Council News Issue No: 139
CITY OF WAGGA WAGGA
FIRST PRINTED SATURDAY 8 APRIL 2017
Weekly information from us to you W H E E LY C O O L T H I N G S COMING FOR FOREST HILL Forest Hill will have its own skatepark by the end of June. The new skatepark at Forest Hill Oval will be the city’s sixth, with one at Chambers Park in Tolland, Henwood Park in Kooringal, Bolton Park in Central, Webb Park in Ashmont and William Street in North Wagga. In September 2016, about 20 Forest Hill residents met with City of Wagga Wagga staff to discuss options for the popular park area. A skatepark was the overwhelming favourite choice of equipment for the open space.
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CAN'T WAIT: Forest Hill kids (from left) Xavier, Braxton and Zander Peters with mum Alisha check out the site of the new skate park.
All things considered for kerbside waste The City of Wagga Wagga has carefully considered the results of the 2015 Tipping Point survey when preparing the tender documents for the proposed residential kerbside waste collection service. Surveys were sent to every household in 2015 with a reply paid envelope to return it in or option to complete it online. More than 4500 households filled out the survey providing a comprehensive snapshot of community expectations around waste. This was in addition to an online People's Panel consultation and conversations with residents at several public stalls and village meetings. Every respondent made suggestions unique to their circumstances and all were different
to varying degrees. Some people suggested reducing the frequency of green waste collection to monthly in winter months; others wanted it increased to weekly all year round. Commercial Operations Sector Manager Caroline Angel said Council has tried to accommodate all responses, however it is not possible to implement them all as majority support contradict each other. “There was majority support for introducing a weekly food organics and garden organics (FOGO) collection service, majority support for not reducing the general waste pick up to fortnightly, but also majority support for not paying any more for introducing FOGO,” she said. “It is not possible to introduce a weekly FOGO service alongside
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expensive to build," she said. a weekly general waste collection service while keeping costs to a “Conversations with residents minimum. throughout the campaign “In drafting the tender documents suggested many people do not support the fortnightly collection for the proposed system Council of the general waste bin because has sought to balance the expectations of the community with they did not understand that if this did go ahead food scraps, which best practice systems already in place across NSW and Victoria such are largely responsible for the smell in bins, would now go in the new as in Albury. FOGO bin and collected weekly. Ms Angel added that a $1M “There were also concerns grant offered by the Environment about nappies and Council has Protection Authority to assist with the roll out of FOGO collection was sought to address those concerns in information available on the also considered. website and as a hard copy.” “In addition there are long term cost savings associated with introducing a FOGO service because of the reduction in www.wagga.nsw.gov.au/waste waste to landfill and prolonging the life 1300 292 442 of existing waste cells, which are very
SURVEY SNAPSHOT
Snapshot of responses from residents that already have a kerbside waste collection service • 60% support for weekly collection of a FOGO bin • 63% against fortnightly collection of general waste bin • 73% do not want to pay more if FOGO service is introduced
Under the proposed system the fortnightly collection capacity will increase from 720L to 860L.
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