Council was presented a report on the outcome of community consultation for kerbside waste collection services in our villages and rural communities, at its Ordinary Meeting on Monday 10 February 2026.
During November 2025, community consultation was undertaken in communities within the Wagga Wagga Local Government Area to ascertain if Council needed to consider additional services as part of the next kerbside collection contract due for tender release mid-2026.
Many homes in the LGA are not currently supplied a kerbside service and instead have been managing their own waste.
With the current kerbside waste collection contract expiring soon, and before a new contract is adopted, Council used this opportunity to engage with residents to gauge if they wanted their community to 'opt in' to the kerbside waste collection.
The consultation sourced feedback on access to a three-bin service, which consists of a residual bin (red lid), commingled recycling bin (yellow lid) and food organics and garden organics bin (green lid bin), and the use of the rural transfer stations.
The community consultation also identified key items which included community concerns, potential costs, timeframes, the proposed consultation activities, and the villages in which these activities would be undertaken.
Councillors voted to include an option in the next kerbside contract for residents in villages without a current service to opt in. This option, including costs to residents, will be presented back to Councillors once the tender process has been completed.
Director Economy, Business & Workforce Fiona Piltz said the community consultation gave residents the opportunity to decide if they wanted to change their current waste collection services.
"We thank the residents that took the time to have their say and indicate if they wanted to opt in to kerbside waste collection when the new contract takes effect," Ms Piltz said.
"The results indicated that most villages and communities that do not receive the service are happy to continue to manage their own waste.
"Meanwhile, a portion of residents in San Isidore wanted to opt in to the waste collection service, and we are happy to accommodate that and will include them in the next contract."
The report presented to Council also noted the need for improvements in service delivery options at all existing rural transfer stations, including additional options for residents with regards to separation of waste and greater resource recovery.
The tender for the new kerbside waste collection contract will be released in mid-2026, with the new contract to take effect in mid-2028.
