Why we separate public waste and household bin collection on your annual rates notice and how we calculate these rates.
We list waste service charges as a separate item on your annual rates notice. This helps us recover the rising cost of waste and recycling services, and is in line with other Victorian councils.
We separate waste service charges for the following reasons:
- Waste service costs are rising at a faster rate than what we can recover with rates.
- The Victorian Government caps how much we can charge in rates.
- The cost of the Victorian Government waste levy (a levy based on the amount of waste sent to landfill) has increased significantly in recent years.
Learn more
On your annual rates notice, you'll find waste services as two separate items:
- Public Waste Collection
- Household Bin Collection
The rate cap does not apply to these public waste and household bin collection charges. However, 2025/26 increases to these charges have been set to match the rate cap.
We use money collected through these charges to cover the costs of providing waste and recycling services, not including community education programs or other cleaning services, such as graffiti removal.
Our waste service charge comprises two elements: a public waste collection charge and a household bin collection charge.
Public waste collection
The public waste charge includes services such as:
- street sweeping
- park and street bin collection and processing
- litter removal
Household bin collection
The household waste charge includes services such as:
- household bin collection and transport to processing facilities for rubbish, recycling, glass and FOGO
- hard rubbish collection and processing
The household bin collection charge only applies to properties that use our household bin collection service.
If you own an apartment and don't receive a kerbside waste collection, you will not be charged a household bin collection charge. You will still be charged for the public waste collection rate.
No. The charge did not deliver any additional revenue to us when it was introduced in 2023/24. We continue to only use the funds to cover the cost of providing waste and recycling services.
No. We are obliged to provide your waste services. You must contribute to the cost of trucks, bins, material processing and regular collections, even if you don’t generate much waste.
Commercial properties have one opportunity each year to opt out of the residential waste service.
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