Goya Dmytryshchak
A petition calling on Hobsons Bay council to overturn its decision to reinstate weekly garbage collection and reduce the green waste collection to fortnightly was presented at last week’s council meeting.
The petition by Better West – Spotswood South Kingsville Residents Group was signed by 1837 people.
The council voted to receive a report on the petition subject to a review of its validity.
However, a council majority of 4-3 voted not to table a joint letter from Better West members.
The letter is signed by several prominent community members, including former citizens of the year Geoff Mitchelmore and Marilyn Olliff, current Young Citizen of the Year Melissa Sheedy and former LeadWest chief executive Craig Rowley.
Deputy mayor Daria Kellander and councillors Tony Briffa, Diana Grima and Matt Tyler, who had voted for the weekly rubbish collection and fortnightly green bin collection, voted to defer tabling of the letter.
The letter states that about 80 per cent of the signatures on the petition are “valid local signatures as per section 12.1.5 of the Hobsons Bay Governance Rules”.
It calls on the council to:
– share the outcomes of the Kerbside Waste and Recycling One Year Review with an average rating of 7.4 out of 10 being ‘good’ to ‘very good’ community satisfaction levels;
– publicly congratulate council’s staff and contractors for the achievements of the Recycling 2.0 over the past 18 months, including a reduction in waste to landfill of 33 per cent; and
– make the review and survey results easily and clearly accessible on the council’s website for the community and for other councils who are moving to the four-bin system.
The letter calls on the council to “consider options that are comprehensive and examine the merits of returning to garbage collections on a fortnightly basis should landfill costs escalate, alongside a weekly food and garden organics collection”.
The letter requests that council recommit to targets in its endorsed Waste and Litter Strategy 2025, including the target to divert 54 per cent of waste from landfill by June 2022 and 66 per cent by 2025.
