By Tanya Steele
Yarra Ranges councillors unanimously voted to pass the motion for the hard waste tender at the recent meeting on Tuesday 27 June.
The council will award a lump sum and schedule rates contract for the hard waste and bundled branch collection to WA Waste Management Services for five years, with no extension options.
Cr Johanna Skelton said it was a big ticket item on the council agenda.
“We’ve got the tender awarding the contract for the person or the company that will collect the hard waste and the bundle branches and it’s very important to our community,” she said.
“We certainly pay as a community for that privilege, we’re looking at $14,586,078.16 for five years for this contract.”
Cr Skelton said the council will be using the same company who have been performing the service previously and she said she noticed that it has been a “very good process”.
“I also like the fact that it also includes the recycling of the E-waste material, if we weren’t to do a hard waste collection, you can guarantee that that stuff will be dumped or taken or put in the normal rubbish bins where it will go to landfill or places that shouldn’t so I think that’s an important role,” she said.
With depots in Coldstream and Wesburn, Cr Skelton said she appreciates the fact it is a local company that will be employing local residents.
“It’s always great to bring that economic benefit to our local community,” she said.
Cr Skelton said whilst she is recommending committing to this five years of collection, she really hopes that by the end of that five years, the world is a different place from what it is now.
“I hope we can look at doing really progressive and environmentally sustainable things in the future,” she said.
Cr Andrew Fullager said he supported this recommendation but with reservations.
“I feel there’s a tension and contradiction between the Council’s message and position to reduce and better manage waste and move to four bins,” he said.
“Here’s a service that almost encourages it, so I would have liked to have seen more information regarding other options explored in the report.”
“Five years is quite a long time with the tip closures potentially the end of 2027, so I support this on the basis that we do a deep dive on it in 12 to 18 months.”
No other councillors spoke on the motion and it was carried unanimously.
