Smarter solutions for household rubbish

Bayside is joining with other councils to find smarter ways to tackle household rubbish than burying it in the ground.

Council is working with a number of other councils from Melbourne’s south east to seek proposals from industry to explore a solution called advanced waste processing.

Advanced waste processing solutions are proven technologies that have been used successfully and safely overseas to recover the valuable materials in household rubbish (such as metals) or to produce energy from rubbish.

Bayside Mayor, Cr Michael Heffernan said that advanced waste processing can reduce the amount of household rubbish sent to landfill by at least 85%.

“Advanced waste processing can transform how Bayside manages household rubbish, and achieve better financial, environmental and social outcomes,” said Cr Heffernan.

“It has great potential to help manage the household rubbish we collect from residents, but we still need to keep recycling and finding ways to avoid creating rubbish in the first place.

“Advanced waste processing is one part of the total waste solution. Bayside’s introduction of food waste recycling in July is another element – transforming our food waste into valuable compost products rather than just burying it in the ground”, he said.

Council has also appointed Visy Recycling as Bayside’s recycling contractor to collect, process and responsibly trade comingled recyclables for the next two years.

Cr Michael Heffernan said that Visy is one of the largest processors of recycled materials in Australia at a time of considerable uncertainty in the sector.

“We have chosen a market leading recycler committed to the responsible recovery of materials right here in Australia. With Visy, Bayside ratepayers can be confident that their materials are being recycled,” he said.

Council will introduce food waste recycling into existing green waste bins from 15 July. Approximately half of Bayside’s rubbish sent to landfill is food waste which will now be composted and used by Victorian farmers.

Find out more about the introduction of food waste recycling in Bayside.