A report has found respondents gave a Far South Coast council an average rating of 3.6 (out of 5) for its waste services. Photo: Bega Valley Shire Council.
A survey has revealed what Far South Coast residents really think about their bins.
Bega Valley Shire Council (BVSC) conducted two rounds of consultation (an internal survey of council staff between 22 February and 7 March and a public survey between 15 March and 15 May), with the results compiled in a recently released report.
Waste Strategy Coordinator Tim Cook said the results would be used by the BVSC as it planned for an updated waste strategy.
“It’s a comprehensive summary of how the community uses and values council provided waste services, which will inform the development of our long-term strategy,” he said.
“The report reveals a range of key insights, starting with an overall positive satisfaction rating for all service areas, with an average score of 3.6 out of 5.
“Kerbside recycling collection received the highest satisfaction score of four, followed closely by free waste disposal vouchers at 3.9 and the waste app at 3.8.”
Mr Cook acknowledged the report also revealed areas where council could improve.
“It’s imperative the drafting of this report and strategy is transparent, where the findings help us to form a holistic picture of what we can achieve with the available resources,” he said.
“Service areas requiring the greatest improvement include public litter bins and kerbside landfill bin collection.
“However, comments reveal general satisfaction with our public bin service, suggesting that issues are localised to certain hotspot locations.”
In the survey, respondents commented on a lack of bins, infrequent emptying of them leading to overflowing rubbish and a need for more recycling bins. The areas with the most issues were said to be Merimbula, Bega and Candelo.
The report recorded 68 dissatisfied responses for kerbside landfill collection, followed by public litter bins (62) and green waste disposal at waste and recycling centres (45 responses).
“The community’s perception of waste service pricing was encouraging, with 62.5 per cent of respondents believing services are fairly priced.”
Mr Cook noted more than 87 per cent of respondents said they found it easy to sort waste at home and 80 per cent felt good about recycling.
“However, there is a desire for more education and awareness programs, as evidenced by 55.1 per cent of respondents wanting council to conduct more initiatives,” he said.
“There is more to take from this report, including differences in waste management satisfaction between town, village and rural residents.”
The survey found only 57.63 per cent of rural respondents thought the fees and charges were fair, while 65.14 per cent of town and village respondents believed they offered value for money.
Additionally, respondents also raised the extra distance and costs involved in accessing waste transfer stations faced by rural residents.
The consultation came as BVSC looks to update its waste strategy.
“The report provides us with a solid picture of how the community rates and uses our services and it will assist in drafting a targeted strategy,” said Mr Cook.
“While adequate funds and resources won’t allow for delivery of all community requests, it will help us to target the funds we have to deliver the best possible service.
“I thank everyone who contributed to the survey. Insights from the 452 respondents are crucial in shaping the future of waste management in our shire.
“The next step is to workshop the results from the Listening Report 2024 with our Waste Strategy Community Working Group before we start drafting the new waste strategy.”
The draft strategy is expected to be finalised between August and October, according to the report.
It would then be put out for public feedback, before coming before BVSC for a vote. If successful, it should then be adopted early next year.
The full Listening Report 2024 is available via council’s website.
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