We are planning for significant changes to the waste collection service in Wellington Shire over the next few years. As part of this, new black-bodied bins replaced all rubbish and recycling bins across the Shire during January and February 2024. The change standardised bin lid colour across all households with kerbside collection, aligning with Victoria’s recycling policy.
The below mailout was distributed to property owners 29 November 2023.
More than 50% of Wellington Shire's kerbside bins were over 10 years old in 2023, and at the end of their lifecycle. There were many residents with old, broken and brittle bins. Replacing bins all at once allowed us to be more efficient, rather than travelling large distances to each property as requests are made.
The swap over brought all bins under standardised lid colours, as required by Victorian law. Consistent colour-coding across all household bins in Victoria aims to reduce confusion when it comes to separation of household waste and recycling across the state.
Yes, our sustainability and waste team researched all options extensively.
The old kerbside bins in Wellington Shire were all different sizes, ages and shapes, so we couldn't replace lids easily.
More than 50% of bins were over 10 years old and needed to be replaced.
Replacing bins all at once allows us to be more efficient, rather than travelling large distances to each property as requests are made individually.
The new bin rollout only applied to residential properties that already receive a kerbside collection.
If you live in an area that doesn’t receive a kerbside bin collection, you don’t pay for it through your rates. The Waste Infrastructure Charge is a separate charge and pays for the management and operation of landfills across the municipality. For example, if you live near Dargo, this charge supports ongoing operations of the Dargo Transfer Station.
You can recycle for free at any of the eight waste facilities in Wellington and reduce the amount of waste you’re sending to landfill. For recycling tips check out our waste and recycling guide Waste and Recycling Guide: https://www.wellington.vic.gov.au/environment/waste-and-recycling-guide
As a community, if we consume less, recycle more, and send less waste to landfill, costs associated with waste will reduce.
After your old, green-bodied bins were collected, they were transported to a plastics recycling facility where they were shredded and made into new bins for other councils.
The new black bins are made of up to 80% recycled materials from bins from other councils, supporting our commitment to the circular economy.
Our waste contractors won't be collecting waste from any green-bodied bins from April 1, 2024. Council allowed a grace period during the swap over, but that has ended now all bin deliveries are complete.
If you are yet to have your old bins collected, please contact Cleanaway on (03) 5133 6872 to arrange collection.
All Wellington Shire branded bins are the property of Wellington Shire Council and do need to be surrendered.
The Garbage charge and landfill levy on your rates notice pays for the waste collection service, not the physical bin.
If you keep your old bins and put them out for a service collection, they will not be serviced and will be removed.
The makeup of black-bodied bins contains up to 80% recycled content, compared with green-bodied bins which only contain up to 30%.
By choosing black-bodied bins, Council increased its uptake of recycled materials in its operations and supported Victoria’s circular economy.
The new bins are rebranded and barcoded to each individual property, which will help identify stolen bins and with contamination monitoring.
The only difference to your new bins is the colour. There was no change to sizes.
The yellow-lidded recycling bin is 240 litres.
The red-lidded general waste bin is 120 litres.
The cost of the entire bin rollout is commercial in confidence and part of a contract. The cost of each new bin to Council is $50. Payment will be built into the garbage charge found on rates notices over the next decade, and works out to be $5 per year. Only properties with a kerbside bin collection pay this charge.
The garbage charge and landfill levy on your rates will remain the same for the 2023-2024 rates period. This charge pays for the waste collection service, not the physical bin.
If you live in an area that doesn’t receive a kerbside bin collection, you don’t pay for it through your rates. The Waste Infrastructure Charge is a separate charge that pays for the management and operation of landfills across the municipality. For example, if you live near Dargo, this charge supports ongoing operations of the Dargo Transfer Station.
You can recycle for free at any of the eight waste facilities in Wellington and reduce the amount of waste you’re sending to landfill. For recycling tips check out our waste and recycling guide Waste and Recycling Guide: https://www.wellington.vic.gov.au/environment/waste-and-recycling-guide
As a community, if we consume less, recycle more, and send less waste to landfill, costs associated with waste will reduce.
While some people are confusing RFID tags with some sort of spying device, the truth is a lot less controversial.
Radio Frequency Identification tags are used across many Councils to keep track of waste management data. Wellington has invested in RFID tags during this new bin rollout so Council is ready for future advances in waste management processes.
RFID tags need to be near a specialised reader for any data to be collected. This means most of the time they will do nothing because they don’t have a battery.
Currently, the tags only contain the serial number of the bin, to help identify which property the bin belongs to. Only Council and its waste contractor have access to this information. Both parties adhere to strict privacy policies and information is only used for waste management.
In years to come, Wellington's garbage trucks may include readers to collect waste data to improve the efficiency of our waste management services. Council is charged per tonne of waste and recycling, so the RFID tags can collect data on how many bins have been emptied, whether bins are presented for collection multiple times a day, whether a bin has been missed etc.
Currently, Council's collection trucks do not carry readers, however when this does occur, Council will consult with the community. The tags have been fitted to bins now because it’s more cost effective when bins are being manufactured in bulk rather than driving to individual properties across the Shire and retrofitting bins.
Our contractor’s trucks are equipped with software that manages waste and recycling collection, which includes cameras to identify contamination. Council's waste team has access to the footage, regardless of whether bins have RFID or not. This way, Council’s waste team can track the rate of contaminants, like batteries and soft plastics in recycling, and whether education materials need to be issued to individual residents or the broader community. As a waste service provider, Council has a duty to dispose of the Shire’s waste responsibly and keep staff safe. This means meeting contamination targets to avoid contaminated recyclable material ending up in landfill and ensuring hazardous materials stay out of Council’s landfills and Transfer Stations to keep staff and the environment safe.
FOGO Bins
Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) or ‘green waste’ bins are coming, but due to processing constraints in Gippsland this is taking some time. FOGO is expected by mid-2025 to 2026, aligning with Victorian Government targets for organics and glass recycling.
More info about FOGO here: Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO)
If you purchased your own ‘green waste’ bin collection service, this isn’t part of our kerbside bin collection - it’s a private service.
Green waste (garden waste) is different to a green-bodied bin. If you’re not sure, phone us on 1300 366 244.
Glass Bins
Council is currently investigating the feasibility of introducing a monthly kerbside glass collection, with each household receiving a 120 litre purple-lid bin. Council is waiting to assess the impact of the State Government’s Container Deposit Scheme (which began on 1 November 2023) on the local glass stream, as a reduction is expected.
The Victorian Government’s Circular Economy policy requires each household to be provided with a glass collection, separate to other recycling items, by 2027. The separation of glass from the current commingled recycling bin is being introduced in response to the recycling industry’s concerns about glass contamination in other recyclables, particularly paper and cardboard.