No proposals received to take on Geraldton’s verge-side collection program

The City of Greater Geraldton’s plans to bring back verge-side waste collection have been dealt another blow, with the City unable to attract a company to take on the task.

The City has said it received no proposals from contractors interested in carrying out the program after it put out a notice in December that it was seeking expressions of interest.

With the deadline having passed on January 11, the City said it will have to continue looking for a willing partner.

City of Greater Geraldton CEO Ross McKim said council officers would approach companies that downloaded the proposal documents in the hope that they would be able to find a suitable arrangement.

Mr McKim said he hoped to see the program launch later this year.

“We know how important and popular this service is in the community and we are extremely keen to get this up and running,” he said.

“City officers will now enter into conversations with local businesses in the hope a scope of work can be agreed upon to get the service up and running in the second half of 2023.“

Verge-side rubbish collection was abandoned in 2016 but was reinstated in the 2022-23 budget, with $650,000 allocated to the venture.

The program was initially expected to return by the end of 2022, but was pushed back in September due to market challenges.