Shire of Dardanup hopeful of avoiding $11,000 loss after approving new voluntary rural rubbish service

A South West council is hopeful it will not be left $11,000 out of pocket by a new voluntary rubbish service for some of its residents. The Shire of Dardanup has unanimously approved implementing a two-bin service for some landowners in the Ferguson Valley after a petition was presented to the council earlier this year calling for the change. Waste collection contractor Veolia has been appointed to undertake the route, with the new service set to commence from this week. An expression-of-interest was opened to Ferguson, Henty and Wellington Mills residents in June, with 24 landholders indicating they would take up the service. But it will take 121 landholders for the council to break even on the service, which would run at a loss of up to $11,210 this financial year if only those who responded use the new offering. Former Shire president Mick Bennett moved at last week’s meeting to have the $195 new bin fee scrapped for households within the expanded service area to encourage more to take it up. “The cost of those bins will be taken back out of them slowly over the service as it goes forward, so it’s not a great impost and it will get more people I hope on board for the service,” he said. Mr Bennett said any businesses in the area would be able to buy extra bins. “That’s a request we’ve had from a restaurant up in that area that will have a lot of rubbish,” he said. “If they can get a service, they’re prepared to pay for it,” he said. Speaking after the meeting, Mr Bennett expected any loss the council faced would be far less than $11,000. “Our figures aren’t good because there’s not many people that have expressed an interest in it, but once the bins go out the front of somebody’s yard, they’ll say ‘that’s easier than going to the tip, I’m getting into this’,” he said. The need for the bins came about after a private contractor which had previously done rubbish collection for some properties discontinued its service. The introduction of collected bins to parts of the Ferguson Valley eliminates the need for households to travel to the Shire’s waste transfer station in Crooked Brook to dispose of rubbish. It will cover properties within the Ferguson Road, Pile Road and Henty Road areas.