Bayside City Council’s transfer station, the Bayside Waste and Recycling Centre provides a valuable and in-demand service to Bayside and neighbouring communities. The Centre offers a variety of waste and resource recovery services for residents, visitors, and commercial businesses. This includes recycling services for e-waste, green waste, oils, gas bottles, paint, and more as well as general waste disposal.

With the rapid innovation currently taking place within the waste and recycling sector and the focus on transitioning towards a circular economy, there are many opportunities to expand and improve the services available at the site.

The current lease is due to expire in August 2023 and Council want to understand how our community use the service and what opportunities exist for improvement. This feedback will inform an Expression of Interest process and a subsequent tendering process to issue a new lease for the site.

This is an exciting opportunity to expand the service offering and reinvigorate the site to ensure customers have a safe and enhanced experience, whilst maximising resource recovery.

A new lease for the Bayside Waste and Recycling Centre will see an improved service and customer experience for Bayside and neighbouring communities, innovative resource recovery services and processes, and a safe and accessible site.

Improvements to the site may result in short-term closures of the centre or part thereof for development purposes.

There may be some impact on Council’s waste charge depending on the outcome of the new lease and associated service agreement.

• Understand who are the current users of the Bayside Waste and Recycling Centre.
• Understand how the Bayside Waste and Recycling Centre is currently used.
• Understand what materials are often disposed of/recycled at the Bayside Waste and Recycling Centre.
• Understand what some of the current pain points of the Bayside Waste and Recycling Centre are.
• Identify what the community’s priorities are for a new Bayside Waste and Recycling Centre and any additional services the community would like to see at the Bayside Waste and Recycling Centre.

• What services are offered at the Bayside Waste and Recycling Centre to maximise resource recovery. For example, the types of material accepted at the Centre, which on-site recycling services are available at the Centre and so on.
• Updates or refurbishments to the site which improve transparency, customer experience, and accessibility.

• The site must operate as a resource recovery centre.
• The site must maximise resource recovery (reduce waste to landfill).
• The site will be leased by Council but not operated by Council.
• Must be a commercial operation.

This stakeholder assessment is a generalised understanding of sections of the community that have a connection to the project or matter. This information is used to understand the types of tools and techniques that will achieve the strongest and most effective outcomes for engagement and communication.

Impact: What level of change will the stakeholder / community segment experience as a result of the project/matter

Interest: What level of interest has been expressed or is anticipated

Influence: Reference to the IAP2 Spectrum.

The tools and techniques selected for this project are informed by the project content, stakeholders and type of feedback sought.

The unpredictable impact of COVID-19 restricts our ability for drop-in sessions, as well as slower distribution of mail.

Key tools for communicating the project

• Email notification to Have Your Say members.
• Council website and e-newsletter, This Week in Bayside.
• Social media, especially sponsored posts to increase audience reach.
• Direct email and/or addressed mail to key stakeholders.
• Postcards/flyers

Key methods for gathering feedback

• Online engagement through Have Your Say, including opportunities to ask questions and provide feedback.
• Drop-in or pop-up engagement sessions at major activity centres, local community centres and events (subject to COVID restrictions).
• Liaison with community representatives, including Committees of Council, local interest and reference groups.
• Printed survey and consultation materials available upon request.

Council is expected to consider the outcome of the tender process alongside the findings of the community engagement process at its March 2023 meeting. Following this a Statutory Process will commence and a new lease will be established for the site.

The agenda for this meeting, including a community engagement report and tender will be published via Council's website. Project subscribers will be notified of the results of the engagement at this time.

The Council meeting will be live-streamed via Council’s website. Interested members of the community can ask a question of this meeting or request to be heard.

To receive updates on this project, press the blue 'Subscribe' button at the top of the page.

For more information on this project please contact Tim Cummins, Coordinator Recycling and Waste Management, via email at tcummins@bayside.vic.gov.au or phone at 9599 4437.