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Vouchers And Pick-Ups Provide Solution For Hard Waste

Ratepayers will have the option of using vouchers included with yearly rates notices to dispose of their hard waste themselves at transfer stations or to discount an ‘at call’ collection

By Latrobe City - 27th March 2007 - Back to News

following adoption of recommendations made by Latrobe City’s hard waste project review group at Monday’s council meeting.

Ratepayers will receive three vouchers each year with their rate notices distributed in August.

A single voucher valued at $8 will effectively provide a ratepayer with free entry to the transfer station with hard waste contained within a sedan or station wagon; or in the back of a utility or a small trailer ‘to the waterline’. Additional vouchers will need to be handed over for larger trailer loads or where waste is ‘heaped up’ in the back of a utility or on a trailer.

For those unable to deliver their hard waste to the transfer station themselves, a pick up collection will be able to be booked during two periods within the year at a cost of $43 plus the three vouchers for up to 1.5 cubic metres of waste. Pensioners and health card holders will be eligible to receive the pick up service for $30 plus their three vouchers.

Latrobe City’s chief executive officer, Paul Buckley, said the hard waste initiative delivers a hard waste solution for Latrobe.

"In April 2006 council resolved to evaluate the feasibility of reintroducing a kerbside hard waste collection service. As a part of the evaluation process council established a project group with representation from Advance Morwell, the Traralgon Chamber of Commerce, Churchill & District Community Association and the Moe Traders Association (delegated to Merton Ward Residents Association), WorkSafe Victoria, councillors and council officers," Mr Buckley explained.

"The process undertaken by the project group involved deciding on a list of acceptable and unacceptable material for hard waste collection; categorising the material acceptable for collection according to material type and disposal options such as recycling or landfill, and assessing possible handling methods for each of the items in the list.

"The project group then assessed the associated risk of different handling methods, decided acceptable handling methods, and costed each acceptable handling method.

"Possible models to implement a service and the associated costs, including options for ‘user pays’ and inclusion in the annual waste service charge, were discussed by the group in detail; and their recommendations for a hard waste collection were presented to council for consideration on Monday.

"Mr Buckley said that council, the project group and Latrobe ratepayers all recognised that no service can be delivered ‘free’. "The concept of vouchers paid for through an annual garbage charge, which are redeemable for ‘free’ disposal of hard waste at the transfer stations, encourages our ratepayers to dispose of their hard waste responsibly, which should discourage illegal dumping," Mr Buckley explained.

"Effectively it means that when the time comes to dispose of the odd trailer of hard waste, cost is not going to be a factor.

"Additionally, the key problem for ratepayers with no means of taking their own hard waste to the transfer station is overcome by providing a pick up service, albeit user pays, during the year. Council will additionally continue to provide two ‘free’ days for disposal of green waste at the Pine Gro green waste facilities each year," Mr Buckley added.

"The adopted service is one which I believe delivers key outcomes for the benefit of the community at minimal cost, and I would like to thank all those people involved in the project group for their hard work during the year in delivering a solution on hard waste," Mr Buckley concluded.

Source: www.gippsland.com

Published by: news@gippsland.com

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