Council tackles waste and graffiti

The City of Melbourne will look to other countries including New York in ways it can reduce the amount of waste truck movements within the CBD.

The measure builds on the council’s Transport Strategy 2030 which says waste removal vehicles operating during busy times of the day can undermine the amenity of the city.

Speaking at the EastEnders residents’ group meeting on June 21, the council’s director of waste and recycling Jorja Pindor said it would look to “international experiences” in minimising waste truck movement as up to 60 different providers were currently collecting in the CBD.

While the council cannot ban waste service providers, she said it did have some controls including issuing permits for trucks entering the CBD. In a smaller win, Ms Pindor said the council was installing compactors to replace commercial waste “that could reduce thousands of trucks movements a year.”

Meanwhile, the council is continuing its blitz on combating graffiti with greening of walls and creating murals under consideration to deter graffiti vandals.

The council is also introducing a food organics collection pilot to residents living in high-rise towers of six or more storeys. The pilot will explore the effectiveness of diverting organics from landfill by utilising onsite processing technology such as organic dehydration units.

Council to raise the bar in design standards

Consultation for the City of Melbourne’s design and construction standards has closed with the feedback to guide the future design of the city’s furniture and fittings.

“Our draft design and construction standards are the next step forward to raise the bar on a culture of design excellence and cement our place as a world-leading design city,” Deputy Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece said. •