Local Law Review: Proposed Amendments to Local Laws (New Automatic Waste Collection System Maroochydore City Centre)

The Sunshine Coast Council Local Laws and Subordinate Local Laws were adopted on 1 January 2012.
Purpose
Council is committed to carrying out regular reviews of the local laws. A review provides an opportunity to look at the issues and impacts of the laws and propose any suitable amendments.
Community engagement
There was recently an opportunity to have your say on proposed local law amendments to administer and regulate the new Automatic Waste Collection System in the Maroochydore City Centre.
Submissions closed at 5.00pm on 23 September 2019.
Where to from here
Council will review all submissions and make a decision on the proposed amendments (detailed below) at the ordinary meeting of council in November 2019.
Overview
Council is the owner and developer of the Maroochydore City Centre pursuant to the Maroochydore City Centre Infrastructure Agreement 2017 (IA), which was executed on behalf of the Minister Economic Development Queensland on 26 May 2017. The Maroochydore City Centre is a green field central business district development that among other objectives aims to deliver a ‘smart city’ platform. The Maroochydore City Centre demonstrates council’s commitment to being Australia’s most sustainable region – Healthy.Smart.Creative.
Council is charged with providing services to the community including waste collection services. At the 15 October 2015 Ordinary Meeting, council endorsed the business case to establish an Automated Waste Collection System (AWCS) as the waste collection service for the Maroochydore City Centre as an alternative to conventional kerbside bin collection. Council is the first local government to establish an AWCS in a development precinct in Australia.
The Maroochydore City Centre IA binds future developments within the precinct to connect to the AWCS.
The AWCS is the first of its kind to be delivered within Australia. As such there is no legislative framework or precedent that provides for the administration and regulation of private and public infrastructure.
In order to ensure that council has the minimum tools necessary to administer and regulate the private and public pneumatic waste infrastructure, new local law provisions have been developed to accommodate this legislative gap. The new provisions broadly include:
- Registration requirements – to ensure that we have the details of the owners of the pneumatic waste infrastructure (e.g. for any single dwellings the owner, for multi-dwellings the Body Corporate details and contact details)
- Operating requirements - require owners to comply with the Prescribed Waste Infrastructure Standards (e.g. what is AWCS waste)
- Maintenance requirements - impose requirements on who is able to repair the private pneumatic waste infrastructure (e.g. licensing requirements for authorised repairers)
- Public space compliance - regulate the usage of the public pneumatic waste infrastructure (e.g. waste inlets in public spaces) and
- Non AWCS provisions – to enable council to specify how occupiers must manage their non-AWCS waste (e.g. bulk glass, cardboard etc.).
As waste management is an environmental health issue, the new amendments will be inserted into:
- Local Law No.3 (Community Health and Environmental Management) 2011
- Subordinate Local Law No.3 (Community Health and Environmental Management) 2011
The table below outlines the proposed new waste provision for both local laws.
Note: There was a Public Interest Review for these proposed amendments.
Local Law | Proposed amendment | Purpose |
Local Law No. 3 (Community Health and Environmental Management) 2011 | Owner of the land containing pneumatic waste infrastructure (PWI) must register it in the owner’s name – maximum penalty 50 penalty units. | Council needs to know who the owner is who is responsible for the (private waste infrastructure) PWI connected to the public system in case there is a problem affecting the wider system. It is a simple registration. |
Local Law No. 3 (Community Health and Environmental Management) 2011 | New owner must change registration to their name after taking ownership | Ensure we have the most current information on owners. |
Local Law No. 3 (Community Health and Environmental Management) 2011 | Registration form and fee | In the registration form, the owner must provide on-site contact person for the infrastructure in case of problems. The application of a fee is optional. |
Local Law No. 3 (Community Health and Environmental Management) 2011 | Council can give a notice asking for updates of registered information | This provides the ability for council to send updates throughout the year as a reminder for PWI owners to update their contact details. This could be a yearly mail out. |
Local Law No. 3 (Community Health and Environmental Management) 2011 | Owner must tell council within 28 days if they remove or cease to operate PWI | Provides ability for council to manage the cessation or removal of the PWI. While it is unlikely for this to ever occur, this provision ensures we are notified in a timely manner. |
Local Law No. 3 (Community Health and Environmental Management) 2011 | Owner to comply with operating requirements | This provides the power for council to prescribe the operating requirements under the subordinate local law. |
Local Law No. 3 (Community Health and Environmental Management) 2011 | Owner of the land must ensure compliance with the operating requirements – maximum penalty 50 penalty units | This provides the mechanism for council to require compliance and take enforcement action for non-compliance with the operating requirements. The operating requirements are detailed in the Subordinate Local Law and the Prescribed Waste Infrastructure Standards (PWIS) |
Local Law No. 3 (Community Health and Environmental Management) 2011 | Council could agree to be responsible for the operating of a private PWI | Provides the mechanism to allow council to take responsibility for the private PWI and manage the operating requirements if required. |
