Have noticed that there is a reduction in illegally dumped matresses since they have accepted them in the hard rubbish
Consider changing the timing of the yearly service to pick up more of the bundled green waste
- It is often quite wet during the current hard rubbish collection times which makes it hard to put the rubbish out
Totally agree with reducing waste to landfill
Putting the rubbish in the front yard for a booked collection is an OK idea
Blanket collection is good for the poorer people in the community, it gives them an opportunity to get things that they need
Illegally dumped rubbish is a problem
Experience with booked collections was that the contractors are more particular about what they accept
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Workshop 3Date:
Location:
Time:
Council Member:
No. of Attendees
Suburb Age Group Dwelling Type Language at Home Government Pension
Ashwood 0-25 1 Separate House 8 English Yes 2
Burwood 1 25-35 Unit or Apartment 2 No 8
Chadstone 35-45 1 Semi Detatched
Clayton 45-65 2 Other
Glen Waverley 65-75 4
Hughesdale 75+ 2
Huntingdale
Mount Waverley 7
Mulgrave
Notting Hill
Oakleigh 1
Oakleigh East
Oakleigh South
Wheelers Hill
Outside of Monash 1
PUBLIC SERVICES Any new recycling places need to be advertised well for them to work
Need to make sure that they don't become dumping areas
Drop off centres: good idea because people didn't want to travel too far
Council efficiency should be a focus, not just service delivery
Transfer station is too far to take just one globe
Before drop off centres are introduced, there should be interim bins at libraries and other public places
Drive through disposal - like a McDonalds drive through so that people don't have to get out of their cars
Strongly wanted collection points at supermarkets
Wouldn't want to travel further than what they already travel to get to their local supermarket
Put together a business case for the additional services like Drop Off Centres etc
Need more Council bins, especially outside of take away food businesses
Container deposit:
- Great idea, definitely push for reintroduction
- Strongly supported
- A positive action for homeless people too
- Had a great, broad social benefit
Vending machines:
- Maybe/maybe not
- Not strongly supported
Cluster bins for units in the same place so that they do not need as many bins (don't require one bin per unit)
Disposing of small batteries is a problem:
- Definitely introduce additional collection areas for people to drop them off
- Supermarkets and library
Amenity:
- Renters do not have the same sense of pride as home owners in the amenity of their streets and nature strips
- Council needs to have a major focus on renters and the transient population for property maintenance
- Renters are degrading neighbourhood amenity
Where could the recycle points be located:
- next to public toilet facilities, they are Council owned and frequented by Council staff for maintenance
- Places owned by Council would be easy to implement, like the library
Street sweeping:
- The 5 week cycle is not flexible, it needs to be able to adjust when areas have a random increase in leaf litter
- It happens whether the streets need it or not, this is not efficient or making the best use of the service. It should
target only those streets which need it
- Waste of rate payers expense to sweep residential streets, it shoul dbe left to the residents (other attendees did
not favour this suggestion)
10th March 2017
Mt Waverley Community Centre
10am
Rowan Millar
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This was the first time some of the attendees had heard of the Pride Crew
- Requested more information on them
- They need to be made more prominent on the website
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Council WorkshopDate: 2nd March 2017
Location: Monash Civic Centre, Function Room
Time: 2pm
Council Member: Simon Hill
No. of Attendees: 20
Children services:
- Ideal opportunity to educate early childhood services upwards
- Children will educate their parents
- Council is involved directly with childhood education so it would be relatively easy to implement
Extend the collection to every 3 weeks?
- If there is not smelly waste in the residual bin, then this could reduce costs (and possible waste charge) even more
- Accessibility issues here though
Residents think they've been getting their waste service for nothing
Level of trust that the community has in Council has decreased in recent time
Educate people really well, as people are likely not to take much notice of the brochure, they will just look at the dollars
Don't let the drop off centres become a waste dumping site
2 pronged approach - educate at home and create more opportunities to recycle
Some residents will want to hand back their bin
Begin by promoting compositing on site and at home
Library is a direct interface with residents which will be a good way to educate people
Sports clubs: will they take up a container deposit scheme as a fundraising opportunity
- Lots of bottles remain after a sports function
- Easily marketable to sports clubs
Transfer Station education: Residents often seem confused about the charges which they will receive
- Residents are unsure what they will be charged when they arrive at the gate
- Dumped rubbish is a result of not wanting to pay the fee (Chadstone and Oakleigh in particular)
- Hard to give an estimation of cost over the phone because of the variable materials
- Once a car is at the TS window, they must enter
-Free cardboard needs to be more well known
- Educate on what is a m3
- Simplify the charges
- Bring prices down at the TS to encourage people to bring in matierals and reduce the need for Council to collect dumped rubbish
- Highlight what is free
- Accessibility issue as not many people have trailers or cars (e.g. students)
- Offer trailers for rent
Drop off Centres: Notting Hill is already central
- Don't let the drop off centres become a waste dumping site
PUBLIC SERVICES
Political timing is important, if it is not done within the next 2 years, then there will be an election and it will take further time to
begin the process again
Council will need a well written script to handle the phone calls
How do you incentivise the community to do the right thing - have different charges for the recyclable bin
It is a very difficult sell
Uniformity in Council services across Vic local governments would help with costing
Most people are already angry at how high the rates already are
Won't the ESC cap the waste charge as well at some point?
