Published on Tuesday, 30 March 2021 at 3:29:05 PM
Community members will be able to book in their junk collections at a time that is convenient for them when a trial of the Verge Valet bulk waste collection service kicks off in Vincent.
The 18-month trial of Western Metropolitan Regional Council’s on-request service starts in January 2022 in place of the traditional scheduled bulk waste service.
One final scheduled verge collection will take place between July and August before the trial starts.
The City received complaints about illegal dumping, strewn waste piles, litter, night time scavenging and verge access issues after the February 2019 waste collection.
The Verge Valet service will reduce the amount of waste collected, increase recycling, allow residents to choose a convenient pick-up time and limit the timeframe for piling junk onto the verge to 48 hours.
Community members will be reminded about possible alternatives for reusable, repairable or recyclable items when they book in their collection online.
“There are those in our community who are really passionate about the annual junk collection tradition and who assume it leads to lots of recycling, but in reality a lot of what is collected ends up in landfill,” said Mayor Emma Cole.
“The popularity of Buy Nothing groups and re-gifting at a community level has meant a lot of the good, reusable items don’t make it to the verge and what’s leftover is now mostly unusable junk.
“The Verge Valet service will reduce the amount of waste we collect and help us achieve our ambitious target of sending no waste to landfill by 2028.
“It will also address ongoing concerns around illegal dumping, safety and strewn rubbish.
“Residents can use the service when they need it, rather than storing junk for the annual pickup.
“But for those who love the annual festivus there is one last hurrah before the trial kicks off.”
Verge Valet has already been rolled out in four other local government areas.
“The Western Metropolitan Regional Council is delighted to be working with the City of Vincent to help reduce the waste the City sends to landfill,” said WMRC Chief Executive Officer Stefan Frodsham.
Residents in Mosman Park rated Verge Valet 4.66 out of five stars one year after the service started.
“The Town of Mosman Park is to be congratulated in providing such a customer-focused service,” one resident said.
“No more piles of rubbish on the street for a week at a time! The contractor was most diligent and left the verge spotless. Thank you one and all.”
The City held a Community Engagement Panel workshop made up of a cross-section of local community members and sent out a wider community perception survey last year to gauge opinions about different verge collection options.
Panel members preferred an on-request service and the preference between scheduled and on-request services from the survey was small, with 42% preferring on-request and 8% undecided.
“This trial is a shift for our community but it’s one we believe will provide a great level of convenience and a better environmental outcome,” said Mayor Cole.
“Verge Valet has a fantastic reputation and we know from our community survey that the people of Vincent really care about taking care of the environment.
“More than 90% of respondents said they believed reducing waste would help reduce the impact of climate change and global warming.”
Feedback from Vincent residents will be gathered during the trial and will be presented to Council in March 2023 before a final decision is made on the future of junk collections.
The City’s Waste Strategy 2018 – 2023 has a vision of ‘zero waste to landfill by 2028’. It recognises that the current bulk waste collection system is outdated and doesn’t encourage the diversion of waste from landfill.
The City’s scheduled green waste collections will not be included in the trial and will remain unchanged.
Back to All News