2019-09-10 Services & Organisation Committee Agenda

SERVICES & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                              10 SEPTEMBER 2019


The introduction of the Levy has generated a significantly greater workload on Waste staff.
Increased workload has included obtaining permits to use selected wastes on site, permits for
declared resource recovery areas, providing volumetric surveys of all stockpiled materials,
providing surveys of active landfill cells and providing detailed reports on waste movement,
categorisation and weight on a monthly basis.
The introduction of the waste levy requires monthly reporting to the Queensland Government for
payment of levy revenue received by Council. Noosa and other councils use “Wasteman
weighbridge software” to record transactions and manage financial information. This software
has not been capable of delivering the required reporting at the date of preparing this report.
Waste staff are working diligently with the software engineers to implement the required reporting
outcomes by 30 August 2019.
Revised Garden Waste Service Policy
Council recently endorsed the revision of the Garden Waste Service Policy which provides for the
expansion of the current mandated service for domestic dwellings to include all commercial
premises within the defined Garden Waste Collection Area. Rather than being prescriptive about
the number of bins required at commercial premises the policy provides that “no garden waste to
be placed into a general waste bin”. Supporting the policy is the introduction of a weekly 1,100L
bulk bin service for garden waste at resorts and the larger commercial premises. The service is
intended to reduce waste to landfill and avoid payment of the $75 per tonne waste levy at
premises where garden waste is placed in general waste bins and sent to landfill.
Restructure of Commercial Waste Charges for 2020FY.
The introduction of the waste levy created a need to restructure the commercial waste collection
charges in 2020FY. Under the previous rating structure of ‘bundled services’ the implementation
of the $75 per tonne levy would have meant a financial disadvantage to some premises.
Separating the recycling charge from the waste collection charge has allowed customers to
easily identify and reduce the more expensive waste collection service charge and increase the
less expensive recycling service charge. This allows businesses to maximise their recycling
efforts and minimise their exposure to cost of the waste levy.
Waste Service Charge for Peregian Shopping Precinct in 2020FY
Due to constraints in providing suitable on site waste storage space at many commercial
premises, shop owners use Council land and shared bulk waste and recycling bins for the
storage of solid waste awaiting collection. In 2020FY a new waste service charging structure was
introduced for the Peregian Shopping Precinct to more equitably charge for waste collection
services. The new charging structure is based on the assessed level of waste production at each
commercial premise.

Environmental
Zero Emissions Noosa (ZEN)
The landfill has been identified as the major source of carbon emissions from the Noosa Council.
Waste Officers have continued to work with the ZEN group to identify initiatives that will
effectively reduce waste-related carbon emissions.
In 2018 Council officers working with the landfill gas contractors (LMS) installed lateral gas
collection lines in the active cell in order to maximise landfill gas (principally methane) extraction.
Recent meetings between Waste Officers, ZEN representatives and waste industry experts have
led to the review of the current waste filling plans and strategy at the Eumundi Road landfill.
Waste Officers and engineers from Cleanaway have investigated methods to completely
overhaul the current filling techniques to maximise landfill gas extraction. An estimated cost
increase to implement the new filling technique has been provided by Cleanaway. These costs
are to be examined against predicted gas extraction improvements in a cost benefit analysis to
be completed by industry experts. The analysis and report will be used to inform the ZEN group
on the best way forward.

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