Bass Coast Shire Council – Cardboard bailer and garbage compactor:
video transcript
Leanne Edwards – Bass Coast Shire Council
When we found out about Sustainability Victoria’s Smarter Resources Smarter Business Recycling
program we felt it was an unmissable opportunity to upgrade the equipment we had at our waste
disposal sites. We had a new site on Philip Island so we thought if we could get some funding to help us
buy some high-tech compacting equipment that would help us make the most of the space on the site.
So what our new garbage compactor and cardboard bailing machine has allowed us to do is to process
the same or even more waste and recyclables much more efficiently. We’re moving the same amount of
cardboard in one or two loads a month instead of 10 or 20. That has major cost savings for the council
and our rate payers.
Cr. Andrew Philips – Bass Coast Shire Council
The economic benefits to the Bass Coast Shire is significant. Things like even means of increasing
recyclables and reducing waste to landfill. Landfill is significant cost to the council and also a significant
cost to the community. Also in terms of transport: we have to transport waste a long way in the Bass
Coast Shire, we are a fairly broad area and therefore saving significantly on carbon costs and money in
terms of transport. Also locals from Philip Island and Cowes, instead of having to transport over to
Grantville, which is around about a half an hour, forty minute turn around trip, they can dispose of their
waste in a local facility.
Gabriel – local business owner
Our main waste probably would be cardboard so the recycling bank is really good. I come down twice a
week, Mondays and Fridays. Come summer I’ve got a van-load full. So yeah, we find it really handy,
also for the oil tins, which we do go through a lot. It’s quite handy to just come and drop them off here.
Leanne Edwards – Bass Coast Shire Council
With the experience that we’ve had with this site, we would definitely encourage other councils to
consider opening up convenient recycling drop off points, even if the facilities are reasonably modest.
When the site only had skips we were collecting around 12 tonnes a month of recyclables. Now we’re
averaging round 15 and we certainly expect that to keep on growing.