The meeting heard the service used 450 litres of fuel each fortnight. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
A Southern Tablelands council has temporarily stopped its green waste collection as it looks to build a fuel supply “buffer”.
At a recent meeting, Upper Lachlan Shire Council (ULSC) agreed to pause its kerbside green waste collection.
The motion states this will be “reviewed periodically” with the goal of reintroducing collections in the future.
No timetable for the review was given during the meeting.
Councillor Terry Yallouris called for the council to instead reduce collection frequencies, rather than stop the service altogether.
“[At] this time, I don’t think it’s a very good strategy for us to take that service away … Taking it away might have a very dramatic effect.”
He pointed to the 450 litres the service used per fortnight.
“Is it that significant that it’s going to make that much of an impact? Or is it just we’re going to try something, and could we try somewhere else?”
In response, ULSC CEO Alex Waldron said it was hoped the proposal would protect the council against future fuel shocks.
“That is almost half the amount that we need to reserve,” she said of the fuel needed.
She said this would help build “a buffer” that could be relied upon if there were issues with its fortnightly fuel supply.
“This is about saving fuel, rather than the cost at the moment.
“This is about reserving those 450 litres … We have to have an amount we’ve reserved for critical services, being water, sewer and waste (specifically the red bin waste) [and] anything that relates to public health and safety.”
She also said the council wasn’t expecting bin cross-contamination, noting ULSC did not offer a FOGO service.
But councillor Rob Cameron pushed back on the proposal, labelling it unnecessary.
“[A report to councillors received earlier in the meeting] says that we have enough for business as usual and reserves for critical operations, as things currently stand.
“I would much rather have seen, in that context, a number of options offered to council in this very complicated strategic difficulty that we face, rather than just this particular one option.”
He called for further transparency around the change, pointing to the lack of a “specified period” for the collection’s return.
“It’s vague, and it’s general.
“If the fuel situation changes – materially changes – then I would be more than prepared to meet an extraordinary session to consider options, not just the one option.”
During the meeting, councillor Simon Peirce raised his concern the change could raise fear in the community.
“I’m just very concerned that it could be a trigger for panic buying by the general public, who view council’s pause of service to reflect a further reduction in fuel supply,” he said.
During the meeting councillors also received an information-only report on conditions impacting its fuel supply.
Ms Waldron told the meeting ULSC’s fuel supplies were “OK”, though it was preparing for possible further disruptions and cost increases.
“[Council has] bulk supply on-site, which lasts us for around about two weeks.
“We don’t know, though, until usually the day before, whether we’re going to receive the latest delivery, which does make it very difficult for planning.”
She described the suspension of green waste collections as a “contingency” for a scenario where fuel deliveries were partially or completely cancelled.
This also outlines other strategies ULSC has implemented to manage its fuel supply, such as limiting non-essential travel, increasing monitoring of fuel usage and suspending after-hour access to depot fuel bowsers.
Mayor Paul Culhane urged his fellow councillors to support the plan.
He said the service was “very underutilised” and further changes could be needed in the future.
“The reality is we do have a crisis and that’s well documented around the state … We have an 80 per cent increase in diesel, which is the primary use for not only our farmers, but also council.”
Ultimately, his was the casting vote, with councillors Vivienne Flanagan, Susan Reynolds and John Searl voting in support of the decision.
Councillors Cameron, Gregory Harris, Peirce and Yallouris voted against it.
It means transfer station fees associated with domestic green waste disposal won’t be levied while the collection service isn’t running.
A staff member confirmed there wouldn’t be any rate relief associated with the change.
“To answer your question [from a councillor], there was no additional charge for the green waste,” he told the meeting.
“It was absorbed with the current fee structure back then [when it was introduced in 2017]. That has remained that way.”
In a statement after the meeting, a ULSC spokesperson said the suspension would start from 27 April.
