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Mitchell Shire’s kerbside waste collection collaboration

Jun 13, 2022

Collaborative approach: Mitchell Shire Council is one of 12 shires and Alpine resorts to tender for kerbside collection as a group. Photo by Getty Images

Mitchell Shire Council has partnered with 11 other local government areas and Alpine resorts in a collaborative tender for kerbside waste and recycling services.

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Collaborators include Wangaratta Rural City, Moira Shire, Benalla Rural City, Strathbogie Shire and Mansfield Shire.

The regional collaborative tender group is taking an important step towards reducing material to landfill, supporting a sustainable regional circular economy and driving economic growth.

A request for tender has been released this week which will cover long-term contracts for the collection, transport and processing/disposal of commingled recycling, glass, food organics and garden organics (FOGO) and general waste.

The collaborative procurement, which is part of the Resource Recovery Collective — Hume, is one of the largest of its kind in regional Victoria.

Mitchell Shire Council chief executive officer Brett Luxford said his council was excited by the opportunities the Resource Recovery Collective — Hume would offer communities.

“We have previously participated in successful collaborative procurements in the Hume region and understand the benefits of coming together to reduce the number of individual procurements in the market,” Mr Luxford said.

“Our aim is to drive competitiveness and create local employment opportunities.”

The initiative will also help councils and alpine resorts to implement actions set out within the Victorian Government’s circular economy policy, supporting the region’s transition toward a low carbon, circular economy.

North East Waste and Resource Recovery Group executive officer Kristy Kay said councils and alpine resorts across the Hume region had a successful history of working together to procure recycling services.

“They have demonstrated a clear commitment to achieving improved performance of their waste and recycling systems and this partnership is an exciting opportunity to extend on that work to achieve strong environmental, economic and community-focused outcomes,” Ms Kay said.

“Collaborative waste management procurements offer significant volumes of recyclables to the market, achieving economies of scale for councils and alpine resorts and providing more certainty for industry, which is likely to attract greater levels of investment in infrastructure.”