General News
11 May, 2026
FOUR BIN DUMP
PRESSURE is on the State Government to get the rules right before Loddon Shire considers a four-rubbish bin routine for residents.
PRESSURE is on the State Government to get the rules right before Loddon Shire considers a four-rubbish bin routine for residents.
Councillors and officers have baulked at the government’s move that would add recycling and garden waste services to rate notices.
Loddon is now among 34 of Victora’s 79 councils standing against expanded kerbside rubbish collection.
Cr Nick Angelo told last week’s council meeting that the four-bin plan was not a fit for rural areas.
Cr Angelo said recycling could be improved with drop off points at rubbish tips and expansion of the container deposit scheme to include wine and spirit bottles.
“(and) there’s no need for a green bin - country people compost waste. No need for this in the Loddon Shire.”
Cr Miki Wilson said the Government’s plan “talks louder to urban than rural areas.” She said the four-bin plan was a solution not fit for all areas.
Councillors voted to delay implementation of the state-wide system until the service standards were finalised by the State Government.
The motion also said that the implementation of an extended service required about 18 months to plan and implement. Loddon Shire will tell Local Government Minister Paul Hamer it wants the Government to finalise the scheme’s service standards and regulations and its concerns regarding financial viability.
The shire currently has a two bin service in towns and designated rural living areas - a red lid bin collected weekly for general rubbish and a yellow lid bin is collected fortnightly for all recycling including glass. Separated glass can be put in yellow bins and is also received free of charge at council’s six rubbish tips.
The Governments also wants a purple lid for glass recycling and a lime green lid bin for food organics and garden organics.
“Council officers and a growing advocacy group of 34 Victorian councils have raised concerns about the cost, inefficiency, and duplication of the glass bin mandate, especially given the success and expansion of the CDS in other states and territories,” councillors were told by works manager Daniel Lloyd.
Mr Lloyd said councils had been waiting for official government service standards on four bins, first promised for release in December 2024. “There are practicality and logistical challenges associated with implementing a new service without the necessary state government regulations or final service standards being released by the Victorian Government,” he said.
“It is difficult for council officers to explain and justify a commitment to a change in kerbside service standards for the Loddon community based only upon a draft document.”
Read More: Loddon Shire, Inglewood, Bridgewater