A Tasmanian council will cease kerbside recycling operations from 2020, as part of an overhaul of the region’s waste management strategy.
According to West Coast Council General Manager David Midson, there is limited uptake of recycling bins in the area, with an average 10 per cent of households using the service.
“Recycling collected is often so contaminated that council must expend significant funds to have it sorted and cleaned or allow it to be sent to landfill,” Mr Midson said.
“To resolve these issues in 2020-2021, council aims to move away from kerbside collection and instead provide central separated recycling bins where residents will be able to dispose of recyclables free of charge.”
Other changes to council’s waste management strategy include proactively monitoring illegal dumping and trialling green waste collection at transfer stations for 12 months.
“Currently, green waste deposited at the transfer stations is highly contaminated, resulting in significant council expenditure,” Mr Midson said.
“If this continues, council will move green waste collection to the landfill only, and assess the potential for green waste collection bins.”
Additionally, waste transfer stations will only accept limited categories of waste including domestic waste, oil and green waste from 2020.
Items such as asbestos, tyres, car bodies, concrete, rock rubble and soil will only be accepted at landfill.
Mr Midson said waste management on the West Coast cannot continue as business as usual.
“Current practices do not meet our environmental obligations, our obligations to provide a safe workplace, or the expectations of the community,” Mr Midson said.
“If we continue down the current path, the cost of waste management to ratepayers will increase dramatically.”
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