2018-08-07 Services and Organisation Committee Agenda

SERVICES & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                7 AUGUST 2018


Council’s waste collection contractor, Cleanaway services containers in high profile commercial
areas early in the morning, before commercial premises begin trading. This allows traders to
remove the waste containers from the footpath before shops open and remove conflicts with the
public. Some commercial property owners or occupiers are allowing waste containers:
    to remain on public footpaths in commercial areas for extended periods during the day,
      which obstruct pedestrian traffic; or
    to remain in close proximity of outdoor eating areas, which can detract from the amenity
      and enjoyment of the outdoor dining experience.
Waste management staff often observe public safety or amenity impacts arising from the
abovementioned practices, or are required to action complaints from neighbours or the public.

3.   Private Waste Containers
Not all waste services are provided by Council’s waste collection contractor and private
contractors are not subject to the conditions imposed upon Cleanaway in the waste collection
contract. (Cleanaway are contractually obligated to ensure commercial and industrial bulk bins
are serviced from a private property and returned to the property immediately after serving).
Some waste containers (bulk bins) provided by private waste contractors are:
  permanently stored on the road carriageway, footpath or council land; or
  stored for lengthy periods of time on Council land (footpath or road reserve) before or after
    servicing
The new Policy will assist to manage the above issues with private waste containers.

4.   Standard Industrial Waste Containers (Builders Bins/Skip Bins) Approved Under a
     Development Approval
Standard Industrial Waste Containers at building sites are often not able to be stored and
serviced on the building site due to limited access. They must be stored on the footpath or
carriageway and generally fenced off for public safety. These containers are subject to conditions
under a Development Approval (DA) and are not proposed to be managed outside the DA
process.

5.   Local Law 7 (Waste Management) 2018
The provisions of Local Law No 7, Section 8 allows Council to specify:
  the storage location for waste containers on private land
  the collection location for waste containers awaiting service (i.e. on the footpath)
  the time period that waste container may remain on public land before and after servicing.

There is an absence of clear policy to guide the public on the expectations of Council, other than
information on recycling calendars or the Council web site. This does not provide sufficient
information for the staff to properly manage the current situation.

6.   Strategy For Achieving Compliance With Local Law 7 and The Policy
It is Council's aim to achieve voluntary compliance with respect to its Local Laws and Policy
requirements wherever possible. The proposed strategy for achieving compliance with Local Law
7 and the supporting Policy are:
1.   To clearly inform owners and occupiers through an appropriate communication strategy of
     their responsibilities for:
     a.     storing waste containers;
     b.     presenting waste containers on the footpath for serving; and
     c.     retrieving waste containers to private land.
     This communication will include the reasons for adopting these requirements including the
     public safety and visual amenity impacts.

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