2025 Waste and Recycling Services Review
Your engagement is appreciated
Before you begin the survey, we want to thank our community for your engagement with council over the past several months. The beginning of a new four-year council term always signals a review and update of strategic materials, such as our Council Plan, which often requires community consultation as part of the process. Your feedback so far has been invaluable.
We also acknowledge our communities have navigated some challenging events so far this year and appreciate people may need extra support. Please get in touch with us if you need assistance with understanding your rates, accessing drought support, or reviewing business support options available. Simply call Customer Service on (03) 5358 8700 or email ngshire@ngshire.vic.gov.au to be connected with the appropriate team.
Review introduction
Council is reviewing our waste and recycling services across the shire in accordance with the State Government's Circular Economy (Waste Reduction and Recycling) Act 2021. Under the Act, council is required to introduce new recycling services for glass and food and garden organics (FOGO) and is working towards commencing these services by July 2027.
The aim of the Act is to reduce waste going to landfill, improve recycling outcomes, and create a more sustainable waste system by providing separate collection for each of the four household waste streams, three of which promote recycling efforts.
Two new recycling services will be added to our collection services, including:
- FOGO recycling for food scraps such as bones, fish, fruits, vegetables and garden waste.
- Glass recycling for items such as jars and bottles.
These services may be added to your existing mixed recycling service for items such as cardboard, cans and hard plastics, and general rubbish service for residual household waste.
Options under consideration
Under the Act, council must provide glass and FOGO recycling collection to primarily residential areas. Generally speaking, council refers to areas in our shire as:
- Urban (compulsory) areas: where kerbside waste and recycling services are mandatory. These areas are typically residential and extend to town fringes.
- Rural (non-compulsory) areas: where residents may opt-in to receive kerbside services. These areas include rural properties, farms and areas outside of central townships.
The needs of residents across urban and rural areas may be different, which is why council is asking people to identify which area they reside in as part of the survey. We must also review the different options available to successfully introduce the new recycling streams alongside our existing general rubbish and mixed recycling services. In addition, the review also includes assessing our financial capacity to facilitate the mandated requirements under the Act while continuing to deliver a viable and reliable shire-wide waste and recycling service model.
For residents in St Arnaud who have been part of the FOGO trial, this service remains unchanged for now but is being assessed alongside the shire-wide implementation approach as part of this review process. This means there could be changes to your service at some stage in the future.
Your collective input will ensure council meets our legislated service requirements in a manner that best serves the majority of the community by helping us understand what matters most to you. These insights will be critical to guiding how we deliver our usual waste collection services and the new recycling streams over the coming years.
Kerbside Waste and Recycling Survey [Closed]
This survey builds on insights obtained through the 2025-29 Council Plan engagement process. Earlier this year in March, we uncovered the following community sentiments regarding kerbside collection services:
- People expressed a desire for an earlier rollout of the glass and FOGO kerbside collection system.
- People expressed a strong interest in community-led composting programs and better education around household recycling and composting activities.
- People expressed a need for transparency and want to understand what happens to their waste.
- People expressed the need to educate people about what waste goes into which collection service to ensure they are adopted correctly.
The anonymous survey is open until 11.59pm on Wednesday, October 15, 2025. You can complete it online via the link below or access a hard copy from our Customer Service offices in both Stawell and St Arnaud.
This is your opportunity to tell us about your waste and recycling service priorities and help shape future services available within the shire. Council will then:
- Review all responses and collate a summarised report of the results.
- Present survey findings to councillors for review and consideration in late October, with a formal councillor decision to be made on future collection services in December.
- Communicate future implementation decisions with residents via council's standard communication channels.
Frequently asked questions
Want to find out more about the Circular Economy (Waste Reduction and Recycling) Act 2021 or how council will be rolling out future waste and recycling services? Simply click the relevant topic below.
If you have further questions or would like to speak with someone about the survey or review process, please call Customer Service on (03) 5358 8700 and ask to speak with council's Waste Management team. Alternatively, you can also email waste@ngshire.vic.gov.au.
What are we reviewing?
Council is reviewing our shire-wide waste and recycling services as part of our obligations under the State Government's Circular Economy (Waste Reduction and Recycling) Act 2021. The Act mandates councils across Victoria implement a four-stream waste collection system that introduces new services for glass and FOGO recycling.
Council is seeking community input before making future decisions to ensure waste services address the majority needs of the community as much as possible.
Why are we reviewing it?
We are reviewing our waste services to:
- Ensure community preferences guide the implementation of the new glass and FOGO services.
- Explore community views towards changes to existing services that may reduce operational costs.
What does it mean for residents?
Depending on community feedback and council direction, our residents will receive two new bins for the additional waste stream services or alternatively access to drop-off services. The existing general rubbish and mixed recycling services may also change to improve quality and/or reduce operational costs. The type of service offered may be different between the more densely populated town centres and the sparsely populated rural areas. Council may also adjust the collection schedule frequency as part of the new service delivery process.
But we already have FOGO in St Arnaud?
In 2023, council introduced a Food and Garden Organics (FOGO) kerbside collection trial in and around the St Arnaud township. This trial concluded on June 30, 2025.
As of the 2025/26 financial year, FOGO collection is now part of the standard household waste services available for St Arnaud urban residents. In alignment with the mandate from the State Government, our plan is to now extend the service to the whole shire.
The current cost associated with St Arnaud FOGO bin collection may be revised as part of this review process which will be communicated with residents in due course. Until then, it is business as usual with FOGO collection services for St Arnaud residents.
What happens next?
At the conclusion of the feedback period on October 15, council will review the insights obtained via the community survey and collate a summarised report to share with councillors in late October, with a formal decision to be made in December. This will inform the review of council's Waste Management Strategy and Waste Action Plan and guide decisions on how we deliver waste and recycling services across collection areas.
As we move closer to the four-stream service commencement date in 2027, council will be purchasing the required additional bins and making necessary operational preparations. We will continue to keep the community informed of our progress and decisions made during that period via council's standard communication channels.
What is the Circular Economy (Waste Reduction and Recycling) Act 2021?
The State Government's Circular Economy (Waste Reduction and Recycling) Act 2021, passed by Parliament in December 2021, underpins Victoria’s transition to a circular economy. It establishes Recycling Victoria as a new statewide regulator that will provide strategic leadership, oversight and regulation of the waste and recycling sector.
The Act also creates the legislative framework for the new container deposit scheme and the new statewide, four-stream household waste and recycling system. The Act aims to transition to a sustainable and thriving circular economy, to minimise waste going to landfill and significantly increase recycling and more efficient use of resources.
You can read more on the government's website here.
What does compulsory and non-compulsory mean?
- Urban (compulsory): Areas where kerbside waste and recycling services are mandatory. These areas are typically residential and extend to town fringes.
- Rural (non-compulsory): Areas where residents may opt-in to receive kerbside services. These areas include rural properties, farms and areas outside of central townships.
The needs of residents across urban and rural areas may be different, which is why council is asking people to identify which area they reside in as part of the survey. It is important council designs future service delivery models to balance the diverse needs of our community across collection areas.
Who can I speak with about this?
If you have a question about any of the information contained on this page or would like to speak with someone, please call Customer Service on (03) 5358 8700 and ask to speak with our Waste Management team. Alternatively, you can also email waste@ngshire.vic.gov.au.