FAQs

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Council’s existing waste and recycling collection and processing contracts conclude in early 2025, and the new 4-bin system will be introduced  as part  of our new contracts from March 2025. 

The change of our collection contract provides the best opportunity for Council to roll out new services and minimise the cost impacts. 

Council’s existing waste and recycling contracts finish in 2025, the new services will be introduced in the same year.

By acting now, we are allowing adequate time for service providers to invest in new equipment and facilities to meet the demand of councils across Victoria. By pooling our resources with other regional councils through a joint tender process, we can make the opportunity more attractive for potential providers to invest in our region.

Mitchell Shire Council, together with councils and Alpine Resorts across North-East Victoria, participated in a joint collaborative procurement in 2022 for waste and recycling collection and transport and processing services. 

As a result new kerbside collection and processing contracts will commence in Mitchell in March 2025.  Final execution of these contracts is expected to be completed shortly. 

Our compulsory kerbside collection zones for residential properties includes all major townships and along connector roads within the Shire (this accounts for about 90% of properties).  

If your property is outside the compulsory collection zone, then you may have the option to opt-in. This opt-in service is delivered using authorised collection points within our collection zones.  Properties outside the compulsory collection zone may elect to engage a private collection service. 

Properties outside the compulsory collection zone (who do not opt-in for a collection point) will not be impacted by these changes and are not charged for a kerbside collection service. 

Yes, glass currently placed in your yellow lid recycling bin is recycled, however this will be changing in 2025 when the new purple lid bins are introduced.  

Mitchell Shire Council, along with all Victorian councils, will be required to provide a separate kerbside collection service or a drop-off service for glass items. You will no longer be able to dispose of glass in the yellow-lid mixed recycling bin, from March 2025.  

Glass will have improved recycling outcomes when separated into a glass-only recycling bin. Additionally, removing broken glass from the other recyclables will produce higher quality recycled material leading to better circular economy outcomes. 

If you are home composting, that is great, we encourage you to continue to do so. There are some items that generally don’t compost well at home such as citrus and onion peel, meat and fish scraps (including shells), eggshells, dairy products, noxious weeds and insect-infested plants. All of these products can go into the Green Lid Bin.  The introduction of the Green Lid Bin, will allow you the best of both worlds composting at home and disposing of hard to manage food scraps and garden materials.  

We have heard from many people who are concerned about the smell of nappies under this collection frequency change, and we have been investigating solutions used by other councils that have already implemented fortnightly collections. We are also aware that nappies can take up a lot of space in your bin and are looking into some solutions for those households using nappies. 

There have been a number of studies undertaken that have shown that in households using disposable nappies, a fortnightly collection will have not have a significant impact on bin smell, compared to a weekly collection.  

In the meantime, some suggested solutions for nappy odour in bins include: 

Bins can get smelly from time to time, no doubt about that! 

By putting your food waste into the Green Lid bin most of the waste that breaks down (food) and gets smelly will be picked up every week.   

Storing the bin in the shade can also help to reduce smell. If you have prawn tails/fish/meat bones, wrap them up in newspaper and place them in your freezer until collection day, then place them into your Green Lid Bin. 

There are some additional costs for the introduction of the Green Lid Bin (Food Organics and Garden Organics) and the Purple Lid Bin (Glass Recycling) which will be passed onto ratepayers through the annual waste service charge. This is likely to equate to around a 4% increase.

Hard waste collection and management is not a part of the Circular Economy Reform, which is focused solely on the collection of waste and recycling via the kerbside bin system. 

Council operates four Resources Recovery Centres across the Shire to assist ratepayers to manage their hard waste. Council also provides resource recovery centre vouchers each year with your rates notice. 

Your rates notice contains a barcode that can be scanned up to 5 times at any of our Resource Recovery Centres.

We acknowledge that this service is not suitable to everyone, especially those without cars. Council is currently investigating options to assist all residents to manage their hard waste. There are also private contractors who can provide a hard waste collection service.

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A circular economy continually seeks to reduce the environmental impacts of production and consumption, while enabling economic growth through more productive use of natural resources.  

It allows us to avoid waste with good design and effective recovery of materials that can be reused.  

The value people obtain from the resources used to create goods and services increases.  

It transforms our linear economy mindset – take, use and throw away – and fosters innovation and productivity that invigorates existing businesses and creates new ones, delivering more jobs, more growth and more social inclusion to the local, regional, state and global economies.