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8.5
ITEM NO:
REPORT NO: 251/08
REPORT TO
ENVIRONMENT AND ENGINEERING COMMITTEE
DATE
27 MAY 2008
SUBJECT
REQUEST FOR EXTRA STREET LITTER BIN IN MOSELEY SQUARE,
GLENELG
STRATEGIC PLAN/
CORPORATE PLAN
OBJECTIVE/S
STRATEGIC PLAN, OBJECTIVE 2.3 : SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT
WRITTEN BY
ROB GREGORY
MANAGER ENVIRONMENTAL FIELD SERVICES
KEN O’NEILL
MANAGER REGULATORY SERVICES
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
A request has been received from the Franchisee at the McDonalds Restaurant in Moseley Square,
Glenelg for an extra street bin to be located near their outdoor dining area.
This report outlines Administration’s investigation into this request for Council’s consideration.
RECOMMENDATION
That the Committee recommends:
1. That Council relocates the existing Council litter bin positioned directly on the north eastern
boundaries of McDonalds Moseley Square, Glenelg outdoor dining area to a nearby suitable
location for greater general public use.
2. That Council urges McDonalds Moseley Square, Glenelg to place their own designated litter
bin(s) in their outdoor dining area to cope with the volume of rubbish generated from their
premises, and that this forms a condition of the outdoor dining permit.
3. That Council offers a ‘fee for service’ litter collection of McDonalds supplied bin(s).
REPORT DETAILS
Introduction
Council has received many justified complaints over the years from the public and Elected Members of
the litter generated by unsightly food wastes, take-away food packaging, disposable cups and cigarette
butts in busy locations.
Much of the litter is associated with (in the main) outdoor dining permits provided to food businesses that
also sell take away food. Council officers observe that the outside tables are sometimes not cleared
frequently enough, and consequently food and its packaging and other litter gathers and is sometimes
blown around within and out of the open food and outdoor dining areas, particularly in Moseley Square.
Background
The 2005 -2006 Moseley Square upgrade, included replacement and additional public litter bins, also up
grading 120 litter bins to 240 litre bins for better storage capacity.
An initial request by McDonalds to install an additional Council litter bin adjacent to their outdoor dining
area was rejected by Administration primarily on the basis that it does not believe ratepayers should fund
the collection of rubbish generated by an individual business.
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ITEM NO:
REPORT NO: 251/08
Previous reports and decisions
At its meeting of 22 April 2008 Council resolved the following:
C220408/125
Councillor Crutchett moved and Councillor Clancy seconded that the minutes of this
committee be received and that Administration report to the next Environment and
Engineering Committee meeting on the issue of the repositioning of rubbish bins in
Moseley Square.
Environment and Engineering Committee considered Report No: 33/06 on 24 January 2006, McDonalds
Moseley Square, Glenelg – Outdoor Dining Application, and resolved the following:
1. “That McDonalds, Moseley Square, Glenelg, be informed in writing that it must conform with all
requirements with regard to service, cutlery and crockery, and no take away food at all times, or
Council will cancel the permit and require all furniture and fittings to be removed from the permit area.
2. That Administration investigates traders who may be in breach of their outdoor dining licence and at
risk of having their licence cancelled.”
Environment and Engineering Committee considered Report No: 480/06 on 26 September 2006, Review
of Condition 8 of Council’s Outdoor Dining Permit Conditions Requiring Table Service and Crockery and
Cutlery Provided to Customers, and resolved the following:
1. “That Condition 8 of Council’s Outdoor Dining Permit Conditions be revoked
2. That the following Conditions be included on Council’s Outdoor Dining Permit Conditions:
2.1. The Applicant that allows its customers to have takeaway food and or disposable eating and
drinking utensils within its outdoor dining area and has five or more tables must provide its own
rubbish bin(s) signed with the business name or logo, positioned within the boundaries of the
approved Permit Area, being of a finish and construction that complements the nearby public
litter bins and the bins must be removed at the end of each day of trading and the contents
disposed of at the permit holder’s cost. (Note: This now Condition 9).
2.2. The Applicant must not deposit rubbish collected from within its designated Permit Area in
Council owned rubbish bins.
2.3. At the time of Application or any time thereafter the Council reserves the right to require the
Applicant that has five (5) or more tables within the Permit Area and allows customers to have
take-away food and or disposable eating and drinking utensils within the Permit Area to screen
the Permit Area or part thereof as it sees fit.
2.4. A windproof ashtray must be present on the table whenever a person is smoking at that table.
2.5. The Council reserves the rights to cancel, suspend or revoke an Outdoor Dining Permit if the
Applicant fails to clear its tables and keep the pavement clean at a maximum of 30 minute
intervals to maintain the community expectation of the level of public place and food premises
cleanliness.
2.6. At the time of application or any time thereafter the Council reserves the right to cancel the
Outdoor Dining Permit or amend its operating hours if there are justified nuisances, health or
public safety issues as a consequence of unruly behaviour of persons frequenting the outdoor
dining area.
2.7. That in each outdoor dining application and any time thereafter, Council may assess the
obstruction to the free flow of pedestrians in the vicinity of a shop front service counter or access
point that communicates directly with the footpath and adjacent to the associated outdoor dining
area. Council reserves the right to refuse such application, cancel any current Permit or amend
the extent of the adjacent outdoor dining area.
2.8. That if the paving is not maintained in a clean and stain free state, then the paving will be
replaced at the permit holders cost.”
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ITEM NO:
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Key issues discussion
Litter Management
Regardless of what litter control measures are implemented by the outdoor dining business operators
Council is generally accountable for the management of litter in public areas.
