Waste Resource Management Strategy 2014-2019

8/19/2019 Waste Resource Management Strategy 2014-2019

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2/48Waste and Resource Management Strategy 2014–2019

Acknowledgements:

Waste and Resource Management Strategy

Steering Team: City of Greater Bendigo staff; Alex Malone, Gary Leech, Darren Fuzzard,Neville Stewart, Ben Devanny, Ros Manning,

Simon Clay and Robyn Major; Calder RegionalWaste Management Group, Peter Chudek;Environment Protection Authority, (Phase One:Background paper) Paul Ratajczyk.

Waste and Resource Advisory Committee: Cr Peter Cox (Chair), Cr Barry Lyons, Cr EliseChapman, Jeff Cummins, Rebecca Dempsey, Veronica Hall, Chris Harrington, Nicole Hood, Verity Lougoon, Glenn Morrison, Danny Potter,

Brian Stanmore, Don Erskine.

Disclaimer:

This publication may be of assistance to you,but the City of Greater Bendigo, its employees,consultants and contractors do not guaranteethat the publication is without flaw of any kind oris wholly appropriate for your particular purposes

and therefore disclaims all liability for any error,loss or other consequence which may arise from

you relying on the information in this publication.

List of Initialisations:

AWT Alternative Waste Treatment

BAU Business as Usual

BPEM Best Practice Environmental Management

C&I Commercial and Industrial

C&D Construction and Demolition

CDL Container Deposit Legislation

CoGB City of Greater Bendigo (generally referred to as “the City”)

DEPI Department Environment and Primary Industries

EPA Environment Protection Authority Victoria

GFV Getting Full Value – Victorian Wasteand Resource Recovery policy

LGA Local Government Area

MRF Materials Recovery Facility

MSW Municipal Solid Waste

PPR Public Place Recycling

SMEs Small to Medium Sized Enterprises

SV Sustainability Victoria

TS Transfer Station

W&RMS Waste and Resource Management Strategy

WRRG Waste and Resource Recovery Group

City of Greater Bendigo Waste

and Resources Management Strategy

© City of Greater Bendigo, 2014

City of Greater Bendigo

PO Box 733Bendigo VIC 3552T: 03 5434 6000F: 03 5434 6200E: [email protected] www.bendigo.vic.gov.au

A copy of this publication is available onthe City of Greater Bendigo’s website:www.bendigo.vic.gov.au


3/48Waste and Resource Management Strategy 2014–2019 • 1

1. Executive Summary 2

2. Overview 4

2.1 Introduction 4 2.2 About Bendigo 5 2.3 Legislation and policy 6 2.4 Stakeholder contribution

and strategy development 8

3. Waste currently managed by the City 10

3.1 Domestic waste 11 3.2 Recycling composition 12 3.3 Commercial waste 13 3.4 Current cost of managing waste 14

4. Drivers for Change 15

4.1 Aligning with the waste hierarchy 15 4.2 Price – a lever for change 16 4.3 Reducing greenhouse gas 16 4.4 Population growth, development

& future waste projections 17 4.5 Land use planning for waste infrastructure 17

5. Waste Services provided by

the City and its partners 18

5.1 Collection 18 5.2 Receiving and separating waste 19 5.3 Waste disposal 20 5.4 Past actions to establish a new landfill

or advanced waste treatment facility 21

5.5 Managing waste into the future 22

5.6 Education and awareness programs 27

5.7 Advocacy and leading by example 27

6. Managing ‘other’ waste streams 29

6.1 Specific waste streams 29 6.2 Hard waste or bulky items 29

7. Littering and illegal dumping 30

8. Implementation Plan 31

8.1 Avoid and minimise waste generation 31 8.2 Reuse, recycle and recover 34 8.3 Infrastructure, innovation

and private sector waste 36 8.4 Littering and illegal dumping 39

Appendices

Appendix 1: Indicative waste cost modelling 41

Appendix 2: Specific waste streams 42

Figures

Figure 1: The municipality of Greater Bendigo 5

Figure 2: Waste stream volumes managedby CoGB in 2012–13 (tonnes) 10

Figure 3: Detailed recent domestic garbage audit results 12

Figure 4: Breakdown of domestic recyclingrecovered at the MRF in 2011–2012 12

Figure 5: The ‘Waste Hierarchy’ – as it applies tothe City’s level of responsibility and control 15

Tables

Table 1: Municipal solid waste volumes2011–12 and 2012–13. 11

Table 2: Current Commercial & Industrialand Construction & Demolition wastevolumes 2011–2012 and 2012–13 13

Table 3: Summary of high-level modelling results 41 Table 4: Issues with ‘problem wastes’ and 42

potential management strategies

Contents


4/482 • Waste and Resource Management Strategy 2014–2019

Greater Bendigo like many other communities across Australiais facing major challenges with the collection and disposal ofsolid wastes. Landfills are fast running out of space and there isgrowing community concern that councils need to take a moresustainable approach to the way waste is managed.

In recognising this need for change the City of Greater Bendigo(the City) embarked on developing this Waste and Resource

Management Strategy (W&RMS) to provide guidance in meetingthe following objectives:

• Reduce waste, increase resource recovery;• Focus on diverting organic waste from landfill to minimise

current and future financial and environmental liabilities;

• Provide an efficient, convenient and safe resourcemanagement system for residents;

• Develop partnerships locally and throughout Victoriato develop and deliver sustainable services;

• Minimise the costs and risks to ratepayers;• Support innovation in resource management and

look for opportunities to maximise sector developmentin Greater Bendigo;

• Reduce the incidence of illegal dumping and littering.

The focus of this W&RMS is on the domestic waste stream,known as Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), for which the City isdirectly responsible. This Strategy also acknowledges the rolethe City currently occupies in the delivery of waste services tothe business and industry sector on a commercial basis suchas operating a landfill.

Appropriately, legislation and policy of both a directive andcoercive nature steers Councils and the community toward

the right balance between social, economic and environmentalobjectives for waste management. The State Government’s

Getting Full Value policy on waste and resource managementwill be particularly important in this regard.

Within these legislative controls however, Councils still have bigdecisions to make based on what they believe is right for theircommunity and what their community cares about. While the

municipality of Greater Bendigo is enjoying terrific success at theforefront of regional development in Victoria, our performance inminimising waste going to landfill has languished at close to theworst in the State for many years. Equally the amount of wastethat we are generating per person is higher than our neighboursand other regional cities.

In developing this strategy significant time was invested inconsulting with key stakeholders, businesses and the generalcommunity over a two year period to get their views and inputon what is important and valued. Utilising considerable initial

community feedback through forums, surveys and interviews theCity’s traditional waste services to the community were testedand actions identified that aim to achieve the right balancebetween accessibi lity, affordability and sustainability.

This strategy identifies and directly responds to those aspectsthat will make our achievements in waste and resource manage-ment something we as a community can be proud of. While itis clear there is still significant investigation required to provideexplicit detail in the implementation of some of the strategiesoutlined in this document the key recommendations include:-

• The City will introduce a solution for the food and gardenorganics to reduce waste going to landfill;

• The City will introduce optional 360 litre recycling bins toresidents wishing to increase their recycling capacity;

• The City will not pursue the development of a new landfillonce Eaglehawk Landfill reaches its capacity;

• The City will commit to a powerful and targeted educationand awareness program to support strategy initiatives;

• The City will not introduce a kerbside hard waste collectionservice, but will promote the range of existing enterprisesthat service this need;

• The City will continue to commit to reducing litteringand illegal dumping;

• The City will continue to create the opportunity forinnovative responses to the management of ourwaste streams.

Creating resource streams

Current trends in waste management call for us to think of waste

in terms of potential resource streams; each stream representinga resource input for industry or a business opportunity. The Cityas the manager of municipal solid waste currently separates

and offers recyclable material for reuse, and is looking towardsseparating and offering the next biggest resource stream, foodand garden organics.

Organic material generated from the garden and kitchen makesup approximately 50% of the residual waste stream and this

material could be treated to produce a useable product suchas compost or energy.

Improving recycling performance

at home and in public placesOpportunities to better capture the ‘traditional’ recyclables thatcontinue to be discarded through our waste bins at home andin our public places are explored and actions established.

