Marlburians might be surprised at the amount of money they spend each year on recycling and waste disposal.

Finding out just how much they do pay is the aim of the Council’s new waste calculator.

The Council’s current Waste Management and Minimisation Plan 2021-27 (WMMP) sets out the strategy for dealing with the region’s waste over the next six years and one of the initiatives is the creation of a waste calculator. This is now live on the Council’s website. Go to: Waste Calculator

Solid Waste Manager Alec McNeil said the calculator will work out costs associated with fees paid, time involved and distance travelled in relation to people’s recycling and refuse.

“Once you have completed the questionnaire you will be sent the results of the calculation by email. The results are based on how you answered the questions. People might be surprised at the amount of money they are paying each year,” he said.

“Generally, we don’t take into account our own time or the distance travelled to drop off our recycling or rubbish but this should be included if we want to know the actual cost. The calculator will also provide an indication of the distance you travel and the amount of emissions you produce.”

The waste calculator is being launched to help inform the community on their costs related to recycling and refuse.

“By using the waste calculator you are also helping the Council to build a picture of what is being spent across the district. That will give us a reference point if we want to look at different options for recycling and the disposal of refuse,” said Alec. “We encourage everyone to use the waste calculator. The more inputs we receive, the more reliable the data will be.”

You will need a few pieces of information before you start filling out the waste calculator form:

• Return distance to your nearest recycling/refuse point per trip
• How often you make these trips per month?
• How long do these return trips take in total per month?
• How many extra council bags do you buy (if any)?

Individual response details will not be made public. There may be some variables depending on car type and fuel use.

To use the Council’s new waste calculator to see how much you spend to dispose your rubbish and to drop off your recycling go to: Waste Calculator

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