Wentworth Shire considers outsourcing waste operations

WENTWORTH Shire Council could outsource a new contract to manage its waste facilities if councillors give the green light today.

The council put forward this recommendation for a vote at today’s meeting after an independent review of its waste management facilities presented last December highlighted a lack of operating experience, saying the council was not “best placed to operate waste facilities”.

Some of the operational shortcomings identified in the review, by consultant Waste and Management Services, involved trained and technical staff, financial sustainability, risk incidents and general daily practices.

“The independent review report formulated the same conclusions … offering 31 recommendations for improvement and advice to help guide the future management of council’s sites,” a council report says.

“The report highlighted council’s lack of operating experience and indicated that in order for council to maximise the value of the Buronga Landfill, the level of operational experience at the site needs to be lifted significantly.”

As a result of the review, the council considered whether to continue operating waste management services with the engagement of qualified staff and third-party consultants, or to outsource site operations to a third-party contractor experienced in landfill.

There were a number of advantages identified in outsourcing to a new contractor, including access to experts, cost reduction, simplifying work relationships and allowing council staff to focus on giving service to ratepayers.

Loss of control on performance of tasks, hidden costs and risk of community backlash were highlighted as disadvantages.

The council acknowledged that it was not “best placed” to operate waste facilities and will prepare a specification to enable an open tender process to outsource a contractor if councillors endorse the recommendation.

“While the above table of advantages and disadvantages demonstrates some opportunities for both options, the experience of the last five years has indicated that council is not best placed to operate waste facilities and that the operating practices has not been financially favourable, in fact quite the opposite,” the report said.

“Despite investing significant resources council has lacked the knowledge and experience to make it a sustainable venture.”