New era dawns at Denmark tip with introduction of green waste tip passes

Green waste tip passes have been introduced at the Denmark tip, bringing a new level of control and oversight to the service.

The cost of managing green waste had previously been absorbed in the maintenance budget of the Shire of Denmark but officers say mounting costs from commercial operators necessitated the move.

The new green tip pass system will allow residents a maximum of 36 visits to the tip each year with a total nine cubic metres.

Under the new waste services rules, smaller and more frequent waste drop-offs are also allowed with green waste of 0.25 cubic metres and above now accepted.

Residents who run out of tip passes will be forced to pay out of pocket to use the service at a cost of $8 per cubic metre.

Shire waste and reserves manager Bohdi Davies said the new green-waste system would help safeguard the tip’s environmental and financial longevity.

“To date, contractors from both inside and outside our Shire have been taking advantage of what has been a free service,” he said.

“The introduction of green waste tip passes is a first step to incur some restrictions on commercial operators so they pay their way, to allow better data collection on our end.

“(This will) allow tip gate attendants to confidently charge non-tip-pass-holders for their green waste drop off in order to cover future costs of processing.”

It comes as the Shire considers Food Organics Garden Organics collection.

“Council resolved to attain a net zero carbon emissions goal by 2050 and the progressive nature of our council and residents has led us to recognise the need to seriously investigate other options for our green waste processing in order to achieve more sustainable outcomes,” Mr Davies said.