Council Adopts Kerbside Waste Contamination Policy
Published on 09 September 2026
Southern Grampians Shire Council has established clear guidelines for enforcement of kerbside bin contamination, adopting the Kerbside Waste Contamination Policy at last night’s Council meeting.
Contamination in kerbside waste streams continues to affect waste management across the municipality and is resulting in significantly increased disposal and processing costs for Council.
Additionally, as Council transitions to a Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) service, maintaining low contamination levels is essential to ensure the organic material collected can be successfully processed into high-quality commercial compost.
To protect the integrity of the FOGO program, reduce avoidable costs, and promote responsible waste disposal practices, Council is introducing a new contamination education and infringement process.
The policy is designed to balance positive behavioural change and compliance by prioritising education, ensuring residents are supported to dispose of waste correctly and understand the overall implications of contaminated bins.
The policy allows for a three-strike approach with the first occurrence resulting in a sticker on bins, highlighting which incorrect materials caused the contamination. A second occurrence will see a second sticker on the bin, again outlining contaminants, accompanied by direct communication from Council. The third occurrence will result in a penalty notice being issued in accordance with Council’s Community Local Law.
For those who continue to contaminate their bins, Council may suspend normal kerbside services.
Southern Grampians Shire Council Mayor Dennis Heslin said understanding how to appropriately separate household waste is key in reducing contamination.
“Council has been working to educate residents on appropriate waste separation since the introduction of the FOGO bin in 2020,” said Cr Heslin.
“While most residents are doing the right thing – there are still a number of households not complying which is really disappointing. This policy has been introduced to better support the enforcement surrounding repeat kerbside bin contaminators and to help change community behaviour when thinking about waste.
“Incorrectly sorted waste can contaminate an entire truckload, affecting residents who are carefully sorting their bins. Because waste services are paid for by ratepayers, contamination drives up costs and means everyone pays the price for a few doing the wrong thing.
"We want to reduce as much contamination as possible so that 100 per cent of our green waste can be repurposed into useable compost and put back into the ground to grow again,” concluded Cr Heslin.
A six-month grace period will apply before the policy is enforced, allowing time for further community education on correct bin use.
Residents are encouraged to reach out to Council if you are unsure about what goes in which bin. Alternatively, there are a number of handy resources also available on the Council website at www.sthgrampians.vic.gov.au/Our-Services/Waste-Recycling
A copy of the policy is now available on Council’s website.