City of Ballarat encourages the community to think differently about waste

The City of Ballarat is raising awareness about State Government changes to how Victorians will soon be sorting their household waste and recycling into four streams. 

All local government areas, including the City of Ballarat, will transition to a new glass service and a new food organics and garden organics (FOGO) service in the near future.  

In March, the City of Ballarat will present a range of waste and recycling options to the community to consider and provide feedback on.  

The options will be based on the result of community feedback from a survey conducted late last year. A total of 2,176 responses were received to the online and in-person survey from a diverse range of residents and household types. 

Disposal of waste in the City of Ballarat costs ratepayers $28,000 per day. This cost will only escalate if we don’t find new and innovative ways to sort our waste and keep as much as possible out of landfill. 

More than 24,000 tonnes of waste were sent to landfill in the 2021-2022 financial year. 

Construction of the new cell, where we dispose of our waste, at the Ballarat Regional Landfill will cost $4 million and is expected to be full by the end of 2025. 

City of Ballarat Mayor Cr Des Hudson said it’s time we think differently about waste. 

“The environmental and financial costs will continue to grow unless we change how we recycle and reduce waste,” he said. 

“The State Government changes to how we sort our waste are an exciting opportunity for our municipality to design our future kerbside collections to ensure more household waste and recycling is being recovered and transformed into something new. 

“The community will be able to help us decide on a waste service that meets our community’s needs, while balancing the costs and benefits.” 

The community will be invited to have their say on the options as part of a four-week consultation period. 

After the feedback on the options has been taken into consideration, the Kerbside Transition Plan will be presented to Council for consideration. If adopted, a timeline for the four waste and recycling stream collection service will be set. This initiative aligns with the City of Ballarat Council Plan 2021-2025 Goal 1 – An environmentally sustainable future.  

To learn more about why kerbside collections are changing in Victoria, visit ballarat.vic.gov.au/sortingourwaste