1. Executive Summary

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY


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These actions will include information on how to improve ourrecycling habits so we can make better use of our recycling binspace such as crushing, folding and flattening items. However,if lack of recycle bin space continues to be a problem residentswill be given the option of obtaining a 360 litre bin.

Public place recycling bins will be installed in high profile locations

to re-enforce the message that recycling is ‘just what we do

wherever we are’ and retail complexes will also be encouragedto provide recycling bins for shoppers.

No new landfill

It is a primary objective of this strategy to substantially reducethe amount of waste going to landfill. The City has an obligationto ensure that residual municipal solid waste is disposed of

appropriately however this does not mean that the City mustoperate a landfill.

The City has been utilising a privately operated landfill over thepast twelve months at a cheaper rate than the waste can bedealt with at the current Eaglehawk landfill. The ongoing use

and reliance on these private sector facil ities is unlikely to posea practical problem as the waste sector continues to develop

and offer a broader range of waste and resource managementservices.

A plan will be developed to guide the City in withdrawing fromoffering landfilling services (other than Heathcote) when Eaglehawk

landfill reaches capacity. Concurrent to this, options for the futureinfrastructure requirements of the Eaglehawk site, to facilitateongoing resource recovery and residual waste management

will be developed.

Education and advocacy

Education and awareness programs, in partnership with infra-

structure solutions, play a critical role in the bid to teach residentsabout waste management. The City commits to delivering apowerful and targeted program to support initiatives emanatingfrom this Strategy.

The current approach to waste education focuses on encouraging

residents to view waste as a resource and providing them with the

knowledge and skills required to participate effectively in wasteavoidance and resource recovery. Key initiatives include a wasteservices website, workshops, campaigns in local newspapers,television and radio, displays and promotions for various eventsthroughout the year.

In addition to educating the community on ways to avoid creating

waste, the City advocates for legislative changes at a Nationaland State level to improve resource recovery and reduce wasteto landfill.

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Hard waste collection

Approaches to the management of hard waste vary across

Councils. Historically the most common being the collection

on-mass of items from the kerbside but this has changedsignificantly due to difficulties associated with OH&S, visual

amenity and pilfering of high value material inflating the cost of

collection. Some Councils have introduced on-call arrangementsto counter these difficulties.

In Bendigo, the Eaglehawk Eco-centre, along with various private

sector businesses currently respond to this demand with eitherdrop-off or on-call options available. The City will encourage andprovide information to support the community to utilise theseaccessible and cost effective services.

Minimising littering and dumping

Littering and illegal dumping pose a threat to wildlife and thecommunity and can lead to long-term contamination. The City

is committed to reducing the occurrence of this activity. This willbe achieved through a combination of education, infrastructurechanges and compliance. The City aims to see the rate of theseincidences reduce dramatically in the future.

Addressing past legacies

Historical waste management activities such as old landfills have

the potential to cause environmental impacts where they were notclosed and rehabilitated in a manner that would reduce rainfallinfiltration or contaminate groundwater. Although the old landfillsin the LGA were closed and rehabilitated to the standard of theday our collective understanding of the impacts from historicallandfills has increased. Some of the old landfills may now requirefurther investigation and rehabilitation to minimise environmentaland health risks. The costs associated with rehabilitating old

landfills is potentially large and needs to be well managed to

reduce the financial burden to council and ratepayers.

Implementation Plan

The City has included a comprehensive Implementation Planwithin this Waste and Resource Management Strategy toensure that the pathway to reaching the key objectives is clearand achievable.

Waste and Resource Management Strategy 2014–2019 • 3


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2.1 Introduction

This strategy focuses predominantly on solid, non–hazardouswaste commonly referred to as Municipal Solid Waste (MSW),typically collected from households via kerbside collections as the

City has a legislative responsibility to ensure this waste streamis managed on behalf of the community. For the purposes ofthis strategy it includes material from:

• Kerbside collections

• Recyclables• Residual waste (garbage)

• Transfer stations

• Resource Recovery Centre (self haul or drop-off waste)• Street litter (including street litter bins)• Street cleansing and pit cleaning.• Festivals and events

The role of education in improving performance in waste avoid-ance and recycling is also considered and actions proposed. Aswell as actions to address littering and illegal dumping of waste.

Also discussed is the City’s current and future role in relationto the management of

commercial and industrial (C&I), and

construction and demolition (C&D) streams. While the City hasno legislative responsibility for these two waste streams they are

very important to the municipality from an economic perspective. The City’s role in these streams is conducted from a position ofadvocacy and support for waste industry development, wastereduction education and awareness for business and industry,as well as service delivery e.g. landfill services at Eaglehawk.

Waste generated from large businesses including C&I, andC&D streams are currently, in part, catered for at the Eaglehawklandfill. However, the appropriateness of this extending past theclosure of that landfill is an important question that this strategy

also addresses.

2. Overview

2. OVERVIEW



Goornong TS

Eaglehawk Landfill

Strathfieldsaye TS

Heathcote Landfill

Legend

CoGB Boundary

Highway

Roads

Crown Land

Waste Facilities

N

2.2 About Bendigo

The City of Greater Bendigo is located in north central Victoria,

approximately 150km north-west of Melbourne. CoGB is one ofthree member councils of the Calder Regional Waste Management

Group (RWMG). The local government area (LGA) is bounded bythe Shire of Campaspe in the north, the Strathbogie and MitchellShires in the east, the Mount Alexander Shire in the south, andthe Loddon Shire in the west.

The population of the City of Greater Bendigo as at the 30 June2012 was 103,550 (Australian Bureau of Statistics, EstimatedResident Population (ERP)) from this ERP, the population fore-cast for 2013 is an estimated population of 109,199 (.id (2012)Community Profile). Currently experiencing a growth rate of

approximately 1.61% per annum it is forecast that the LGA willsee a population change, between 2013 and 2031, of 36,409or 33.34% (.id (2012) Community Profile).

Occupying a land area of almost 300,000 hectares the munici-pality has an overall population density of approximately 0.3

persons per hectare which is high compared to the average forregional Victoria, although it does vary considerably across themunicipality; from a low of 0.03 persons per hectare in Elmore,to a high of 15.60 persons per hectare in Strathdale.

In 2011, the census indicated that there were 38,494 separate

houses in the LGA, 4,520 medium density dwellings, and 7 highdensity dwellings, with 91% of these dwellings housing up to 4residents, with 9% housing 5 or more residents.

A map of the Greater Bendigo local government area, as shownin Figure 1, also indicates the location of the City’s two landfillsand the two waste transfer stations within the area.

Figure 1: The municipality of Greater Bendigo

2. OVERVIEW



2.3 Legislation and policy

This Waste and Resource Management Strategy is influencedand supported by a wider strategic context and legislative andpolicy environment within which the CoGB operates.

Legislation

National Legislation

Product Stewardship Act 2011 provides a framework for nationalproduct stewardship schemes. The ‘National Television and

Computer Recycling Scheme’ introduced in 2013, in requiresimporters of televisions and computers to steward the materialrecovery of goods they sell.

Clean Energy Futures Act 2011 provides a framework for reduc-ing carbon pollution in Australia. The Act includes a ‘cap andtrade’ scheme which will require emitters of greenhouse gasesto acquire a permit for every tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent(CO

2-e) they emit over specified thresholds. Implications of the

Act are relevant to the management of landfills.

State LegislationLocal Government Act 1989 assigns responsibility for providing(either directly or through contractors) collection, transport andreprocessing or disposal to landfill of municipal solid waste fortheir communities. (This does not require local government tomanage disposal facilities such as landfills)

Environment Protection Act 1970 stipulates responsibilitiesin relation to waste disposal, in particular the managementand operation of landfill sites and the rehabilitation of closed

landfill sites (including those managed by previous councils).

The Environment Protection Act also underpins the applicationof a Landfill levy and how and to whom, the revenue from the

levy will be allocated.

The Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 requires Councils toensure the municipal environment is maintained in a clean andsanitary condition.

Policy

Federal Policy

National Waste Policy: Less waste more resources was agreedto by all Australian environment ministers in November 2009. The aims of the policy are clearly described as to:

Avoid the generation of waste, reduce the amount of waste

(including hazardous waste) for disposal, manage waste

as a resource and ensure that waste treatment, disposal,

recovery and re-use is undertaken in a safe, scientific andenvironmentally sound manner, and

Contribute to the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions,

energy conservation and production, water efficiency, and

the productivity of the land.

