Former Wellington mayor Anne Jones has called for kerbside recycling for the town - a service Dubbo residents already have.
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Ms Jones said the provision of the service was an equity issue for Wellington households and that it did not seem right if it remained only in the bigger centre.
She called on Dubbo Regional Council to expand the service to the town saying it would go some way to easing angst about May’s forced amalgamation.
The council confirmed it was looking into adding the service.
Ms Jones hoped the issue would be on the agenda at Thursday’s meeting of the council’s local representation committee, of which she is a member.
“I think now that the two local government areas have been amalgamated. . . it’s an equity issue here that we’re talking about,” she said.
“It doesn’t seem right to me that the recycling should only be in Dubbo when I’m talking about kerbside recycling because Wellington doesn’t have it.”
The former mayor recalled consultation by Wellington Council in the past had shown “overwhelming” support for kerbside recycling from the majority of residents, but not for the charges.
The council had instead put in recycling bins at its waste transfer stations.
Ms Jones said she believed residents would have a different view now.
“I do believe that at the moment there’s quite a large number of Wellington residents that actually feel disenfranchised as a consequence of the amalgamation,” she said.
“I think this would in fact bring them closer together even if it means paying something extra because they would feel they’re part of the one entity.”
Council solid waste manager Steve Clayton said it was researching addition of a fortnightly recycling service to all weekly domestic garbage services in Wellington, the same two-bin service provided in the Dubbo.
“Council is also considering the feasibility of including a weekly food and garden organics collection service in the Wellington and Geurie townships’ kerbside collection service when it calls tenders for the provision of organic waste services for the Dubbo Regional Council area later this year.
“However, it is important to note that this is only a proposal at this stage and will be subject to a comprehensive report on full service costings, feedback from a thorough community consultation process, contractual negotiations with council’s service provider and ultimately a decision by council,” he said.
Faye Wheeler
I have been a journalist for more than a decade and in that time I have been keeping Daily Liberal readers up to date about issues affecting them and what's happening in their community. Throughout my career I have covered a range of rounds and most recently I have been focusing on the business round.
I have been a journalist for more than a decade and in that time I have been keeping Daily Liberal readers up to date about issues affecting them and what's happening in their community. Throughout my career I have covered a range of rounds and most recently I have been focusing on the business round.
