2018-05-08 Services & Organisation Committee Agenda

SERVICES & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                        8 MAY 2018


REPORT
This report recommends an agreement to provide relief staff for the Eumundi Road weighbridge,
Cooroy and Pomona waste transfer stations and a variation to license 1718T054 issued to
Resource Recovery Australia Pty Ltd to include processing of mattresses, subject to Council
resolving that the services be exempted from tendering under the provisions of section 235 of the
Local Government Regulation 2012.

1.    Relief Staffing for Transfer Stations at Eumundi Road, Cooroy and Pomona

Two Council staff members operate the weighbridge 10 hours per day, 7 days per week under a
Local Area Work Agreement (LAWA), working 4 days on and 4 days off. The LAWA provides that
they must have at least a half hour lunch break in their 10 hour shift.

A number of trained relief staff need to be available at short notice (who are trained in the use of
the ‘wasteman software’ at the facilities) to ensure these public waste disposal facilities continue
operating without impact on the community. RRA is well suited to provide these services as they
provide similar services in other locations in Australia.

Endeavour have been operating the Cooroy Transfer Station under contract and provided a
trained weighbridge operator to relieve at the weighbridge and the Pomona facility. Endeavour
wish to withdraw from this service as it no longer fits their service model. In the interim staff have
arranged for Cooroy to be operated by a casual employee who operated the site previously.

2.    Mattress Processing at Eumundi Road Transfer Station

Over the past few years Noosa Community Training Centre (NCTC) trading as Briteside
Industries, undertook a trial of spring mattress recycling using a staff member who processed
about 2,500 spring mattress per annum for a set payment per mattress. Foam mattress were not
processed and are currently sent to landfill. At 1 June 2018, when Briteside leave the site Council
would like to continue processing mattresses so they are not landfilled.

In their tender submission, RRA were the only tenderer who indicated that they could process
foam mattresses including bailing of foam and reuse of covering cloth material, but details of how
this could be achieved or whether the operation would be transferred to Cleanaway had not been
resolved at the time of awarding the licence. Subsequent discussions with Cleanaway have
indicated that they would prefer not to undertake this activity.

Negotiations with RRA about recycling mattresses have now been completed and an opportunity
exists for Council to offer mattress processing to RRA for a set price per mattress, allowing them
to bail and sell foam. This is a significant improvement on our current recycling activities where
foam and covering materials from spring mattresses and complete foam mattresses are
landfilled.

3.    Proposed way forward

It is proposed to enter into a contract with RRA to provide trained staff to relieve:
      2 weighbridge staff when they take their four weeks annual leave each year;
      Cooroy and Pomona Transfer Station staff taking annual leave;
      Weighbridge and transfer station staff on sick leave;
      Weighbridge staff for their half hour lunch break; and
      During periods when Council staff at the weighbridge or rural transfer stations are absent
        on sick leave.




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