National Packaging Covenant (NPC): A voluntary initiative by

government and industry to reduce the effects of packaging

on the environment.

State Policy

Getting Full Value (GFV) – Victorian Waste and Resource Recovery

Policy: The Victorian government is primarily responsible for set-ting the policy and regulatory framework within which Victorian

councils must deliver waste services. The current Victorian

Waste and Resource Recovery Policy – Getting Full Value, wasreleased in April 2013 replacing the Towards Zero Waste policyadopted in 2005.

The 30 year vision for waste management in Getting Full Value is:

“Victoria has an integrated, state-wide waste management

and resource recovery system that provides an essential

community service by protecting the environment and

public health, maximising the productive value of resources,

and minimising long term costs to households, industry

and government.”

The state policy features six major goals:

1. Help Victorians reduce the waste they generate and save Victorians’ money through efficient use of resources.

2. Facilitate strong markets for recovered resources.3. Have a Victorian waste and resource recovery system that

maximises the economic value of waste.4. Reduce the environmental and public health risks of waste.5. Reduce illegal dumping and littering.6. Reform and strengthen the way institutions work and are

governed to effectively implement waste policy.

2. OVERVIEW



Getting Full Value supports the development of an integratedsystem of waste infrastructure to cater for the range and varietyof waste materials generated across the state, from bothhouseholds and businesses. The system described in thepolicy involves waste facilities, such as large transfer stations,landfills and materials recovery facilities, as hubs connected bytransport and collection routes ( spokes ). The State Governmenthas committed in the GFV to working with local government

and industry investors to plan for infrastructure and logistics tosupport this connected ‘hub and spoke’ network.

There will be specific focus on investment in infrastructurehubs that is driven by the commercial pull from markets for

recovered resources and for maximum flexibility allowing the

market to adapt ‘spoke’ activities to changing waste volumes,compositions and flows that occur over time. To promote thedevelopment of a cost-effective network of waste and resource

recovery infrastructure a state-wide infrastructure plan andcorresponding metropolitan and regional waste and resourcerecovery plans will be developed.

The draft Statewide Waste and Resource Recovery Infrastruc-ture Plan (SWRRIP) which was released in September 2013

provides an evidence base to inform planning and investmentto achieve the vision outlined in Getting Full Value. The plan,

when completed, will:

• Provide an analysis of current and anticipated trends inwaste generation, composition and levels of resourcerecovery.

• Provide an analysis of the existing infrastructure for wastemanagement and resource recovery as well as anticipatingfuture processing needs.

• Investigate opportunities for colocation of new waste andresource recovery infrastructure with similar activities suchas waste water treatment.

•

Consider the transport impacts arising from the movementof waste and materials.• Provide information regarding key infrastructure that

requires protection from encroachment.

• Provide clear guidance to local governments and wastemanagement groups.

• Provide an evidence base for future targeting ofgovernment funding and investments.

The SWIRRP is expected to be finalised in 2014.

The Plan will also provide strategic direction for waste and resource

recovery planning for the next 30 years with an immediate focuson the next five years. It will provide direction to the develop-ment of both the metropolitan and regional waste and resourcerecovery plans to ensure a consistent integrated approach across

all levels of planning. This will ensure that planning at state andregional levels are actively integrated, aligning state directionswith regional priorities.

Victorian Litter Strategy – Creating Cleaner, Safer Places: Strategy

to prevent litter and improve litter management practices to

achieve clean and safe public places.

Regional Policy

The state government is progressing with changes to the wastemanagement groups, with the current 13 waste management

groups being amalgamated into six large regional waste and

resource recovery groups and one metropolitan waste andresource recovery group. These changes will see the Calder

Regional Waste Management Group (RWMG), of which Bendigois currently a member, amalgamated with the Central Murrayand Mildura RWMGs to form the new Loddon Mallee Waste

and Resource Recovery Group (WRRG) which will extend

from Macedon Ranges to Mildura and comprise eight membercouncils. The role of the new waste and resource recoverygroups will be expanded to include planning for all solid wastestreams, (i.e. commercial and industrial (C&I) and constructionand demolition(C&D)) rather than just municipal waste. This

planning will need to be consistent with any statewide strategiesdeveloped by Sustainability Victoria. In addition the new groups

will be required to develop Waste and Resource Recovery Planswhich are consistent with the SWRRIP.

Although the CoGB does not plan directly for the management of

C&I and C&D waste streams (other than through management ofits own landfills) it will make a contribution to planning all waste

management and resource recovery infrastructure through itsrole in the new Loddon Mallee WRRG.

The SWRRIP identifies the following significant infrastructure

and issues for the Bendigo region:

• The Eaglehawk landfill precinct is identified as a significantregional infrastructure hub because of associated C&Dreprocessing and potential for the landfill site to be usedas a site for additional resource recovery operations,which should be protected from encroachment throughappropriate land use planning

• A potential opportunity to increase the recovery of garden

organics across Ballarat, Bendigo and Geelong• Addition resource recovery infrastructure to reduce landfill

requirements once the Eaglehawk landfill ceases operationas an active landfill



Local Policy

The CoGB Waste and Resource Management Strategy align with,

and build on, existing Council plans, policies and strategies thatmay be directly or indirectly relevant to waste management issues.

Relevant policies include:

• The CoGB Council Plan update 2013 – 2017• Litter Bin Strategy, 2007• Environment Local Law (Local Law 3) Section 11:

Domestic Waste and Section 12: Trade Waste and Waste

Hoppers• Natural Environment Strategy

• Carbon Management Plan

• Economic Development Strategy

The City of Greater Bendigo Council Plan 2013–2017 containsStrategic Outcomes and Actions which are directly relevant tothe provision of waste services:

Sustainability

• Reduce all waste to landfill and make productive use of

by-products.

• Commence implementation of agreed priorities in the

Waste & Resources Management Strategy encompassing: reducing resource consumption, a local landfill decision,

reducing waste to landfill and increasing resource recovery.

Container Deposit Legislation (CDL)

In 2009 the Greater Bendigo City Council resolved to supportthe introduction of a Container Deposit Scheme in Victoria andthroughout Australia and advocate to State and Federal Ministers

about demonstrating the financial, social and environmental

benefits and actively promote the issue in the community.

2.4 Stakeholder contribution

and strategy development

To develop this strategy, the City invested significant time andresources in consulting with key stakeholders, businesses andthe general community to get their views and input on what

is important and valued. In addition to the broad community

consultation (including community and business surveys, listening

posts, events and the use of a range of media), specific andcomprehensive input was received from the Waste and Resource

Management Advisory Committee and the Project Steering Team

including representation from Environment Protection Authority(EPA) and Calder Regional Waste Management Group (RWMG).

Future Directions

It became apparent through community and industry consulta-tion that there is a strong desire to drive a change in communitythinking away from that of waste management, to one of resource

management. This change would help community (industry, busi-

ness and individuals) understand their role in managing availableresources wisely. As reducing the demand for new resources byusing less material through improved product design, reducedpackaging, reuse of items, use of recycled material, and the

separation or by reclaiming materials for further processing, allresult in increased productivity.

To encapsulate this drive for change the following statement ofintent has been developed:

Increase prosperity and protect the environment by

maximising our resource recovery and reducing our waste.

Guiding principles

The following 10 principles were also developed to guide decision

making in this strategy:

1. Minimise waste: Follow the waste hierarchy.

2. Maximise benefits: Reclaim resources,waste sector development.

3. Sustainability: Environment protected,public health and wellbeing maintained.

4. Shared responsibility: Community participation,education, behaviour change.

5. Equity: Fair, affordable, accessible.

6. Collaboration: Solutions beyond municipal boundaries.

7. Best Practice: Compliant with regulation,industry best practice.

8. Accountability: Progress and outcomesmeasured and reported.

9. Financial responsibility: Full cost recovery,user-pays, value for money.

10. Innovation: Consideration of options and opportunities

2. OVERVIEW



Key Objectives

Putting the principles into practice the City will:

1. Reduce waste, increase resource recovery.

2. Focus on diverting organic waste from landfill to minimise current and future financial and environmental liabilities.

