Decision details

Moved by Councillor Maxwell, seconded by Councillor Worling –

It is resolved that:

(A)       Council note:

(i)         Council collects more than 100,000 residential bins every week, with an outstanding on-time collection rate of 99.6%;

(ii)        Clean Up waste collection service volumes (covering both booked residential clean-ups and illegal dumping) have nearly doubled since 2019, with the number of logged jobs now exceeding 80,000 annually, compared with the 40,560 jobs originally specified by the City for the current contract;

(iii)       recent data on Clean Up waste services highlights a sharp increase in demand. 2025 is estimated to be the highest volumes on record at an estimated volume of bulky and illegal dumping being ~112,980m³, or a ~13% increase from 2024;

(iv)       industrial action in 2023 also shows how fragile the system is to disruption;

(v)        the City of Sydney has a very transient population due to our higher levels of renters, students, and apartments resulting in higher turnover of furniture, white goods, and bulky items as people move, contributing to our higher use and growth in Clean Up services;

(vi)       with population growth, greater density, and changing patterns of waste, the City’s Clean Up contract no longer reflects the scale of demand;

(vii)      this creates budgetary pressures, service risks, and lost opportunities to expand circular economy initiatives such as reuse and recycling;

(viii)    this misalignment between the number of jobs specified for the current contract and the reality on the ground is causing strain on the current system, leading to non-optimal service delivery and outcomes; and

(ix)       the commendable work by City of Sydney staff in maintaining weekly residential collections and the bulky waste services under growing pressure; and

(B)       the Chief Executive Officer be requested to compile a report that:

(i)         analyses trends and identifies potential improvements to Clean Up (booked residential clean-ups and illegal dumping) service delivery; and

(ii)        provides recommendations for how future services, tenders and budgets should be structured to reflect realistic service demand and ensure reliability.

The motion, as varied by consent, was carried unanimously.

X113762