General News
4 May, 2023
Have your say on bin usage in Clunes and Hepburn Shire
The Hepburn Shire Council is calling on residents to have their say on bin usage in the shire in a bid to improve waste management. Changes introduced by the Victorian Government means local governments across the state are required to reshape waste...
The Hepburn Shire Council is calling on residents to have their say on bin usage in the shire in a bid to improve waste management.
Changes introduced by the Victorian Government means local governments across the state are required to reshape waste collection in the coming years.
The Circular Economy Act outlines the requirements for Victorian households to have access to separate streams for glass, food organics and garden organics, mixed recyclables and household rubbish by 2030.
Council has launched a survey to better understand how residents utilise their bins, what their recycling habits are and the use of transfer stations.
Hepburn Shire mayor Brian Hood said it’s clear the community was conscious of waste, with the survey to expand council’s knowledge.
“The survey takes residents through their attitudes and habits in relation to recycling, organics and rubbish disposal,” he said.
“We know from community engagement on our council plan and Sustainable Hepburn strategy that our community is passionate about the environment and dealing with waste in a responsible way.
“This survey will help us to understand the gaps in knowledge and how we can support residents towards a low-waste lifestyle.”
The council has operated a pilot project to trial weekly kerbside collection of food organics and garden organics (FOGO) in Clunes since 2021, which Cr Hood said has been well supported.
“This trial has been a great success. We’ve diverted 200 tonnes of organic material from landfill and residents have seen up to a 40 percent reduction in waste in their general rubbish bin,” he said.
“We are extending the trial collection of FOGO in Clunes while council considers the plan to roll out FOGO collection to townships as part of the kerbside collection shire-wide, which we are expecting to be within the next 12 months.”
FOGO is composted at the Creswick Transfer Station with the view to make the compost available to residents.
Council’s survey is available at https://participate.hepburn.vic.gov.au/waste-survey and will be open until Friday, June 9.