3. Provide an efficient, convenient and safe resource management system for residents.

4. Develop partnerships throughout Victoria to develop and deliver sustainable services.

5. Minimise the costs and risks to ratepayers

6. Support innovation in resource management and look for opportunities to maximise sector development in Greater Bendigo.

7. Reduce the incidence of illegal dumping and littering.

Measuring performance

The following actions and targets have been established to quantify achievement of the key objectives:

Actions Targets

Reduce waste collected from kerbside.

Key Objective: 1 & 2Reduce average residual waste disposal from 642 kg/hh/year to320 kg/hh/year by 2019 based on data provided to SV for theLocal Government Annual Survey.

Increase resource recovery from waste.

Key Objective: 1Improve kerbside diversion rate from 26% to 60% (weight) by 2019,based on data provided to SV for the Local Government Annual Survey.

Reduce the recyclables disposed of in the waste binfrom 77 kg/hh/year to 40 kg/hh/year by 2019.

Support economic development that

utilises waste streams as a resource.Key Objective: 4, 5, 6

Resource streams such as organics made

available for private sector development.

Continue to provide an equitable service

meeting the needs of the community.

Key Objective: 3

Maintain or improve rating for waste management inannual Victorian Local Government Satisfaction Survey.

Reduce incidence of littering

and illegal dumping.

Key Objective: 7

Reduce number of recorded instances of illegal dumpingby 5% per year over 5 years, compared to 2013 figures.



Materials Tonnes

Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) 60,145Commercial & Industrial (C&I) 28,755

Construction & Demolition (C&D) 16,077

Prescribed Industrial Waste (PIW) 4,347

Heathcote Landfill (mixed streams) 4,000

Available data indicated that the City managed a total of 113,331 tonnes of waste and recycling across the municipality in the

2012–13 financial years. Just over half of this material (53%) was MSW with C&I waste accounting for 25% and C&D waste 14%.

While MSW flows are well understood, data on C&I waste is relatively limited. Other than the commercial waste that is received at

CoGB landfills, the City has no direct control over the flow of commercial waste. This makes it difficult to directly correlate commercialdisposal and recycling volumes with the actual amount of commercial waste generated within the municipality. The data used togenerate the chart below is based on volumes of waste received at the Eaglehawk and Heathcote landfills.

3. Waste currently managed by the City

Figure 2: Waste stream volumes managed by CoGB in 2012–13 (tonnes)

3. WASTE CURRENTLY MANAGED BY THE CITY



3.1 Domestic waste

Of the 61,145 tonnes of MSW handled by the City in 2012–13,approximately 35–40% was diverted from landfill through kerbside

recycling collections and self-haul drop-off recycling and green-

waste services provided at the City’s transfer stations (Goornongand Strathfieldsaye) and landfills.

Within the municipality approximately 600 kg/household/year

of household waste and 250 kg/household/year of recyclables

is collected from the kerbside with a resource recovery rate in2012–13 of 25.8% (accounting for contamination in recyclables). This represents no significant change from the 26% kerbside

diversion rate reported for the municipality in Sustainability Victoria’s Victorian Local Government Annual Survey for the

financial year 2010–11.

A summary of current domestic waste flows is provided in thefollowing table. It is noted that kerbside waste collection in the

municipality also includes approximately 3,000 commercialservices, of which approximately 1,300 are rural farm propertiesand the remainder includes businesses and schools.

Table 1: Municipal Solid Waste volumes 2011–12 and 2012–13.

Kerbside MSW (Domestic) Tonnes/year

2011/2012

Rate

%

Tonnes/year

2012/2013

Rate

%

Kerbside Residual Waste (Garbage) collected 27,194 27,150

Kerbside Recycling collected 10,778 10,571

Total Kerbside Collected 37,972 37,715

Kerbside Recycling Contamination Rate 8.7% 7.8%

MRF Recycling rejects (contaminants) 940 831

Kerbside Diversion Rate 25.9% 25.8%

Self-haul and other municipal waste

Self-haul Residual (Garbage) 7,615 5,716

Other Council Waste (e.g. Street-cleaning) 5,365 5,105

Self-haul Recycling 6,856 7943

Self-haul Greenwaste 3,980 4043

Overall MSW Generation

Total MSW Generation 61,788 60,145

Total MSW Disposed to Landfill 40,174 37,588

Total MSW Recovered/Recycled 20,674 22,557

Overall MSW Diversion Rate 33.5% 37.5%




The composition of the kerbside domestic residual waste(garbage) stream within the municipality has been studied at

regular intervals over recent years. Comprehensive kerbside

audits were conducted in September 2011, May 2012 and June2013, providing a detailed breakdown of material types disposedat the household level. The results of those detailed audits aresummarised in the following chart and provide the best availablecharacterisation of the current waste stream.

3.2 Recycling composition

The composition of domestic recyclables was obtained from

the breakdown of materials recovered at the materials recoveryfacility (MRF) based on data provided by the processor.

Annual data for the past three years shows that there has beenvery little variation in the breakdown of the kerbside recyclingstream over this period. Paper and cardboard is by far the majorrecovered component of the recyclable stream, comprising

approximately 73%, of which cardboard makes up 50%. Thedetailed recycling composition for 2011–12 is presented in thechart below. Although not presented on this graph, it should benoted that contamination of the kerbside recyclables stream (bynon-recyclable materials) is estimated at over 8%.


100%

90%

80%

70%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

60%

50%

September 2011 May 2012

Cardboard 50.7%

Paper 18.1%

Glass - Fines 10.5%

Glass - colour 8.2%

Newsprint 4.3%

HDPE Clear 2.0%

Steel - Tin plate 1.7%

PET Clear 1.5%

Aluminium 1.4%

LDPE Film 0.9%

Polypropylene 0.5%

HDPE Colour 0.2%PET Colour 0.1%

PVC - Vinyl 0.0%

Figure 3: Detailed recent domestic

garbage audit results.

Other (e.g. plastic film, non-recyclable

hard plastic and kitty litter)

Contaminated recyclables

Potentially hazardous

Clothing/textile/fabric

Building Materials

Metal

Plastic

Glass

Paper

Other organic

Garden wasteKitchen organics

Figure 4: Breakdown of domestic recycling

recovered at the MRF in 2011–2012.



3.3 Commercial waste

Data available to CoGB on waste generation for commercial streams (i.e. all streams other than MSW) is limited to that which isprocessed through the City’s waste facilities as follows:

Table 2: Current Commercial & Industrial and Construction & Demolition waste volumes 2011–2012 and 2012–13

Waste Stream Category Tonnes/year

2011/2012

Tonnes/year

2012/2013

C&I Waste

CoGB Commercial Kerbside Collection *2,192 *2,293

Commercial (self-hauled / private collectors) 23,798 26,462

Total Generation **25,990 **28,755

C&D Waste

Waste to landfill 9,386 3,733

Recovery (Industrial Recycling) 629 591

Recovery (concrete / cover / fill) 11,885 11,753

Total Generation 21,900 16,077

Other Waste

Heathcote Landfill 4,000 4,000

Prescribed Industrial Waste (PIW) 315 4,347

* Waste collectedfrom commercial area.

** Of this volume, approximately

600 tonnes of C&I is

diverted from landfill

via existing processes.




3.4 Current cost of managing waste

The total expenditure by the City on waste management servicesin the 2012–2013 financial year was approximately $16.15M.Revenue of approximately $16.5M was recouped; gate fees

($5,360,000), municipal garbage charge ($8,313,000) andrecycling charges ($2,668,000). The remaining income is storedin a waste reserve that funds future capital expenditure such

as new kerbside bins, landfill cell development, capping and

rehabilitation.

Of the $16.15M spent on waste services in 2012/13, $1.73Mwas used for street sweeping and pit/drain cleaning, $137,000for operation of transfer stations and approximately $4.14M

was for the kerbside recycling and garbage collection services.

Expenditure of approximately $9M occurred in the operation of

the Eaglehawk and Heathcote landfills. With waste managed

primarily on a cost recovery basis, all costs associated with landfill

management, operation and development are built into the feestructure and the gate fee allowing such costs to be recouped.Currently the landfill operation expenses also include paymentscovering the price on carbon (payable on waste disposed at

Patho Landfill), the landfill levy and GST. The increasing landfilllevy payable on each tonne of waste deposited is a majorcontributor to the continual increase in fees. For every tonne ofwaste deposited in Eaglehawk landfill, the City currently collectson behalf of the Federal and State Governments approximately$86 in levies and fees; this represents more than fifty percentof the landfill gate fee and totals more than four millions dollarseach year.

