Wellington Shire councillors voted on Tuesday to reject a 3,000-signature petition calling for weekly red bin collection, saying the change to a fortnightly service had cut landfill by 40 percent.
What happened: The councillors voted to stay with the fortnightly general waste and weekly food organics and garden organics (FOGO) model adopted in June.
Of all the signatories, 2,259 verified they lived in Wellington Shire, which is approximately 6.1 percent of the shire’s population, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2025 data.
Councillor Liz Foat moved to decline the petition, saying the evidence didn't justify charging every household more.
"Returning to weekly red bin collections would add about $125 a year to every household's charge. I don't believe [in] asking everyone to pay more when the evidence indicates that most households do not need the extra collection.”
Council staff pointed out that those who wanted more room for their red-bin collection could purchase an additional 120-litre general rubbish bin for $192 per year.
An audit conducted by the council found that more than 50 percent of general rubbish bins were at least half empty when presented for collection.
Peter Cleary, a former Wellington Shire Mayor, asked the council to send a survey out to every resident asking if they’d prefer to have weekly collections for red and FOGO bins.
“You need to look at it again, because I think you’ve got it wrong,” he said.
Why did the bin schedule change?
In February 2020, the Victorian government set a target of diverting 80 percent of waste from landfills by 2030.
To motivate local governments the state government’s Environment Protection Authority imposed a mandatory charge per tonne of waste disposed at landfill sites from July 2025.
To avoid these charges and comply with state government legislation, councils around Gippsland have introduced a FOGO bin, or green bin, and are in the process of introducing a purple-lidded glass bin.
Is it working to reduce landfill?
A Wellington Shire report shows waste sent to landfill in the municipality decreased by more than 30 percent in July and more than 40 percent in August, compared with 2025.
The FOGO bins collected 563 and 500 tonnes of waste in those months, respectively.
The vote: The motion to reject the petition passed seven votes to one.
Councillor Edward Lowe was the lone dissenter, arguing the weight of community feedback deserved more than the petition being "moved past".
The council has locked in a 12-month review of the collection schedule in June next year.
The Monitor unsuccessfully sought comment from Wellington Shire Mayor Cindy Madeley.