City of Greater Geraldton Council to vote on continuing search for verge side collection partner

City of Greater Geraldton councillors will vote on whether to search for new options to get its long-awaited verge side collection program up and running.

A motion to retender the bulk verge side collection program will be voted on at the next council meeting on February 28.

If successful, the City will spend a period between April and September searching for a partner.

The City originally allocated $650,000 for an annual verge side collection program in its 2022-23 budget but has since faced delays.

The proposal comes after the City failed to find a contractor interested in carrying out the program when the program was opened for tender in December.

After the request for proposal period closed, the council was approached by a small private contractor which it has been negotiating with, according to the proposal.

The recommendation, written by City climate, environment and waste manager Michael Duffour, suggests the program could be carried out by City officers, for a cheaper price, but with an impact to other programs.

The recommendation also states that the annual allocated budget amount is “likely insufficient” to meet the demands of the market, and proposes it be done once to cover two financial years.

“Of particular concern is that the actual volume of waste that will be required to be collected across the entire project area is unknown, and potentially significant,” the proposal reads.