While funds are being accumulated to help respond to therehabilitation obligations of the City, particularly for the White

Hills and Eaglehawk landfill sites, the extent of work required

and the timeframe for this to occur is unknown. However, it isnow apparent that historical contributions to this fund will not

be adequate to cover the estimated cost of remediation totoday’s standards. In addition, the City has identified a further21 sites that are known to have been used for the disposal ofwaste materials. Most of these sites have been rehabilitated

to the standards relevant at the time and many are now usedfor other purposes such as sports fields. However, the City stillretains a liability for restitution of any of these sites that proveto be detrimental to human health or an environmental risk intothe future.


14

Albert Roy Reserve developed on the

site of a rehabilitated former landfill.



4.1 Aligning with the waste hierarchy

The concept of a ‘waste hierarchy’, ranking ways of dealing with waste in order of preference, has been almost universally adoptedas a guiding management principle by governments in Australia and internationally. The waste hierarchy sees avoiding the creationof waste as the most desired outcome, and landfill disposal the least desired outcome.

4. Drivers for Change

Figure 5: The ‘Waste Hierarchy’ – as it applies to the City’s level of responsibility and control

AVOID &MINIMISE

REUSE

ENERGY RECOVERY

RECYCLE

DISPOSE

The City cannot directly control what items householders buy and dispose of

but can provide education to encourage steps that reduce the creation of

waste and put in place systems and process to minimise waste to landfill.

The reuse of materials that would otherwise end up in the waste stream can

provide a variety of social and environmental benefits. e.g. the City can

support community-based reuse organisations.

Kerbside recycling services provided by the City and some other local recycling

activities are a key way of reducing the economic and environmental impacts of

managing waste, while also supporting local employment.

Thermal treatment (Energy from Waste) technology is only in the early stages of

development in Victoria but offers potential to reduce disposal rates in the future by

recovering energy resources from materials that would otherwise be landfilled.

While disposal is the least preferred option, there will probably always be some residual

and/or hazardous wastes for which landfilling remains the best (or only) option. It is critically

important for the City to maintain cost effective access to a landfill in the foreseeable future.

4. DRIVERS FOR CHANGE



4.2 Price – a lever for change

There are several factors that influence the cost of waste manage-

ment. At times Federal and State governments use pricing asa mechanism to influence change or introduce more stringent

regulation to achieve a desired environmental or social outcome. These levers result in an increase in the cost of managing wastewhich in turn drives the development of alternative and ofteninnovative solutions.

Approximately $86 out of the $148/tonne gate fee chargedat Eaglehawk and Heathcote Landfills goes to the State and

Federal Governments in fees and levies.

Significant price drivers influencing landfill gate price:

Landfill Levy: The Victorian Government applies a levy on everytonne of waste disposed in landfills in order to encourage greaterresource recovery. The levy is set to increase by approximately10% each year until 2015. A portion of the monies raised is

returned as grants to local governments through Sustainability Victoria.

Carbon Liability: The Federal Government’s Carbon PricingMechanism applies to landfills emitting more than 25,000t CO

2e

per annum. As waste disposed today can continue to produce

greenhouse emissions over several decades, future carbonprice risks for landfills can be high, and are difficult to manage. At the time of finalising this document the Federal Governmenthas foreshadowed but not passed legislation to repeal the CleanEnergy Futures Act 2011 which is the framework for the CarbonPricing Mechanism. Changes to this Act will impact on the gateprice of many landfills including Eaglehawk and Heathcote.

Landfill Management: While disposal of materials to landfill isthe least preferred management option for waste, landfills will

continue to be required to manage those wastes that cannotbe practical ly removed from the waste stream. Today’s landfillsmust not leave an unacceptable environmental legacy for futuregenerations to address. Community expectation and increasedenvironmental concern has lead to more stringent requirementsfor landfill management that has significantly increased the costof monitoring and maintaining all licensed landfills.

Landfill development and replacement: In 2010 EPA Victoriareviewed the Landfill Best Practice Environmental Manage-ment (BPEM) standards for all licensed landfills in Victoria. Thereview incorporated the latest technology and understanding ofsound environmental landfill management and also a numberof recommendations of the Victorian Ombudsmans reportBrookland Greens Estate — Investigation into Methane Gas;

a direct result of the investigation into the Cranbourne landfillfailure. The changes to the BPEM have significantly increased thedifficulty and expense of developing new landfills and expanding

existing ones.

4.3 Reducing greenhouse gas

The City in 2009 adopted its first Carbon Management Plan

which aims to comprehensively quantify and manage theorganisation’s greenhouse emission profile as a result of the

operations and services it delivers to the community (includinglandfill), and to work towards meeting any obligations the Citymay have under a legislative approach. In 2011 the City adopteda target of reducing carbon (greenhouse gas) emissions from itsown operations to 50% below 2011 levels by 2020. Reducingwaste related emissions will significantly contribute to achievingthis target.

A range of potential sources of greenhouse gas emissions areassociated with waste and recycling activities from fuel used incollection vehicles through to processing and disposal emissions.

By far the greatest greenhouse impacts are associated with

landfill gas generation.

Methane gas (CH4 ) with a global warming potential of 21 times

greater than carbon dioxide (CO2 ) is produced when waste

breaks down in the anaerobic conditions of a landfill. Landfill

gas is responsible for nearly 3% of Australia’s total greenhouse

gas emissions profile and is usually one of the largest sourcesof council-generated greenhouse emissions.

The amount of landfill gas generated depends on the type ofwaste buried and conditions within the specific landfill. Wastestreams with more biodegradable content (such as paper, food

or garden waste) generate more landfill gas. Based on ‘average’compositions, the National Greenhouse Accounts (NGA) Factors (July 2012) specifies lifetime emission factors for each waste

stream. These lifetime emissions occur over a period of manyyears as waste can take several decades to fully break downand is one of the key reasons why liability for landfill rehabilitationcan span decades.





Existing kerbside recycling services are helping to reducegreenhouse emissions in two ways;

• Firstly by reducing the amount of bio-degradable wasteburied in landfill (especially paper and cardboard) and;

• Secondly by returning useful materials to the productiveeconomy; thereby reducing the demand for raw materialsand the energy required to make new products, e.g.recycling an aluminium can saves 95% of the energyneeded to manufacture a new can from virgin materials.

4.4 Population growth, development

& future waste projections

At the time of the 2011 census the number of residential dwellings

in the municipality was estimated to be 43,926 and is anticipatedto grow to 60,742 dwellings by 2031(.id (2012) Community

Profile). This would require an average increase of approximately840 new homes each year. However, the residential develop-ment within Greater Bendigo is currently seeing the demand forcollection services rise by approximately 1,200 households peryear. As of March 2013 the City provides services to 46,616

residential properties.

Population growth has been identified as one of the biggest

challenges for waste management. The Victorian waste and

resource recovery policy Getting Full Value states that:

• On average, each one of us generates just over twotonnes of waste per year.

• Over the last 10 years, there has been a 29% increase inthe average amount of waste attributable to each Victorianevery year.

• Over the past decade Victoria’s annual waste generationhas increased from roughly eight million tonnes in 2000 to

12 million tonnes in 2011.• Between 2010 and 2011 alone there was a seven per cent

increase in the total amount of waste Victoria’s system hadto handle.

• Victorian waste generation is expected to continueincreasing by around 4% per year, and may approach 17.4million tonnes by 2022.

Using data from 2011–12 as a baseline and a business-as-usual

assumption that does not include the escalation in per personwaste creation predicted by the State, the total annual wastegeneration in Bendigo could be approximately 150,000 tonnesby 2030.

4.5 Land use planning for

waste infrastructure

Over the past decade planning for waste management infra-

structure has primarily been focussed on landfills with proposedsites identified in the Landfill Schedule of each Regional WasteManagement Plan (a requirement of the Environment Protec-tion Act 1970). Currently, the only site within Greater Bendigolisted on the Calder Regional Waste Management Plan Landfill

Schedule is at Huntly, a site no longer considered appropriatefor landfill development.