14% of rates go to waste
Great opportunity to educate people on reducing their waste, once there is a dollar sign related to it, they will be engaged
14% of the rate base is commercial/industrial and most of them don't receive a Council service. Introducing the charge will shift 14% of
the cost back to residents
FOGO
WASTE CHARGE
Campaign begins with 1 year education on reducing food waste in the first place
People may be led to insinkerators
Sell it as an itemised bill and this will lead people to make decisions about their waste
Will lead to people dumping rubbish and putting it in their neighbours bin
Council's goal is to be #1 in services provided
- people choose to live in Monash because of the great services
- Believe the charge will have a significant impact on people choosing to live in Monash
Great opportunity to get the community thinking about how much waste comes into their household
Because of the nature of development coming into Monash (MUDs) the inequity of paying for the waste service will increase
However, more people will be subsidising the costs of the waste service
Just seems like an obvious way to increase rates
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Name:
Craig Robinson
Danny Wain
Lucas Skelton
Marcus Ballard
Colin Bostock
Fatima Almeida
Frank Bua Giancarro
Ross Goeman
Helen Ruddle
Cheryl Nielson
Janet Salvatore
Marg Spowart
Lachlan MacDonald
Fiona Johnstone
Chris LoPiccolo
Andrew Andonopoulos
April Williams
Connie Lambe
Tina Mu
Simon Hill
What do you want to get out of the strategy?
- Learn from European countries like Sweden and their minimal waste
- Minimise landfill
- Aim to increase diversion rates
- Educate on the impacts of dumping rubbish
Cost of transport: need consolidation facilities nearby
New developments:
- Smaller trucks to get into MUD basements
- Enforcement of MUDs to use their allocated storage space (some buildings have the space within their plans, but use it for a
Placing rubbish within property boundary:
- Doesn't actually occur apparently
- Won't work for MUDs
- Doesn't significantly reduce scavengers or dumped rubbish
Demand for booked services can be large and result in long waiting times for collection
- This will likely result in rubbish out on the verge for a long time
Keen on retaining blanket
Sense of pride in community amenity won't align with the booked service
Sporadic nature of booked collection probably won't be well received
Will the rate cap prevent Council subsidised hard rubbish?
Education seemed to be a strong focus that Council wanted to action
Standardise bin lid colours
Would removing hard rubbish encourage product stewardship?
Student program on hard rubbish at Monash Uni
- Already started
- During peak exit periods (Oct/Nov)
- Specific collection for Monash Uni
- Grant funded project
High administration costs for a booked service as there would have to be someone manning the phone
- The alternative is to have online online bookings
People who ring up for a booked service have usually just moved from a neighbouring council that offers a booked service (so it's not
usually a complaint or request to change the service)
People could liaise directly with the contractor to reduce costs
People get irate about rubbish being dumped
The booked service for a fee would prevent a volume of dumped rubbish
Have a copy of an internal report of phone calls received since the beginning of 2017 concerning responses to changes in hard rubbish.
20 supported an at call service, 70 wanted to keep the current blanket service (total of 90 calls)
Withdraw the service completely
- uproar when introduced by Frankston and it had to be reinstated
- Open up the Transfer Station as a free service if hard rubbish is removed completely
- Tip vouchers
- Not really an option because it would cause so much dissatisfaction with the Council
GENERAL NOTES
HARD RUBBISH
Need a greater conversation about the implications of rubbish and where it ends up
People can just put rubbish out whenever and Monash will pick it up in 24hr - is this the right response to dumped rubbish?
Professional scavengers are an issue
Combination service meets the needs of everyone
Team Leader, Customer service
Coordinator, Customer Service
Coordinator Library Operations
Pre School Field Officer
Waste Services
Waste Services
Waste Services
Waste Services
Acting Director Infrastructure
Manager Strategic Asset Maintenance
Coordinator, Statutory Planning
Position:
Coordinator Economic Development
Manager Corporate Performance
Coordinator Capital Works
Acting Coordinator Events & cultural development
Senior Place Manager (Oakleigh)
Coordinator Home Support
Coordinator Horticulture
Coordinator Project Management Office
Chief Financial Officer
