2018-08-07 Services and Organisation Committee Agenda

SERVICES & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                 7 AUGUST 2018


2.     To encourage compliance by residents who are not familiar with the requirements (i.e.
       stickers on bins)
3.     To issue a formal notice under Local Law 7 to persistent offenders.
4.     Where the offender fails to meet their obligations after receiving a formal notice, to then
       issue an infringement notice.

7.     Enforcement
The Policy is not intended to be applied to one off instances where an owner is absent on rare
occasions and fails to observe the presentation and retrieval requirements as detailed in this
report. The enforcement requirements are intended for situations where there is a history of
failing to comply.
Owners or occupiers (i.e. holiday homes) who regularly leave their waste container on public land
will be required to comply by arranging for someone to present and retrieve their waste
containers.

Previous Council Consideration
Nil.

Finance
Failing to comply with storage requirements for waste containers under Section 8 of the Local
Law carries a ‘maximum penalty’ of 20 penalty units (currently valued at $2,600).
Infringement notices under this section involve 2 penalty units ($260).
It is proposed to issue Infringements notices to repeat offenders who fail to comply with written
instructions to comply with Section 8 of Local Law 7.

Risks & Opportunities
Risks
Failure to enforce Local Law 7 could involve Council in an insurance claim if a person was injured
because of a bin remaining on a carriageway or footpath. There is always a risk that pedestrians
may be injured when bike riders weave to avoid a bin on the footpath, or near a bike path, when
a pedestrian is also using the path.
Storage of waste containers for long period of time on the roadway/footpath presents the
following impacts and risks:
    Waste containers remaining on road carriageways restrict valuable car parking spaces
    Manoeuvring vehicles can be damage while parking, particularly if they hit a metal bin
    Outdoor dining patrons subjected to odour arising from adjacent waste containers on the
      footpath, before or after servicing
    Impacts on the amenity (look and feel) of Noosa as a high profile tourist destination
It is considered that there is a community expectation that Council will take reasonable and
practical steps to address the above issues.

Opportunities
By implementing the requirements of the attached Policy there are opportunities to:
   Clearly inform the public about their responsibilities under Local Law 7;
   Prevent long term storage of waste containers on road carriageways and footpaths and
     minimize public health, safety risks;
   Improve visual amenity of the area, which is essential to Noosa as a world-class tourist
     destination.


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