Kiama residents have raised concerns after news that yellow-lid bins will be collected once every two weeks. However, Kiama Council chief executive officer Jane Stroud has moved to allay fears, noting any changes 'will not happen quickly'.
The council is undergoing a waste services review, which will eventually lead to changes in bin collection, including fortnightly yellow-lid bin collection. But Ms Stroud stressed these changes won't be rolled out immediately. 'Your bin collections remain exactly the same today as they were yesterday,' she said.
'No service changes will occur until a full community consultation process is completed. We have allowed at least six months before any operational changes to collections, and up to three years for some of the more complex service adjustments.'
Ms Stroud said council data showed waste collection was not as efficient as it could be, with many yellow bins not full when collected or not put out on the kerbside at all. 'If we're collecting too little or too much on a given route, it increases costs and reduces efficiency,' she said.
There were also plans to review the council's waste collection zones, which was last done more than 10 years ago. Ms Stroud said all waste collected by garbage trucks was transported out of the Kiama LGA to Dunmore in the Shellharbour LGA, contrary to perceptions that a facility in Minnamurra handled the waste. 'The Minnamurra facility stopped receiving general waste in 2006,' she said.