In 2008 a site was purchased at Bagshot after preliminary testingdetermined its suitability for landfill development. To date, no

action has been taken to seek planning approval to develop thesite for waste disposal infrastructure.

It is increasingly difficult to secure sites for waste and resourcerecovery infrastructure that are readily accessible, compatiblewith neighbouring land uses and accepted by the neighbouringcommunity. The State Government policy Getting Full Value

recognises these constraints and has committed to working with

local government to better align land use and transport planningwith waste management and resource recovery planning. Thiswill be supported by ongoing reviews and amendments to the

State Planning Policy Framework , Victoria Planning Provisions,and planning schemes to appropriately reference and facilitatewaste and resource recovery infrastructure requirements.



The City currently provides a number of waste and resource

management services, including: kerbside garbage and recycling

collection for domestic and some commercial properties, manage-

ment of the Eaglehawk and Heathcote landfills, management oftransfer stations, rehabilitation of old landfills, street litter collection,

public place litter bins, street cleaning, drain and pit cleaning,and domestic waste education and awareness activities.

5.1 Collection

Kerbside Collection – garbage and recycling

Most Australian councils provide a kerbside collection servicefor household garbage (usually weekly) and dry commingled

recyclables (usually fortnightly). The variations in collectionsystems and services are numerous and are usually tailored toensure a cost effective service that meets the specific needs

of the community.

Currently the City provides kerbside garbage and recyclablescollection services to over 46,600 households in all urban and

rural areas across the municipality with the cost of the servicesrecouped as ‘garbage and recycling charges’ in the annual

rates process. The weekly garbage collection service offers binsin two sizes; 140 and 240 litre. The 140 litre bin is offered ata lesser fee to encourage residents to downsize from the 240

litre bin with approximately 55% of households already takingup this option. The garbage collection service is conducted asan ‘in-house’ service by the City.

The City also provides optional commercial and non-residentialgarbage collections on a ‘fee for service’ basis. Properties zonedwithin the commercial business districts have the capacity toextend their weekly service to a multi-day service of one, two,three, five or seven days a week collection.

Recycling collection is currently fortnightly with a 240 litre bin sizeoffered. Collection of kerbside recyclables is also provided tosmall and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). There are currently1,275 businesses that make use of this recycling service. The

recycling collection service is provided under contract to the City.

Contamination of the recycling stream with waste material, aswell as recyclable material lost to the waste stream continue tobe problematic.

Public place litter and recycling bins

The City manages and collects garbage from over 1,300 public

place litter bins within the municipality. A small number of publicplace recycling bins (a total of nine, located at Rosalind Park,the Chinese Gardens and the Queen Elizabeth Oval) are alsoprovided and serviced under contract to the City.

5. WASTE SERVICES PROVIDED BY THE CITY AND ITS PARTNERS

5. Waste Services provided by the City and its partners




Other collection services

Detox Your Home –

Annual Mobile Service at Council Depot

The mobile “Detox Your Home” drop-off day held annually in

Bendigo accepts a wide range of household chemicals, including

fertilisers, solvents, acids and alkalis. This service is conductedby Toxfree with the chemicals either recycled or destroyed inan environmentally sound way. Sustainability Victoria coordinatethe program with advertising and site support from supporting

councils.

drumMUSTER

drumMUSTER is the national product stewardship program

for the collection and recycling of empty, cleaned, eligible andnon-returnable crop production and on-farm animal healthchemical containers. It is funded from a four cent per litre or

kilogram levy on crop production and animal health products. The

levy is initially paid to drumMUSTER by the manufacturer whothen passes the cost down the supply chain to the consumer. The levy is used to reimburse local councils or other collectionagencies for any costs incurred.

In a bid to increase recovery rates, permanent drumMUSTER collection points are provided at the Eaglehawk and HeathcoteLandfills and the Goornong Transfer Station. Also, a one-off

collection occurs annually (in October / November) at Elmoreand Raywood.

drumMUSTER collection points

Approximate

numbers of

drums collected

Eaglehawk (established July 2000) 1,400 per year

Goornong (established November 2003) 800 per year

Elmore (established November 2003) 1,500 per year

Raywood (established November 2003) 600 per year

Heathcote (established 2010) 300 per year

5.2 Receiving and separating waste

Transfer Stations

Transfer stations (TS) are sites for the sorting and temporary

collection of domestic waste and resources. There are cur-

rently two transfer stations in the municipality (Strathfieldsayeand Goornong) and both are supervised and managed undercontract. A gate fee applies for waste received at the TS at thesame price structure as the Eaglehawk and Heathcote landfillsand recyclables are received at no cost.

The waste received at the two TS is domestic waste includinghard rubbish, metals and household recyclables. (C&I and C&Dwaste streams are not accepted).

Sorting of materials occurs on site, the garbage is transportedto the Eaglehawk landfill, recyclables to the materials recoveryfacility (MRF), and recovered materials and saleable items go

to the Eaglehawk Eco-centre. The revenue derived from thegate fees at the TS does not cover the cost of providing theseservices. In 2011/12 there was a deficit of approximately $97,000.

However, the TS offer an important service to residents in thesurrounding area.



Eaglehawk Eco Centre

The Eaglehawk Eco Centre is located at Upper California GullyRoad in Eaglehawk and is made up of a number of services

including the Recycling Centre, Recycle Shop, green waste

processing facility, loading facility (transport of waste), power

generation plant and the landfill.

Eaglehawk Recycling Centre

Located outside the landfill gate, Eaglehawk Recycling Centrereceives and sorts recyclable and recoverable goods from loadsbefore vehicles enter the landfill. This business is operated by

Future Employment Opportunities (FEO) and has a lease agree-ment with the City for use of the site.

Many materials can be dropped off free of charge and the typesof materials received at the Centre include: paper/cardboard;plastics; electronic waste (such as TVs, computer monitors);

ferrous and non-ferrous metals; firewood and other timber;and a range of hard waste (e.g. household goods, furnishings,plumbing) that can be recovered and sold in the Recycle Shopor sorted and baled and sold for further reprocessing. Fridges,freezers and air-conditioners are also accepted but attract a

de-gassing charge.

Detox Your Home (permanent facility)

The Eaglehawk Eco Centre is home to a permanent ‘Detox YourHome’ drop off facility. This service only applies to the followingproducts: automotive and cooking oil, automotive and household

batteries, barbecue gas bottles, paint and compact fluorescentlights and tubes.

Green waste processing

Located inside the landfill gate and managed by City staff,green or garden organics are collected from self-hauled loadsdropped off at the landfill. The gate fee for green waste is lessthan general waste to landfill. The Green waste is mulched andstockpiled for use on site as part of the landfill cover or madeavailable for sale.

The City offers residents eight days (4 weekends) per year in which

green or garden waste can be delivered free to the Eaglehawklandfill. Four of the free days are in autumn and four in springto encourage clean up for the fire season.


5.3 Waste disposal

Eaglehawk Landfill

The City’s main landfill site, Eaglehawk, is licensed to receiveMSW, C&I waste, C&D waste, and prescribed industrial waste

((PIW) such as asbestos and category C contaminated soil). Thelast cell at the Eaglehawk landfill is under construction and oncompletion, the remaining capacity of the landfill is estimatedto be approximately 350,000 cubic metres. Another smaller

facility, Heathcote landfill, is unlicensed, and receives MSWand C&I wastes.

The City has transported waste to landfills outside the municipality

since August 2008 in a bid to prolong the life of the Eaglehawklandfill. In the 2012/13 year, over 62% of waste received at theEaglehawk weighbridge was transported to a landfill outside themunicipality and while the final cell is under construction, themajority of waste received will be transported away.

Heathcote Landfill

Goods sorted and processed at the Heathcote landfill includethe recovery of re-saleable goods, and collection of recyclablesand green waste. Green waste is mulched and sold to custom-ers while recyclables (plastics, paper/cardboard, glass etc.) are

collected in a comingled skip bin.

Transporting waste for disposal

The Eaglehawk loading/transfer facility is a loading station fortrucks to collect and transfer waste to other landfill sites. In

2012/2013 91,195 tonnes of waste was received at Eaglehawklandfill of which 56,959 tonnes was transported to the Patholandfill for disposal. Both MSW and C&I were transported awayhowever asbestos and category C contaminated soils cannotbe transported off the licensed area.




