Have your say on the Kerbside Transition Options Paper for future waste and glass collections

The City of Ballarat has released a range of options for the future of the municipality’s kerbside waste and glass collections. 

The community is invited to have their say on how often we collect your bins. 

In line with State Government changes, Victorians will soon be sorting their household waste and recycling into four streams. All local government areas, including the City of Ballarat, will transition to a new glass service and a new food organics and garden organics (FOGO) service. 

The Options Paper presents the service options being considered by the City of Ballarat. The options for FOGO, household waste and glass collection services have been outlined based on their environmental benefits, cost effectiveness and convenience for households. 

Based on community feedback received in late 2022, three options are being considered for future household waste and food organics and garden organics (FOGO) collections:   

• Fortnightly FOGO and weekly household waste OR  

• Weekly FOGO and fortnightly household waste OR  

• Weekly FOGO and weekly household waste  

Our community is also being asked to consider two new options for glass recycling collections:  

• Monthly glass collection OR  

• Fortnightly glass collection 

The Options Paper is a result of community feedback from a survey held late last year. The City of Ballarat asked the community to help us shape the future of our waste and recycling collections by completing a short survey that was open for more than five weeks. 

The survey, which received a total of 2,176 responses, found: 

• 95 per cent of respondents said they were passionate or supportive of recycling and the environment 

• 60.9 per cent said the City of Ballarat should prioritise maximising recycling and environmental benefits, 18.8 per cent would prefer the most cost-effective option and 17.9 per cent would prefer the most convenient option 

• 13 per cent of respondents’ household waste bins were overfull, 29.8 per cent were full, 27.4 per cent were three quarters full and 19.9 per cent were half full when put out for collection 

• 85.7 per cent of respondents now receive a kerbside garden organics (green waste) service, 77.1 per cent are likely to use a FOGO kerbside service, 42.5 per cent do not currently recycle their food organic waste at home and 19.2 per cent now recycle all food organics at home 

• 83.9 per cent would prefer a new kerbside bin for glass and 61.6 per cent often or sometimes use the Pass on Glass skip bins. 

City of Ballarat Mayor Cr Des Hudson thanked the community for having their say in the first survey and encouraged all residents to provide feedback on the range of kerbside collection options now up for consideration. 

“It’s time we think differently about waste," he said. 

“The State Government’s changes to waste and recycling are an exciting opportunity for our municipality to design our future kerbside collections so that our waste becomes more of a resource rather than going to landfill. 

“Residents can now help inform our decision on a waste and recycling service that meets our community’s needs, while balancing the costs and benefits. 

“This is your opportunity to have your say on how we get it sorted.” 

There is no change to the current mixed recyclables (yellow lid) collection. 

Residents can read the Kerbside Transition Options Paper at mysay.ballarat.vic.gov.au or view a hard copy at City of Ballarat sites, including Customer Service and Ballarat Libraries. 

Residents can have their say: 

• Online at mysay.ballarat.vic.gov.au  

• Pick-up a hard copy of the survey at City of Ballarat sites, including Customer Service and Ballarat Libraries 

• Complete a survey at City of Ballarat stalls located at the Ballarat Begonia Festival, the Ballarat Farmers Market at Lake Wendouree on 25 March and at the Bridge Market at the Bridge Mall on 1 April 

• By providing feedback via post to: Circular Economy Project Officer, PO Box 655, Ballarat, Vic, 3353, quoting the reference Kerbside Transition Options Paper. 

The survey closes 5pm, 6 April 2023. 

Feedback from our community on the options will be considered in the development of the Kerbside Transition Plan. The Plan and a proposed timeline for implementation will be presented to Council later this year.  

To learn more about why kerbside collections are changing in Victoria, visit ballarat.vic.gov.au/sortingourwaste