Councillor's Column | Cr Luke Ellery - South Ward

Dearest Reader, sincere apologies for any confusion caused by my previous column, which was a repeat of February 2022. I had sent in my column late and attached to a very old email thread. That said, I appreciated the chance it afforded to reflect on the time that was and hope our community has emerged stronger. This column, however, is absolute garbage, a dedicated report on rubbish.

Bill Volich of Volich Waste Contractors has been servicing the Shire of Mundaring for nearly 50 years and he is now hanging up the boots. Over the years, Bill has run the waste depots and faithfully collected our green bins while being based out of Mundaring, ensuring a low cost but high-quality service. Thank-you Bill for your service and wishing you all the best for retirement.

EMRC, who currently runs Redhill, Coppin Rd and of whom the Shire is a member is now collecting our bins. There are some changes being considered by Council:

• FOGO will be implemented by July 2024. FOGO is Food Organics, Garden Organics (essentially compost). FOGO reduces emissions of waste that would otherwise vent methane, enables us to put nutrients back into our soil, and reduces what is sent to landfill. It is also mandated by the state government that all councils introduce FOGO by 2025.

• Frequency of collection is yet to be finalised; generally, Councils have opted for weekly FOGO, alternating fortnights for the green and general waste. There will be a communication plan and we hope to listen to residents to determine what is best.

Council is considering an ‘on-demand’ verge collection service as opposed to the current ‘bring out your dead’, scheduled service. Essentially instead of having one set time (usually around September) to bring out your waste, you can call the shire for one free collection at any time. I always encourage residents to seek up-cycling before putting something on the verge. This decision is not yet final but some pro’s and cons are considered below. Council is also considering whether to use skip bins (which better contain waste) or continue using the verge (allows better separation and reduces lifting required). Please do reach out with your preferences on this service: scheduled vs on demand, skip bin vs none, verge service vs none at all. I can be contacted at crellery@mundaring. wa.gov.au.

Pros Cons

The service is when you want it. Doing home renos and don’t want to wait months or organise a trailer for the depot; just call the Shire

Less pollution of streets and scalpers

You can share a collection with neighbours to get multiple collections

Lower cost (predicted ~25% decrease)

Less overall waste (predicted 33% less landfill

Better sorting and recycling is predicted

You must call to organise. Current service is also timed to encourage pruning and mitigation prior to bushfire season.

Less opportunity to pick up free stuff

It was mentioned at a DRRA meeting that scheduled services can promote a sense of community as we all put out our waste together

One man's trash is another man's treasure, and the by-product from one food can be perfect for making another. – Yotam Ottolenghi

Remember

000 is the ONLY number to ring for all fire and smoke sightings.