Landfill gas

Under licence requirements with the Environment Protection Authority, the City is required to implement a gas managementsystem at the Eaglehawk landfill. This work is delivered viacontract by Landfill Management Systems Pty Ltd (LMS). Thecontract agreement allows for LMS to construct all necessaryinfrastructures on the sites to capture the gas. LMS is responsible

for all costs and expenses associated with harnessing the landfillgas and have access to any revenue opportunities which maybecome available as a result of the work.

Flaring of landfill gas commenced in August, 2005, and continued

until the power generation plant became operational in July 2008and began generating electricity to feed into the grid. By the end

of March 2013, the generation plant had used 18,966,832m3 of gas to generate power. Currently, energy is exported to thegrid at an average monthly net generation rate of 415MWh,

which is equivalent to powering 68 households. Having the gasextraction system in place ensured that at the time the Clean

Energy Futures Act 2011 was introduced, the City was able

to demonstrate that the emissions from the Eaglehawk landfill(estimated 15,340 tonnes of CO

2-e) were well below the Act’s

mandatory reporting level (25,000 tonnes of CO2-e). As well, show

that the waste deposited at the site prior to the landfill reaching

capacity would not trigger a reporting threshold and incur a priceliability now or into the future. However, a significant proportion

of the municipality’s waste is disposed of at a landfill that willgenerate emissions in excess of the reporting threshold in thefuture so the gate fee at that site includes a ‘Carbon MitigationCharge’ which is recouped through the garbage charge and

gate fees of the City’s landfills.

5.4 Past actions to establish

a new landfill or advanced

waste treatment facility

In the early 2000s the City looked to establish a new landfill ata site north of Huntly. The site was ultimately abandoned as anoption after the land adjacent to the site was declared NationalPark and it was considered that the development of the landfillcould impact negatively on the biodiversity and aesthetic valuesof the Park. This site, still owned by the City, is currently utilisedfor farm forestry.

In 2009, following preliminary investigations to assess the feasibility

of the site for landfill purposes, the City purchased land in Clay’s

Road, Bagshot North. The investigations included geological andhydrogeological studies, surface water evaluation, geotechnicalinvestigation, flora and fauna assessment and an Aboriginal

Cultural Heritage Assessment. At the time the investigations

did not reveal any obvious flaws associated with the use of thesite as a landfill. If the City chose to continue investing in this

site for landfill use, its viability would have to be assessed in

light of changing State policy and regulatory environments inaddition to appropriate detailed investigations, relevant land useplanning considerations and community consultation. Neitherthis site, nor any other site within the municipality is currentlylisted in an approved Calder Regional Waste Management PlanLandfill Schedule.

The City also investigated a number of Advanced Waste Treat-

ment options through a worldwide expression of interest processin late 2010. Although a short list of 4 possible companieswas established a decision to not proceed was made due touncertainty over obtaining approval for such systems in the

Victorian regulatory environment.



5.5 Managing waste into the future

Avoid creating waste

One of the best strategies for reducing waste to landfill is to

reduce the amount of waste we as individuals generate. It savesmoney by reducing waste management costs and by maximising

the use of resources. Unfortunately, in spite of growing aware-ness in the community about the need to reduce waste, wastegeneration rates have continued to rise in line with the growthin our standard of living. This presents a tough challenge for thefuture as our population also continues to grow.

Councils have no control over the purchasing habits of thecommunity and neither do they wish to have. However, the Citywill continue to be proactive in the delivery of programs that

encourage the community to avoid creating waste, such as therecent successful Food Smart workshops that provided tips andadvice on how to buy right, save money and waste less food.

Programs aimed at working with industry to make changes thatreduce materials consumption through improved product design,

encourage reuse of by-products as a secondary resource, reduce

product packaging and divert material from landfill will continueto be supported by the CoGB. Likewise, the City will promoteactions put in place by the retail sector to minimise the wastefrom packaging that is passed onto the consumer.

Improving resource recovery

Greater Bendigo has a diversion rate based on kerbside collec-tions of 26% which gave it a ranking of 73 out of 79 councils inthe Sustainability Victoria, Victorian Local Government AnnualSurvey 2010/2011 (79 being the poorest performer). The stateaverage is 44% diversion on this basis. When recyclables, greenwaste and general waste collected at landfills and transfer sta-tions are added, the total diversion rate grows to 33.5% of allMSW (approximately 62,000 tonnes annually) in the municipality(utilising the 2011/12 data relevant to the survey).

However the biggest potential reduction in the amount of GreaterBendigo’s MSW going to landfill can be achieved by address-ing the organics (green and food) component that constitutesbetween 45 and 60 percent (or 12,000 to 17,000 tonnes perannum) of the content in our kerbside waste bins.

So too, with approximately 12–13 percent (or 3,200–3,500tonnes per annum) of ‘traditional’ recyclables continuing to besent to landfill through kerbside waste bins, tangible improve-

ments are possible.

Public place recycling offers another opportunity for improvement.

Contamination with waste in recycling bins located in public

areas has been a deterrent to their wide spread introduction

in Bendigo. However, if such problems can be overcome, thennot only will more recycling be collected but the message willbe reinforced that recycling is not an optional activity but rather‘just what we do no matter where we are’.


22


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Where provided, the pricing of these services to the commu-nity varies considerably however, without external funding an

anticipated additional cost of at least $70 per service could beexpected for the cheapest of the options suggested. The optionthat offers the best overall service to the Bendigo community(as measured against the objectives of this strategy) would beestablished through a tender process. A pre-commitment to fund

preparation of the required contract (including collection of anyfurther required data) has already been established with Sustain-ability Victoria and this would enable a service to commence in

2014/15. Sustainability Victoria has also indicated an interestin investigating the possibility of a joint organics managementcontract to service both Bendigo and Ballarat.

To enable a cost effective service to be offered, it is proposedthat processing of organics to remove it from the residual wastestream would be made broadly mandatory (some exceptions may

be needed) for all households within the city limits of Bendigo

and Heathcote. It is acknowledged that such an approach wouldimpact on existing green waste service providers operating within

those areas and this would be considered in the tender process.

A further challenge to the introduction of a mandatory serviceis that different families or individuals living in different circum-stances are likely to have different levels of need for the service. The extent to which this can be accommodated in any service

ultimately provided will be sought and tested in the tenderprocess. Notwithstanding the difficulties inherent in introducing aservice to prevent organics from going to landfill, doing so wouldsubstantially lessen the impact to the environment of our dailydomestic lives now and for generations to come. Like many other

initiatives in this document, the process of removing organicsfrom landfill will also help to encourage a sense of communitypride and confidence that we are coming of age as a regionalcity and that we are setting important examples for others tofollow. Irrespective of these noble objectives though, it is clear

from State and Federal Government policy and legislation thatthere will soon come a time when continuing to do what we havealways done with organics will either simply not be allowed or itwill cost our community far more than what is now proposed.

While the final design of any organics treatment option is yet tobe decided, the biggest single affect can be made by a residential

kerbside collection. However, advice from councils that currentlyhave an organics kerbside collection system in place, suggestthat a multi-program approach consisting of kerbside collectionand education on the benefits and how to of composting andworm farming, results in the best organics diversion outcome. This is the approach supported by this strategy.


‘Traditional’ recyclables diversion

Feedback from the community survey indicated that approxi-mately 51 percent of residents regularly fill their existing 240 litrerecycling bin within the fortnightly pick up cycle.

It is predicted that this is a primary reason for 12–13 percent ofthe waste bin composition being ‘traditional’ recyclables that

have flowed over from the full recycling bins.

Given the relatively small additional volume of recyclables thatcould be transferred from the waste bin to the recycling bin, anincrease in the frequency of service from fortnightly to weeklyis not justified. Such a change would almost double the cost tohouseholds of that service.

A more practical and economic response is to undertake thefollowing:

• Undertake periodic education programs for residents toencourage flattening or compacting items as a simple and

free way of getting more capacity in their recycling bin.

• Introduce 360 litre recycling bins as an option for residents.

This option will be allowed for in Council’s upcoming recyclables collection and disposal contract.

• Continue to advertise the option of an additional240 litre recycling bin for those residents withvery high volumes of recycling.



