A waste charge is a separate charge that appears on your rates notice. It applies only to properties that receive recycling, food and organics, the red waste bin and hard waste collection service. State Government guidelines mean that a waste charge can only be used to recover the costs of providing waste services to a property.

The proposed waste charge for residents from July 2026 is $394 or $425 for commercial properties.

In 2027 it will increase to $462 to cover the cost of introducing a glass bin service as instructed by the Victorian Government.

Everyone who receives waste services will pay the waste charge. Your rates will go down. How much you will pay in total (rates plus the waste charge) depends on what waste services you receive and the value of your property.

Use the calculator on this page to estimate what this will mean for your 2026/27 rates payment. You will need the Capital Improved Value of your property - this is listed on your rates notice.

The cost of providing waste services has increased by 31% over the last five years. For the same period rate increases have been capped by the State Government at 12.25%. We can’t keep up with increasing waste costs and continue providing all the services our community needs.

Our waste services are currently paid for by rates. When we introduce the separate waste charge your rates will go down and the waste charge will be added if you receive our services. Rates will continue to pay for other core services such as roads, footpaths, drains, parks, libraries, sporting facilities, aged and community care and early childhood services.

Pensioner Concession Card holders and Department of Veterans’ Affairs Gold Cardholders will receive a 40% discount. This includes anyone on the age pension, disability support pension, carer payment, JobSeeker payment, youth allowance and single parenting payment.

A safety net will also be in place for ratepayers living in lower cost housing under $600,000 who aren’t eligible for the discount.

The proposed waste charge would recover the full cost of providing kerbside waste collection service including:

• Collection of bins
• Running and maintaining collection trucks
• Waste disposal and processing fees
• The waste levy charged by the State Government
• New and replacement bins
• Hard waste collection

The cost of providing waste services has increased by 31% over the last five years.

State Government fees to dispose of waste have also increased and councils are being required to introduce new services to recycle more waste.

Changes in global markets for recyclable items and stricter regulations are also contributing to higher waste costs.

As landfills in the eastern region of Melbourne reach capacity, Monash will need to explore alternative waste disposal methods, such as waste to energy or transporting waste to the western region of Melbourne, both of which are likely to incur higher costs.

The best way to reduce costs is to reduce our waste. It is much cheaper to reduce or reuse our waste than dispose of it. Changing to a fortnightly waste service has increased the amount of recyclable content we recover.

Our team gets out and about in the community to help people understand what goes in which bin. From time to time we inspect bins which helps inform our community waste education programs. We’re keen to hear from residents how we can help you further reduce our waste.

There will be no change to the recycling, food and organics or waste bin services.

The State Government has instructed all councils to introduce a separate collection bin for glass recycling by July 2027. Later this year we will invite feedback on how we implement this service and our hard waste service to ensure it still meets community expectations.