Bulk waste collection will go ahead, says City

Albany residents are set to have a bulk waste service next year, despite it not being included in the 2016-17 budget.

City of Albany councillors voted on Tuesday night to approve the provision of the service.

To make this possible, $175,000 will be transferred from the City’s Refuse collection and waste minimisation reserve to budget for the bulk waste collection service.

During the collection, the City will collect detailed data to assist an investigation into alternative options for the bulk hard waste collection service.

The data collected will include the number of households participating, approximate volumes per household, household-based numbers of whitegoods and numbers of mattresses.

This will be brought back to the council as a bulk waste services review report by November.

To date, the only high-level data collected during this process is total tonnage of bulk waste, green waste, steel and e-waste.

Last year, 674 tonnes of waste was delivered to the Hanrahan site as landfill.

However, the council recognises a significant portioncould be salvaged, recycled and diverted from landfill.

The council also noted it was difficult to schedule a four-to-five-week window for the collection service to occur without it clashing with major community events, and will review this in the report.