Waste collection services

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   Eligible items:
  • Food Scraps (may be wrapped in newspaper to alleviate odour)
  • Raw, cooked, and leftover food (remove all containers, packaging, labels, and stickers)
  • Bones from food waste (e.g., meat, fish, shellfish shells)
  • Staple food (e.g., bread, cakes, pastries, rice, pasta, beans, cereal)
  • White paper towels, white paper napkins, and newspaper sheets for food wrapping and vegetable oil soaking
  • Pet food
  • Garden waste (e.g., grass clippings, leaves, plant root systems, vegetables, straw, hay, small-sized tree branches, real Christmas trees)
  • Hair and feathers (no synthetic materials or animal carcasses)

  Not Accepted:

  • Plastics of any type including compostable plastic bags
  • Compostable/single-use cutlery and cups
  • Large logs
  • Soil and dust

Glass Bin and Glass Drop-off Point (Purple-Lidded)

Eligible Items:

• Glass bottles and jars of any type (remove metal lids and lightly rinse)

Not Accepted:

• Ceramics, porcelain, window glass, perfume bottles and broken drinking glasses

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  Eligible Items:

  • Plastic bottles, lids, jars, pots, and containers less than 5L [PN1] (lightly rinsed, remove plastic wrapping)
  • Fruit and vegetable plastic trays and containers (no meat and food trays)
  • Food cans, pet food cans, steel cans and aluminium cans
  • Foil trays and large aluminium foil balls
  • Cardboard (any type; flatten, remove plastic wrapping, polystyrene, and food content)
  • Un-shredded paper (e.g., newspapers, magazines, letters, envelopes, books, shopping paper bags, gift wrap)
  • Reusable shopping bags
  • Cartons (e.g., milk, juice, soup)

  Not Accepted:

  • Plastic Bags – All items are to be placed loose into recycling bin
  • Ceramics, porcelain, and broken glass
  • Scrap metal
  • Batteries
  • Soft and hard plastics (other than listed)

Eligible Items:

• All items not eligible in the FOGO bin
• All items not eligible in the commingled recycling bin
• All items not eligible in the glass bin or glass drop-off points

Not Accepted:

• Batteries of any kind – free drop-off at designated bin located in transfer station.
• Mixed household batteries, except lead acid battery - free drop-off at designated bin located in transfer station, library, CIVIC building, supermarkets.
• Light bulbs of any kind – free drop-off at designated bins located in transfer station.
• Hazardous waste and chemicals
• Deceased animals
• Household appliances of any type – free disposal at transfer station
• Bulky items (i.e. bed, sofa, mattress)

Under the State Government’s Circular Economy Policy all Victorian councils must introduce food and garden organics (FOGO) collection for all urban households and separate glass recycling collection. This will mean a four-bin system will be introduced across the state.

It’s estimated that up to 40 per cent of the municipality’s household rubbish is food waste, which currently goes straight to landfill.

Victoria is running out of landfill space which is driving up the cost to dispose of waste. This cost is passed directly onto ratepayers via the waste charge on your rates notice. By making this change, we’re helping minimise future cost increases.

Under HRCC’s waste policy, the new 4-Bin Service will be compulsory for all urban residents. Opting out is not permitted, as this would not lead to the outcome required under the new Victorian Government legislation. Bin downsizing will be permitted.

While rural residents won’t transition to the four-bin system, there will be an improved service for out-of-town customers with a 240-litre commingled recycling bin (glass must no longer be put in this bin), collected fortnightly, offered to all properties currently receiving waste disposal services. This will combine with a A 240-litre general waste bin, collected fortnightly. Rural people will also have the option of depositing glass at transfer stations or designated collection points for free.

Separating glass from other recycling makes recycling more efficient, and allows more glass to be recovered for recycling. Under the old system where glass was mixed with other recyclables about 30 per cent of glass could not be recovered and broken glass fragments caused other materials to be unrecyclable.

Food scraps and garden waste are valuable resources that can be recycled into a high-quality compost to be used in local farms, parks, and gardens.

Also, decomposing food in landfill emits methane into the atmosphere, contributing to increases in greenhouse gas emissions.

The kerbside collections won’t all happen at on the same day, so there will never be any more than two bins from each household on the street.

Council will collect slightly more revenue due to the 4-Bin Service. However all of that money will be put towards the extra costs involved such as paying truck drivers and supplying the new bins, so Council will not profit from the changes.

The new annual charge for urban residents will be $482. For people with existing 240-litre bins that’s an increase of $12. Those currently paying for a small bin will eventually see an increase of $175 per year. For rural residents, the service charge will go down $82 (for existing 240 L customers).

Due to the increase of residential areas in Horsham, some current rural areas will now be slated as urban, resulting in a $60 increase for the service in those areas.

Proposed areas include a general extension to Plozzas, Hunts and Holes roads at Haven that have a residential character be classified as urban waste customers and receive the four-bin service.

The new charges will be phased in over the next two financial years.

We recognise this will be a problem for some customers especially in units and flats. We understand that some residents may not have adequate space to store four bins. We want to help people living at specified multi-unit properties so within our Kerbside Collection Policy we will allow for the sharing of bins between neighbours.

Changes to waste and recycling services: 4-bin survey results

To download the full report (92 pages): Engagement Report(PDF, 802KB)

To download a summary of the engagement (6 pages): Engagement Report Snapshot(PDF, 205KB)