Victoria's Liberal-National opposition has announced a policy to require all councils to collect general rubbish weekly if it wins the November state election, with opposition leader Jess Wilson also proposing to extend the state's council rate cap to waste charges so that households would not face higher costs as a result.
Victorian Liberals pledge to mandate weekly rubbish collections ahead of state election
Victoria's Liberal-National opposition has announced a policy to require all councils to collect general rubbish weekly if it wins the November state election, with opposition leader Jess Wilson also proposing to extend the state's council rate cap to waste charges so that households would not face higher costs as a result.
Thirty-three Victorian councils have moved from weekly to fortnightly general rubbish collection, including nine metropolitan Melbourne councils: Banyule, Bayside, Boroondara, Glen Eira, Knox, Manningham, Monash, Nillumbik and Yarra Ranges. Merri-bek council has indicated it expects to follow from mid-2027, stating the change would save ratepayers $16 million over ten years, reduce food waste going to landfill, and lower pollution. Under Merri-bek's proposal, standard red-lid bins would increase from 80 litres to 120 litres, with larger bins available at no charge to certain households such as those with multiple children in nappies.
Wilson, whose electorate of Kew falls within the Boroondara local government area, told radio station 3AW that fortnightly collection was 'disgusting,' describing overflowing bins and difficulty disposing of nappies and extra bags. In a subsequent statement she described weekly rubbish collection as 'an essential service that shouldn't depend on your postcode.'
Boroondara mayor Wes Gault said he agreed residents were paying too much for waste disposal, but attributed this to increases in the state government's landfill levy rather than collection frequency. He said reverting to weekly collection would cost Boroondara residents at least $3 million more per year in trucks, fuel, servicing and staffing alone, before accounting for additional landfill levies. Gault also said 70 per cent of material across Boroondara's kerbside bins was already being diverted from landfill, and that weekly general rubbish collection risked increasing emissions through more truck movements and additional landfill methane.
Most councils that have adopted fortnightly general collection cite the simultaneous introduction of weekly food organics and garden organics (Fogo) collection as the primary rationale, arguing that separating food scraps into a green bin for composting reduces the methane produced when organic material breaks down in landfill. Whitehorse council considered switching but retained weekly general collection following a consultation process. Material from that consultation noted that food waste accounted for 40 per cent of the weight of general rubbish bins, and that Boroondara, Knox, Manningham and Monash had reduced waste sent to landfill by an average of 19 per cent in the first year after introducing weekly Fogo alongside fortnightly general collection.
The broader waste policy context in Victoria includes a government-mandated shift to a four-bin system incorporating a purple-lidded bin for glass by 1 July 2027, announced following the 2019 collapse of recycling company SKM, which resulted in thousands of tonnes of recycling being redirected to landfill. Several Victorian councils pushed back against that deadline earlier in 2025. The Liberal-National opposition has also committed to reviewing the state's landfill levy and making the purple bin optional if elected.
A similar debate is occurring elsewhere in Australia. In Western Australia, a One Nation candidate is reportedly using a state byelection to campaign for Rockingham council to restore weekly rubbish collection.
- The Victorian state government's position on the Liberal-National opposition's weekly collection mandate policy is not stated in the source.
- The source does not specify the precise mechanism by which a state government could legally compel councils to restore weekly collection.
- The financial modelling behind the claim that extending the rate cap to waste charges would fully offset any additional collection costs is not detailed.
- Merri-bek council's response to the opposition's policy is not included.
- The positions of other affected councils beyond Boroondara are not canvassed.
- The source does not establish whether the opposition's review of the landfill levy would result in a reduction, freeze, or other change.
Read the original at The Guardian