Waste charge

Under the Waste and Recycling Act and Recycling Victoria reform, all councils are required to provide waste collection services to residential properties.  

City of Melbourne is itemising waste charges for greater transparency, so ratepayers can see a breakdown of their rates and what waste services cost. The itemised Waste Charge applied from 1 July 2024 and appears on Annual Valuation and rate notices issued from mid-August. 

The cost of managing waste is increasing beyond Consumer Price Index. To enable City of Melbourne to cost-recover for these services, we have separated this charge to better understand the true cost of the service.    

This charge ensures our customers pay for the services they use and establish opportunities for future incentives. This is a fairer and more transparent model that will enable us to incentivise ratepayers to minimise waste and increase recycling outcomes.   

The itemised Waste Charge brings the City of Melbourne in line with 73 other Victorian municipalities who are obligated to provide waste services in accordance with the Recycling Victoria PolicyOpens in new tab.  
 

Commercial properties and waste services

Commercial properties are not obligated to receive the City of Melbourne’s waste services.  

City of Melbourne currently provides services to commercial properties in instances where:

• The businesses waste generation rates align with the residential service (up to 120 L of garbage and 240 L of recycling collected once per week). 
• A commercial customer has access to a waste compactor (and they pay separate fees through accounts payable). 
• City of Melbourne has targets to meet to minimise trucks in the city and bins stored in public spaces.  
• City of Melbourne is looking to further increase options for commercial properties to opt-in to waste and recycling services to help achieve our targets. 

No. City of Melbourne has always charged a waste charge for residential ratepayers and some commercial ratepayers. This was included as an overall charge. We are itemising this charge to make it more transparent for our ratepayers.  

The Waste Charge is audited by the Essential Services Commission on behalf of the Victorian Government. The objective of this change is not to increase revenue, only to recover the costs of waste which is an essential service for the community. 

The Waste Charge includes the cost of waste collections, disposal and processing, hard waste and other materials collection services. These services currently cost approximately $24m per annum and are recovered from users through the fee model. In 2024-25, residential properties valued above $515,000 will pay a flat $330 Waste Charge. Residential properties valued below or equal to $515,000 will pay a flat concession fee of $145. The median house price is determined by the Valuer-General Victoria each year. In 2024-25 the median house price in the City of Melbourne has been set at $515,000. 

Under the Local Government Act, City of Melbourne is obligated to provide waste collection services to all residential properties. Residential customers will only pay the Waste Charge if they are receiving a City of Melbourne waste collection service.

Private waste collection services will only be permitted under certain circumstances (access constrains or where the property requires services over the current level of entitlements). About 20 per cent of ratepayers in the City of Melbourne do not use our waste collection services.

If your business generates more than 120 L of garbage and 240 L of recycling per week, we're unable to provide you with a service. If you'd like to provide feedback on this, please visit Participate MelbourneOpens in new tab. City of Melbourne will only provide a waste collection service to commercial properties where the total waste generated equates to 120 L and 240 L of recycling or less. We can't subsidise private collection services and can only undertake full cost recovery. City of Melbourne is reviewing our current service collection offerings to commercial properties. If a business cancels their City of Melbourne service, they will pay the public realm charge instead of the waste collection charge. 

City of Melbourne has taken appropriate steps to ensure customers are only charged for services they use. If there is no itemised Waste Charge on your rates notice, it is because you are not receiving a City of Melbourne waste collection service. If you believe you have not received a service, please contact us to discuss the matter.

If you are a commercial business receiving a City of Melbourne waste collection service, you will be charged a fixed fee determined on the valuation of the property. In 2024-25, for properties valued above the median $515,000 a flat fee of $330 will apply. Properties below and equal to the median $515,000 will pay a flat fee concession of $145. 

Commercial properties that don’t receive City of Melbourne collection services will just be charged the public realm fee which includes services that help keep our city clean, such as dumped rubbish collections, public litter bin services, street cleaning and more. These services currently cost City of Melbourne approximately $32m per year.  

The Waste Charge for commercial properties is determined using a similar calculation for general rates. Commercial property owners will pay a variable rate in the dollar amount according to their Capital Improved Value (CIV) property value.

The Waste Charge includes the cost of waste collections, disposal and processing, hard waste and other materials collection services. These services currently cost approximately $24m per annum and are recovered from users through the fee model.

In 2024-25, residential properties valued above $515,000 will pay a flat $330 Waste Charge. Residential properties valued below or equal to $515,000 will pay a flat concession fee of $145.

The median house price is determined by the Valuer-General Victoria each year. In 2024-25 the median house price in the City of Melbourne has been set at $515,000.

The Waste Charge will be reviewed every year and will align with the costs to deliver the service.The charge is calculated based on cost recovery mode and is audited annually by the Essential Services Commission on behalf of the Victorian Government.

There is currently no option to reduce the Waste Charge (including downsizing bins as the Waste Charge includes the cost of bin deliveries and changes to service), however, City of Melbourne is looking into appropriate incentives that reduce waste and are of benefit to residents and businesses. If you would like to provide feedback on potential incentives please visit Participate MelbourneOpens in new tab.

As a ratepayer you should expect to receive a consistent and high level of service. Your feedback is highly valued to help us to better manage service levels. Unfortunately we can't remove the charge as waste is an essential service and under the Local Government Act, we are obligated to provide it.

If you have an issue with bins being missed, please let us knowOpens in new tab so we can resolve the issue.