Infrastructure options to support changes

There is strong evidence to indicate that altering the size of

the general waste bin from 240 litres to 140 litres positively

affects the recycling performance of a community (Sustainability Victoria – Victorian Local Government Annual Survey). Given

the prediction by the State Government that volumes of waste

generated per person will continue to rise, this action would helpdeliver an important message to our community that we wishto reverse the trend. The practical impacts of such a move arehowever appreciated and it is suggested that this be pursuedconcurrently if a third bin option is ultimately introduced. Thiswould alter the existing service of approximately 45 percent ofhouseholds who presently have 240 litre waste bins and it isexpected that strong promotion and marketing of the new service

would be required to give comfort to residents that their needs

are being met. The introduction of the 360 litre recycling bin

option would occur irrespective of whether any or no organicsmanagement system is introduced, however this would ideallyoccur prior to or concurrently with any such system.

Public place recycling

In the past, public place recycling has proven problematic inBendigo with high contamination rates being experienced in thenine bins located at the QEO, Chinese Gardens and RosalindPark. This has resulted in a reluctance to extend the service toother locations.

There is however, good reason to change.

On the demand side we know that there has been significantgrowth in the number of dining options in Bendigo with manyoffering take-away food that is then consumed while walkingaround the streets or enjoying our many passive and active

recreation areas. In this context, the message to the community

that is portrayed by the presence or not of recycling bins in publicplaces is too important to ignore. Recycling must not be seenas an optional activity but rather ‘just what we do wherever weare’ and this cannot be achieved without convenient access torecycling bins in public areas.

As Bendigo has shown however, achieving good recycling results

in public places is not simple and a well-planned approach tochanging community behaviour based on providing recycling bins

in the right places, and supporting this with the right educationprograms, is essential. Sustainability Victoria offers both guidance

and, from time to time, funding to do this.

A program of introducing recycling bins to additional high profile

and popular public use locations in Bendigo, and supportingthis with a strong education campaign, is considered to be asensible response to this need and opportunity.

Commercial & Industrial andConstruction & Demolition

The City’s role in the C&I and C&D waste streams at Eaglehawkhas been on the basis of history rather than legal obligation.

That said these waste streams have proven to be important tothe City financially as their fees are more driven by the marketthan they are on the basis of ‘affordable’ cost recovery (in theway that MSW fees are). Hence, the value of the airspaceassociated with this waste is higher than that from MSW. While

the C&D waste stream is currently a relatively attractive financialproposition and good rates of recycling are being achieved at

the landfill, these attributes will change once the final cell is filled.From a community perspective, at that time it will no longer befinancially or environmentally advantageous to the communityfor the City to offer these services. However, this is unlikely topose a practical problem as the private market’s role in this

waste stream in Bendigo is growing rapidly in both number andbreadth of resource processed.

In regard to the C&I stream, Sustainability Victoria evidence

suggests that this may offer an attractive resource to tenderersfor the MSW organics contract. Provision will be made in the

contract for this waste stream to be considered when tenderersare developing their proposed response to the MSW organicsservice. Should this not be included in any such contract, theCity would continue to accept this higher income waste atEaglehawk and subsequently withdraw from that waste stream

once the final cell is full. This latter option would allow many yearsin which to establish alternative providers of this service for the

community with much improved diversion rates being expected.

C&I and C&D future options.

Although the City has no direct legislative responsibility forthe holistic planning and management of C&I and C&D (other

than managing landfills that receive commercial waste), underproposed new changes to the Environment Protection Act andas a member Council in the new Loddon Mallee WRRG, the Citywill make a contribution to planning for all waste managementand resource recovery infrastructure for the region. Proposedchanges indicate that the new WRRG’s will have responsibilityfor C&I and C&D waste streams. This will support the ongoingprovision of services for the management of these streams,

significant to the municipality for economic development andenvironmental reasons.

It is expected that the services delivered to business and industryby the City will change over time as the waste sector expands

and offers a broader range of cost effective and accessibleservices. However, the City’s role in advocating and supportinginnovation and change will remain.




The City will continue to work in the C&I and C&D sectors inthe following ways:

• Deliver services to business where practical andcomplementary to existing MSW domestic servicesi.e. kerbside collection for SMEs,

• Deliver landfilling services at Eaglehawk (until landfillreaches capacity) - licensed to receive MSW, C&I waste,C&D waste, and prescribed industrial waste ((PIW) suchas asbestos and Category C contaminated soil).

• Consider all waste streams when planning futureinfrastructure needs such as transfer station optionsfor Eaglehawk site when landfill reaches capacity.

• Support the development of the waste sector(range of enterprises, capacity and capability),

• Deliver and support education and awarenessprograms for business and industry on resourcerecovery and waste reduction,

• Continue to work with business and industry toidentify and investigate ways to meet theCity’s waste management needs.

• Consider all waste streams when investigatingfuture contractual options for the City

i.e. organics management contract.• Support innovation and promote innovative solutions.

What about a new landfill?

It is a primary objective of this strategy to substantially reducethe amount of MSW going to landfill and the actions proposedin the previous section will achieve that. Hence, the reliance

on any landfill for disposal would also diminish and so too theassociated risks.

At the same time, the actions in this strategy will reduce the

opportunity to achieve economies of scale in any new landfill

that the City might choose to develop and mean either a muchlonger period to amortise very high up-front establishmentcosts or the introduction of higher gate fees for the community.Irrespective of the City’s strategy though, the State Governmenthas shown its strong intention by including in Getting Full Valuethe following policy position:

Recognising the long-term impacts of landfills, the Victorian

Government is signalling its intent that in future landfills

will only receive treated, residual waste. ‘Treated residual’

wastes are materials that have been through a process to

extract all materials with economic value.

Councils have an obligation to ensure that residual MSW is

disposed of appropriately however this does not mean that theymust operate a landfill. In fact, there are very few metropolitancouncils operating their own landfills and the vast majority relyon facilities owned by the private sector.

The City has been transporting close to 100% of its waste toa privately operated landfill for more than 12 months and hasdone so at a lower whole-of-life cost than is achievable in theEaglehawk landfill.

While fluctuations in prices for transport and disposal areinevitable, there is no evidence to suggest that Bendigo would‘pay a premium’ to the private sector if the City is not operat-ing its own landfill. On the contrary, given the very high cost toestablish a new landfill, the reduced waste to landfill as a resultof this strategy and the results of the City’s last two open tendercontracts for transport of waste to other existing facilities, theopposite is expected. On this basis the City will not pursue thedevelopment of a new landfill.

In making the decision to not develop a new landfill and withthe expectation that Eaglehawk landfill will reach capacity withinthe next 3 -5 years, the City will be required to develop an exit

strategy to guide the withdrawal from the provision of landfillingservices and accommodate the closure and the subsequent

rehabilitation of the landfilling operations at the Eaglehawk site.(Heathcote landfill will continue to operate under its current

structure.) The City will also be required to develop options forthe future infrastructure requirements of the current Eaglehawklandfill site to support increased resource recovery and to facilitate

the management of residual waste e.g. a transfer station.

It is important to note that the transportation of waste ‘away’ is

not a waste management strategy in itself. The transportation ofresidual waste as well as diverted materials such as recyclablesis part of the management process to ensure the best and

most appropriate environmental and economic solution for thecommunity. Recyclable material will continue to be transportedto Melbourne and in all probability unless Bendigo is successfulin securing an organics treatment facility in close proximity, sotoo will organic material be transported to a location outside

of the municipality. This further emphasises the importance ofthe strategies of this document in promoting the avoidance ofwaste creation and minimising the flow of material into the wastestream to minimise waste management costs.




5.6 Education and

awareness programs

The City currently develops and provides education and awareness

material for the community via print, radio, television and otherelectronic media (such as Council’s website). These programsare often delivered in partnership with community groups such as

Bendigo Sustainability Group or with Regional Waste Management

Groups. Working together on advertising campaigns ensures

the information and messaging to the community is consistentand the combined resources extend media coverage to a largeraudience for a longer period of time.

In recent years the cost of providing basic information onwaste services in a variety of formats to households has beenapproximately $50,000 per annum. In addition, each year targeted

campaigns are conducted and cost between $20,000 and$50,000 per annum de

Documents

Waste Resource Management Strategy 2014-2019