Local Law No. 3 (Community Health and Environmental Management) 2011 | Rectification of damage | If a person commits an offence (non-compliance with operating requirements) council can take action by issuing a compliance notice requiring a person to take action to rectify damage caused by the offence. |
Local Law No. 3 (Community Health and Environmental Management) 2011 | Regulation of the use of public waste infrastructure | Provides council with the ability to erect regulatory signage at or near a waste inlet. Maximum penalty for contravening a regulatory notice is 20 penalty units. |
Local Law No. 3 (Community Health and Environmental Management) 2011 | Executive officers of a corporation must ensure compliance | This imposes compliance responsibility on an executive officer of a corporation (e.g. body corporate). It is the same penalty as that imposed on an individual. |
Local Law No. 3 (Community Health and Environmental Management) 2011 | Management of waste unsuitable for pneumatic waste infrastructure (non-AWCS waste) | Ability for council to declare by subordinate local law waste that is unsuitable for disposal and how non-AWCS waste is stored, processed and removed. Maximum penalty 20 penalty units. |
Subordinate Local Law | Proposed amendment | Purpose |
Subordinate Local Law No. 3 (Community Health and Environmental Management) 2011 | General requirements to minimise disruptions |
|
Subordinate Local Law No. 3 (Community Health and Environmental Management) 2011 | General Operation | Provisions relating to the general operation of the PWI including –
|
Subordinate Local Law No. 3 (Community Health and Environmental Management) 2011 | Disposal of AWCS Waste |
|
Subordinate Local Law No. 3 (Community Health and Environmental Management) 2011 | Operation of the discharge valve | The discharge valve for the release of the AWCS Waste is only to be operated by the Local Government. |
Subordinate Local Law No. 3 (Community Health and Environmental Management) 2011 | Requirements for display of signage | Display of signage at each inlet Signage –
|
Subordinate Local Law No. 3 (Community Health and Environmental Management) 2011 | Safe use of the infrastructure | The PWI is to be for safe use |
Subordinate Local Law No. 3 (Community Health and Environmental Management) 2011 | Education material for the infrastructure | Education material for the use of the PWI is to be –
|
Subordinate Local Law No. 3 (Community Health and Environmental Management) 2011 | Environmental health | The operation of the infrastructure must -
|
Subordinate Local Law No. 3 (Community Health and Environmental Management) 2011 | Maintenance | The PWI is to be maintained –
|
Subordinate Local Law No. 3 (Community Health and Environmental Management) 2011 | Record keeping and reporting for maintenance work | Record keeping and reporting for maintenance is to be –
|
Subordinate Local Law No. 3 (Community Health and Environmental Management) 2011 | Maintenance personnel | The PWI is to be maintained by an approved contractor |
Subordinate Local Law No. 3 (Community Health and Environmental Management) 2011 | Notice of maintenance work | A notice is to be given to the Local Government as soon as reasonably practicable of any maintenance of the PWI that –
|
Subordinate Local Law No. 3 (Community Health and Environmental Management) 2011 | Replacement components | A replacement component for the PWI must –
|
Subordinate Local Law No. 3 (Community Health and Environmental Management) 2011 | Repairs | A notice must be given to the Local Government when a repair is required When the repair is completed, a notice must be provided stating the nature of the repair and when it was completed All repairs are to use components which comply with the minimum component standards |
Subordinate Local Law No. 3 (Community Health and Environmental Management) 2011 | Non – AWCS | Waste defined as Non-AWCS waste in the Prescribed Waste Infrastructure Standards is declared to be Non-AWCS waste |
Subordinate Local Law No. 3 (Community Health and Environmental Management) 2011 | Management of waste unsuitable for PWI – Disposal of Waste | The requirements for the storage , processing and removal of non-AWCS waste are –
|
Subordinate Local Law No. 3 (Community Health and Environmental Management) 2011 | Management of waste unsuitable for PWI – Storage of Non-AWCS Waste | A Waste Storage Area is to be maintained and operated in accordance with the minimum requirements in the Prescribed Waste Infrastructure Standards. |
Subordinate Local Law No. 3 (Community Health and Environmental Management) 2011 | Management of waste unsuitable for PWI – processing of Non-AWCS waste |
|
Subordinate Local Law No. 3 (Community Health and Environmental Management) 2011 | Management of waste unsuitable for PWI – Waste receptacles | Waste receptacles for non-AWCS Waste are to be maintained and operated in accordance with the PWIS |
Subordinate Local Law No. 3 (Community Health and Environmental Management) 2011 | Management of waste unsuitable for PWI – collection vehicles | Collection vehicles are to collect Non-AWCS waste in accordance with the PWIS |
Subordinate Local Law No. 3 (Community Health and Environmental Management) 2011 | Management of waste unsuitable for PWI – requirements for the display of signage | The signage for the non-pneumatic waste infrastructure is to—
|
Subordinate Local Law No. 3 (Community Health and Environmental Management) 2011 | Management of waste unsuitable for PWI – safe use of infrastructure | The non-pneumatic waste infrastructure is to be safe for use |
Subordinate Local Law No. 3 (Community Health and Environmental Management) 2011 | Management of waste unsuitable for PWI – education material for the infrastructure | Education material for the use of the non-PWI is to be –
|
[1] Waste fractions include general and recyclable AWCS waste. AWCS waste fractions do not include Non-AWCS waste.