Skip to main content
Person emptying waste into bin

Environment

We're going green

On this page

From July 2021 we’re going green with a mandatory green organics service in an effort to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill. As of 30 June 2020, 49.5% of properties are subscribed to the current green organic waste services, so we're already halfway there!

What going green means for you

Green organic services will be mandatory in the townships of Angaston, Eden Valley, Lyndoch, Mount Pleasant, Moculta, Nuriootpa, Penrice, Sandy Creek, Springton, Stockwell, Tanunda, and Williamstown, with the option to opt-out of the service if you meet the assessment criteria and conditions^

Costs for the services are yet to be determined, however, current costs in 2020-2021 are $53. The day and frequency of green organic bin pick-ups are also being investigated, with a decision to be made at the April 2021 Council meeting.

Already receive the green organic service?

If you're a property owner and already have a green organic bin, there will only be a minor change to the service, with bins being collected on a weekday rather than the weekend.

The service day will align with your general waste service collection. The service will continue to be provided on a fortnightly basis at this stage.

You won't be issued with an additional green bin when the service becomes mandatory and therefore you’re not required to apply for an exemption.

Once green organic services become mandatory you'll no longer be able to simply cancel the green organic service as you currently can, and instead, you’ll be required to complete a request to be exempt from the service.

If you're a tenant currently paying for the optional service, you'll no longer be billed as the cost will become the responsibility of the ratepayer.

Apply to opt-out

If you believe you meet the assessment criteria and conditions^ for the exemption and you'd like to express interest in opting-out of the mandatory service, you can do so by filling out the form below.

Please note that submitting the form does not guarantee you automatic exemption from the mandatory green organic service as each request is individually assessed. Please allow 10 working days for your application to be assessed

Request for Green Organic Service Exemption Form

Contact details
Name
Are you the property owner, rate payer or property manager? *

You must be a property owner, rate payer or managing agent for the property to complete this application

Site address

This can be found on your rates notice

Refer to the Assessment criteria and conditions for more details

Please provide the following documentation^

^Assessment criteria and conditions

  1. A property is eligible for the Green Organic Service exception if the property is within the designated
    mandatory collection route
  2. Photographic evidence of a suitable composting system (compost pile or bay, static or tumbling compost bins) will be required for the service exemption to be considered.
  3. A signed Statutory Declaration stating that green waste is managed through other means and will not be placed in general waste bin is to be included with the application.
  4. You must be the property owner or rate payer to put forward an application for the Green Organic Service Exemption.
  5. An application for the Green Organic Service Exemption does not guarantee that a service exemption will be applied to the property.
  6. You are required to notify Council if your circumstances change, this includes moving from your current premises.
  7. In the event that a property is sold, the Green Organic service exemption will be revoked, charges will be reinstated on the rates notice and a Green Organic bin will be delivered to the property
  8. Bins that are assigned to the property must not be removed from the property when there is a change of tenants or sale of the property. All bins remain the property of SOLO Resource Recovery.

FAQs

Council is committed to reducing the area’s contribution of waste to landfill through a variety of measures. In line with this commitment Council has obtained a grant under the Green Industries SA Kerbside Performance Plus Food Waste Incentive program to assist in implementing a more sustainable and efficient food organics recycling system with the goal of achieving targets within South Australia's Waste Strategy 2015-2020.

An independent kerbside bin audit conducted last year by KESAB Environmental Solutions revealed that 47% of waste found in general (red lid) bins was actually organic material which could be more effectively disposed of through a green organics (green lid) bin.

By diverting just a portion (20%) of the organic waste from landfill to the appropriate stream Council could save around $45,963 a year on the landfill levy (based on a $71.50 per tonne levy).

In the long term such significant savings could then be passed on to ratepayers.

For residents that don’t currently subscribe to the green organic service, the service will reduce the amount of waste that goes into your general waste bin. Which is very convenient if you have difficulty fitting your waste into your existing bin.

If you are already composting, the green organic service will help you to dispose of material you wouldn’t normally compost at home, like pet droppings, bones and meat scraps or seafood scraps.

If you currently take green waste to the Springton Transfer Station or another facility, you may no longer need to make those trips, saving you money and time. If you generate a lot of garden waste, e.g. grass clippings and prunings, you can spread it across multiple Green bin collections and only take the material that won’t physically fit in your bin to the Springton Transfer Station or another facility.

40 out of the 76 properties that applied for an exemption will be immediately eligible to not receive the service based on evidence provided. A further 11 applications will be reassessed pending more information. All 76 residents that submitted an expression of interest to opt out of the service will be advised of an outcome in May 2021

As of 30 June 2020, 3,994 properties have subscribed to the optional green organic waste service, which is 49.5% of all eligible properties.

Properties with the township boundaries of Angaston, Eden Valley, Lyndoch, Mount Pleasant, Moculta, Nuriootpa, Penrice, Sandy Creek, Springton, Stockwell, Tanunda, and Williamstown will be classified as mandatory.

Roll out of the mandatory service will commence from Quarter 4 of the 2020-21 financial year in the lead up to the 1 July 2021 start. Charges will begin to appear on rates notices from 1 July 2021.

The annual fee will be applied to future rates notices. The current fee for 2020-21 is $53, and previous years' were $59 in 2018-2019 and $57 in 2019-2020.

The fee is reviewed each year as part of the budgeting process to account for collection and disposal costs for delivering the service to ratepayers. Tenants currently paying for the optional service will no longer be billed under the mandatory proposal as the cost will become the responsibility of the ratepayer.

The following items can go into your green organic bin:

  • Lawn clippings
  • Weeds, branches and garden matter
  • Leaves and small prunings
  • Cut flowers
  • Food scraps and peels
  • Cake and bread scraps
  • Tea bags and coffee grounds
  • Meat scraps and bones (cooked or raw)
  • Seafood (cooked or raw)
  • Egg shells and oyster shells
  • Tissues and paper towels
  • Dairy products (eg. cheese and yoghurt)
  • Manure and pet droppings
  • Hair
  • Fruit and vegetables
  • Compostable bags

Further details of what is accepted in the kerbside collection services can found at ‘Which Bin’.

Residents who can reasonably demonstrate that they are effectively managing the disposal of Green Organic waste from their property are encouraged to apply for the green organic service exemption.

You must be the property owner or ratepayer to put forward anapplication for the Green Organic Service Exemption.

Subscribe to stay up to date