To assist the community with fire preparation efforts, Wellington Shire Council will offer no-fee green waste disposal at Waste Facilities in Kilmany, Maffra, Loch Sport, Seaspray, Heyfield, Stratford and Yarram starting 1 November and for the month of November.
No-fee green waste disposal in the month of November is for residential properties only. Commercial businesses disposing of green waste will still be liable for the standard gate fees. This includes commercial businesses who are completing clean up works in the month of November within the Wellington Shire Municipality.
Green waste can be taken to all waste facilities, excluding Dargo Transfer Station. Fees for green waste can be viewed on our Waste Disposal (Tip) Fees page.
Below is a list of ACCEPTED green waste items:
Below is a list of EXCLUDED green waste items:
All Green Waste collected at Wellington Shire transfer stations is taken to a Pinegro processing facility in Gippsland. Pinegro processes are to Australian Standards and any noxious weeds or their seeds are killed off in the mulching process.
Council is currently in the planning process for the introduction of a green waste and food organics bin as part of kerbside services. In the meantime, if you are unable to take your green waste to our waste facilities (fees apply) you can put it in your landfill bin.
Alternatively, composting may be a good option to process your own waste into a fertiliser for your own garden. Unfortunately, green and organic waste that is sent to landfill produces methane, which is one of our more potent greenhouse gases. Putting green waste and organics into your landfill bin should be your option of last resort.
We understand - it’s been a slow-moving process. It’s been in the works for quite a few years, and we're aiming to roll out a FOGO bin (food organics and garden organics) as soon as possible, depending on processing capabilities within Gippsland. Frustratingly, it takes time to ensure local infrastructure for processing organics is in place.
Wellington Shire Council has been part of a joint procurement process, working with Bass Coast Shire, Baw Baw Shire, East Gippsland Shire, Latrobe City and South Gippsland Shire Councils to secure contracts for the collection, transport, processing and recycling of kerbside waste. This ‘Gippswide Kerbside’ tender evaluation panel is still finalising contract details with the preferred tenderer for FOGO processing. It is possible infrastructure will still need to be built once the contract is finalised.
Currently, green waste is collected at our Transfer Stations and is processed by Council’s contractor, who turns it into mulch and dirt. Once food is added to the mix, it needs to be processed differently to be safely turned into compost and soil conditioner without becoming a bio hazard. This can involve the need for contractors to build specialised processing infrastructure, such as in-vessel composting silos.
At this stage, we’re expecting FOGO to be rolled out to residents mid-2025 to 2026. Everyone who currently gets a kerbside collection will get an organics bin, which will be collected weekly.
The state government has legislated all households have access to services for glass recycling by 2027, and to food organics and garden organics by 2030. According to the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, currently only about 32 per cent of Australians have access to FOGO. The infrastructure needed to process triple the volume currently generated by Australians is simply not there yet, but we are hopeful the state government’s timeline will bring forward some innovation and investment in the FOGO space.
As for a glass bin, we are waiting to see the impacts the state government’s Container Deposit Scheme (CDS) has on the glass waste stream to determine what glass recycling will look like in Wellington Shire, in order to ensure the best value for residents. The CDS will come into play November 2023.
It is exciting to hear there’s such strong community support for FOGO and glass recycling. The waste and sustainability team are counting down the days!