Earlier in the year, the Mount Barker District Council and the Rural City of Murray Bridge, both members of the Adelaide Hills Regional Waste Management Authority (AHRWMA), jointly tendered for a hard waste collection service across the combined council areas. The partnership allowed both councils to take advantage of economies of scale and get the best value for their communities.

The successful tenderer for the service was Orana - a social enterprise that supports people with disabilities.

Kiah Tapley, Operations Manager at Orana Murray Bridge said that Orana creates opportunities for people with disability to live and work within their local community.

“Working at Orana is about more than a job. It’s about creating meaningful relationships, learning new skills, and being a part of a team. We offer a broad range of work opportunities to suit our client’s skills and interests,” Ms Tapley said.

While Murray Bridge had an existing contract with Orana, this is the first time the Mount Barker council has offered a hard waste collection service to its community.

Apart from cost benefits, the two councils selected Orana as the service provider for the hard waste collection based on their strong commitment to diverting waste from landfill through reuse and recovery.

Mount Barker Mayor, David Leach, said that Orana had demonstrated a high recovery rate from previous work with Murray Bridge, and Council anticipates similar if not better rates through the new service.

“This is consistent with Council’s waste management policy and targets in the Waste to Resources Management Plan which promotes waste avoidance and resource recovery over disposal to landfill,” Mayor Leach said.

The council estimates that approximately 15 per cent of the nearly 15,000 residential properties in the Mount Barker district will make use of the hard waste collection service each year.

“Council Members agreed that the introduction of a hard waste service results in those who use the service bearing the cost, rather than all ratepayers,” Mayor Leach said.

The cost of the hard waste collection service was initially estimated to range between $130 and $140 per collection. However, by realising cost benefits by jointly going out to tender with the Rural City of Murray Bridge, the Mount Barker council has been able to reduce the fee to $99 per collection, with an additional $31 fee for the collection of mattresses and sofas.

Under the service agreement the council has with Orana, residents across the council area will be able to book one hard waste collection each financial year online, by email, or by phone with a maximum 4-week wait until a collection is made.

Further information about the hard waste service, including what can and cannot be put out for collection, and booking details can be found here.