Lake Macquarie’s three-bin waste collection system will remain in place after the council voted to continue the service on Monday night.
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At a packed council meeting, 10 of 13 councillors voted in support of a motion to keep weekly green-bin collections and increase promotion of an opt-in service for additional red-bin collections.
The motion included a commitment to provide an ongoing supply of thicker, more durable compostable bags to all households, a review of the cost of additional red-bin collections, and extra support to residents for the management of nappies, medical waste and hygiene products.
Four amendments were put forward proposing a return, in various forms, to weekly red-bin collections, but ultimately all were defeated.
Councillors were told by staff that switching back to the old system could cost $6.5 million annually, which could be recovered at a cost of $80 per household if the cost was shared across 82,000 properties. An across-the-board offer of opt-in returns could cost $250 per household if the user paid.
Additional weekly collections for a 240-litre red-lid garbage bin currently cost $380 per year, or $7 per week.
Bin there:
Cr Kevin Baker, whose amendment proposed council offering all residents the ability to change back to a weekly red-bin service on an opt-in basis commencing immediately, said not having a weekly garbage service was a "major issue that affects all people in our community”.
He said a weekly green-bin service was a "rotten, failed bin system” and residents were "clearly saying this is not working".
"This system is rotten and it stinks,” Cr Baker said.
Cr Jason Pauling, who seconded the amendment, said it was "not council’s place to run social engineering experiments”.
Cr Barney Langford, who spoke in favour of the motion to keep the system, said: “Why are we doing this?. Because their is limited landfill space."
The council switched to weekly green-bin collections last July.
