Seeking a smarter solution for household rubbish

Council resolved at its meeting last night to support joining the collaborative procurement process for advanced waste processing solutions.

Advanced waste processing solutions are sophisticated, proven technologies that recover more resources from household rubbish. Advanced waste processing solutions can reduce the amount of household rubbish sent to landfill by at least 85 per cent, which will lower greenhouse gas emissions and increase the amount of recoverable resources.

Cardinia Shire Mayor Councillor Graeme Moore said we need to continue to look for smarter solutions for our waste.

“There is a growing need to move away from landfill and look for smarter solutions to dispose of our rubbish, which can’t be recycled or composted. Continuing to rely solely on landfill to manage waste will not deliver the best outcomes for our community,” Cr Moore said.

“Advanced waste processing can transform how Councils manage household rubbish, and achieve better financial, environmental and social outcomes. It is consistent with the zero-waste hierarchy that advocates for avoiding and reducing, reusing, recycling and composting, and recovering energy from waste before sending to landfill as the last resort.”

The advanced waste processing solutions will achieve high diversion of waste from landfill and increase recovery of resources without undermining our current recycling practices.

“It will provide a viable option to complement the great work our residents are doing to avoid producing waste as a first option, and correctly using our current kerbside recycling service and other recovery options, to minimise the impact of household waste on our environment,” Cr Moore said.

The group of Councils will seek proposals from industry for proven advanced waste processing solutions.

The procurement process will be led by the Metropolitan Waste and Resource Recovery Group. Given the complexity, it will take some time to rigorously explore all the alternatives in detail before options are selected.

Councils has not selected a technology or site yet. These will be identified during the procurement process.