At its meeting on Tuesday, November 18, councillors unanimously voted to reject the bin, and called on the government to abandon or revise its current policy.
The council is among 34 other local governments advocating against the mandate, which would see a fourth bin added for household kerbside collections.
Cr Zoe Cook said while the mandate sounded good in principle, its application locally would increase expenses and emissions while reducing efficiency.
“You can't just have a one-size-fits-all policy when you have 79 different councils across this wide, vast state of ours,” she said.
“When you apply it to a council of our size, it suddenly gets a lot more complicated.”
With Campaspe Shire spanning over 4500km², the council argued an increase in operating waste trucks would raise vehicle emissions and operating costs.
As the council uses recycling facilities that separate glass in NSW, which has not mandated household glass recycling, Cr Cook said the move would ultimately contradict its intention.
The government introduced the mandate to promote a sustainable circular economy, saving valuable materials from landfill by reducing waste contamination.
Currently, the glass recycling service must be introduced statewide by July 1, 2027.
While councillors agreed they were in favour of effective recycling, they urged the government to let them find their own solutions.
“To do that would be more cost-effective, more environmental, still provide the recycling outcomes that the state, and we, want ... without having to create yet more cost on council,” Cr Cook said.
“There are so many better options that we could be implementing instead, such as expanding the Container Deposit Scheme ... to align with all the mainland states and territories to include things like wine and spirit bottles.”
The council will lobby state members to conduct an emissions analysis of the mandate locally, outline service standards and invest in waste separation technologies, among other requests.
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