Meeting on waste station

BOUNDARY Bend residents will meet with council on Tuesday night ahead of the closure of their transfer station.

Swan Hill Rural City Council made the decision to close the facility following their April meeting, citing low community use. The station will close on June 30.

Council’s director of infrastructure David Leahy said the closure was based on the results of an audit which was carried out prior to the decision.

“The audit showed that last financial year the Boundary Bend site was used just 78 times for a total of 4.5 tonnes of waste, while so far this financial year there has been 37 uses and 1.6 tonnes of waste,” Mr Leahy said, noting much of the waste was recyclable material.

Despite the closure of the transfer station, Mr Leahy said the existing kerbside collection service would continue.

The site of the transfer station will be returned to the private owner and council will work to rehabilitate the site over the next few years.

“From June 30 any rubbish dumping on the site will be considered illegal and anyone entering the site considered to be trespassing,” Mr Leahy said.

Council is set to meet with residents in a bid to discuss alternative waste options.

Mr Leahy said while nearby residents may utilise the Piangil and Robinvale sites, other options had the potential to be explored.

“We will also look at other hard waste collection options for those closer to Boundary Bend, like an annual hard waste collection or three to six-monthly skip bin visits,” Mr Leahy said.

The public meeting will be held at the Boundary Bend Community Hall on Tuesday, June 3, from 7pm.

Boundary Bend residents said they would await the outcome of the meeting before commenting on the closure of the facility.