This is achieved through the combination of bin provision and collection, precinct cleaning and
maintenance, and outdoor dining licence conditions, with the basic premise that litter generated by the
public generally in the public place will be addressed by the public litter bin ‘system’ while litter generated
by business premises’ outdoor dining activities will be addressed by the business itself within the scope of
the outdoor dining activity.
The outdoor dining permit conditions prohibit the deposit of outdoor dining wastes into a Council litter bin,
however it must be recognised that policing this is very difficult.
McDonalds provides its own rubbish bin near the outdoor dining, however, it is currently located against
the restaurant wall where it appears to receive very little use.
Refer Attachment 1 and 2
The outdoor dining permit conditions are quite clear in that the business must keep the permit area and
the footpath between the food business frontage and the permit area free from litter and waste materials
at all times during normal trading hours and the business shall bear the cost of cleaning the permit area.
To be fully effective, the bin provided by McDonalds should be moved into the outdoor dining area where
it is able to be directly accessible and better utilised. This would reduce the potential unsightly litter
problems both inside and outside the outdoor dining area. The business operator should provide and
manage the appropriate number of bins on a needs basis.
Those outdoor dining areas that use crockery and cutlery do not generate litter of any note, and so place
little or no demand on the Council’s public litter bin system.
McDonalds Outdoor Dining
Council received Report No: 480/06 on the 26 September 2006, covering Outdoor Dining Permit
Conditions, in which McDonalds Development Manager committed to ensuring the minimisation of litter
from the McDonalds restaurant in Moseley Square, and to take responsibility for the cleanliness of the
area and any rubbish left there. Administration observation indicates that the McDonalds outdoor dining
area is not always cleared of food waste and litter.
Refer Attachment 3
Current Situation
McDonalds Moseley Square has an Outdoor Dining Permit for 5 tables and 20 chairs but advises that it
places a maximum of 4 tables within its outdoor dining area. Consequently, the business is not required to
provide a rubbish bin(s) within the boundaries of its outdoor dining area. Nevertheless McDonalds has its
own designated litter bin positioned directly outside its restaurant but separated from its outdoor dining
area by the main thoroughfare area and railing around the veranda.
Refer Back to Attachment 2
The franchisee has always provided a commitment to keep their area clean and it is the McDonalds
organisation policy to include regular litter patrols of the areas around its restaurants. This policy extends
beyond outdoor dining boundaries, however, to the extent that it occurs, this does not appear to be highly
effective within Moseley Square.
There is a Council litter bin positioned on the north east corner of McDonalds outdoor dining permit area.
This is serviced a minimum of 3 times a day and up to 6 times a day during busy periods. The McDonalds
supplied bin appears to be serviced only 2-3 times per week. The overwhelming majority of the Council
litter bin’s contents generated from McDonalds.
Due to the large amount of rubbish, servicing this Council bin during peak periods has not always
matched demand. Once this was identified additional labour resourcing has been provided to combat
this.
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ITEM NO:
REPORT NO: 251/08
It is logical that the Council bin located in close proximity is used by the “outdoor dining customers” of
McDonalds, rather than the McDonalds supplied litter bin that is located on the other side of the
thoroughfare against the building frontage. In fact there are two Council litter bins closer to the outdoor
dining area than the McDonalds supplied litter bin.
It is considered that an appropriate response to this situation would be the relocation of Council’s existing
litter bin from the north eastern boundary of McDonalds outdoor dining area to a nearby location (near top
of the pedestrian ramp) , and McDonald’s location of their own designated bin(s) within the outdoor dining
area.
This measure would likely increase McDonalds litter management costs, however, the management of
litter and food waste associated with an outdoor dining area should be a reasonable expectation of the
licensee when occupying public land for business purposes. If required, Council could provide a ‘fee for
service’ litter collection of these bins.
Financial sustainability impact
Budget
With the significant increase of food establishments, both with and without outdoor dining, and the major
developments and attractions in the Glenelg precinct there are expected to be strong demands on
Council’s waste management budget. Additional labour resources have already been required in
Moseley Square precinct over summer, principally to cater for the McDonalds generated rubbish.
Consumption of takeaway food in outdoor dining areas should not, if managed appropriately, cause any
additional costs to Council’s waste management, on the basis that any litter generated by an outdoor
dining area should be the responsibility of the business.
Full life cycle costs
The full life cycle costs are ongoing and typically will be absorbed into the annual growth of operational
budgets.
Conclusion
Outdoor dining has become part of street culture in appropriate locations, but the general public does not
regard outdoor dining as restricted to table service, crockery and cutlery especially during day light hours,
at beachside suburbs and tourist destinations.
Council is, however, responsible for the use, amenity and ambience of land that it owns and manages, on
behalf of its ratepayers, the wider community and visitors.
The use of public land for business purposes, in this case outdoor dining, represents an opportunity
granted on the basis of conditions.
It is considered by Council’s Administration that any perceived inadequacy of litter bin provision and
servicing in the immediate locality of McDonalds at Moseley Square is not a reflection of the public litter
bin system capacity to handle general litter, but rather an indication that the McDonalds outdoor dining
area, where “take away” food is consumed or opened, as inadequately supported by the business own
cleaning and collection system and bin provision.
This is not considered to be a need that the community should meet, rather, a business response in the
terms of the outdoor dining licence is appropriate.
S G HODGE
ACTING GENERAL MANAGER
ENVIRONMENT AND ENGINEERING
Administrative Trim Reference : B174
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