Merri-bek City Council is planning to shift its weekly, red-lidded rubbish bin collection to a fortnightly schedule in mid-2027.
A fortnightly trial is underway in some areas, including Hadfield, Brunswick, and Brunswick West, ahead of the Merri-bek City Council making a final decision in June.
The trialled areas have been provided with bigger rubbish bins. Households using a typical 80-litre rubbish have been given 120-litere capacity bins, with some households getting 240 liters.
Businesses in the trial areas are still using 120- and 240-litre capacity and 360-litre capacity if needed.
Merri-bek City Council said in an online statement that it is aware of the potential impact on businesses and is willing to assist the affected businesses to accommodate the new scheme.
A survey has been set up, and the council will evaluate business owners’ feedback and adapt its plan accordingly.
The council trial has received a mixed response from the community. A Merri-bek City Council staff member in Brunswick said there were environmental and cost benefits to the plan.
The move is designed to reduce waste sent to landfill, drive down taxpayers’ charges, and mitigate pollution and emissions.”
But Falkner resident Ali Ihlaq, a commercial passenger driver, said he was concerned about the amount of rubbish his household created.
“I share the house with eight people,” he said. “The rubbish bin fills up quickly and gets smelly, and sometimes it attracts the rats and birds getting stuff out of the bin.”
Mr Ahlaq said he was worried the plan would be impractical. “I think the same frequent collection is the main thing,” he said.
The unnamed council officer, who is also a resident, said she also held concerns about families with large households and those with disabled family members.
She said that these households might find it challenging to adapt to fortnightly rubbish bin pickups.
Falkner butcher Nazmul Hasan said the large-capacity bins being provided to businesses were not a solution.
“It’s the timeline; we need to throw out the rubbish as soon as possible,” Mr Hasan said.
“We throw out meat– rubbish of the meat twice in a week.”
He added the move would affect his customers, neighbouring businesses, and pedestrians, with the thrown-out meat getting rotten and smelly.
Photo. Abdou Houat
On its online portal, the Merri-bek council maintains that most household challenges have been managed as part of the new rubbish bin collection schedule.
The council also said the pilot outcome had been effective, saying that more unused food is placed in FOGO (Food Organic and Garden Organic) bins, less garbage is being dispatched to landfills, and homeowners are being charged a lower fee for rubbish collection.
