Similar to any municipal shire, Mt Buller generates considerable volumes of waste. Waste management at Mt Buller is complicated by many additional factors. These are:
- The Mt Buller and Mt Stirling Alpine Resort Management Board does not operate a landfill facility, so all waste must be transported off the mountain to the Albury landfill at considerable cost;
- Snow, ice and low temperatures for several months of the year make operations difficult;
- Most of the waste and litter is generated by visitors to the mountain rather than locals;
- Waste generation is not steady throughout the year – winter generation is far greater than summer;
- The volumes of waste generation fluctuate depending on visitation, which is linked to seasonal variations in snowfall.
In the year from November 2005 to October 2006 733.5 tonnes of waste was transported off Mt Buller. The bulk of this waste was collected over winter, with the most waste collected in the month of August – 180.8 tonnes.
Of the 733.5 tonnes of waste collected, approximately 563.9 tonnes was deposited in landfill. The balance is recyclable material that was collected for recycling. This amounted to 169.6 tonnes. This breakdown is shown graphically in the figure below:
A key step in reducing the amount of waste going to landfill is the effective separation of garbage, recyclable materials and organic waste. Currently at Mt Buller recycling and garbage collections operate regularly but no procedure for collecting and using green organics exists.
Unfortunately, complete separation of recyclable materials from garbage is not always occurring at Mt Buller. Consequently, much of the waste transported to landfill contains recyclable materials. A recent study investigated the contents of garbage bags put out for collection in garbage huts around the Mt Buller Village. Results showed that by weight, approximately 40% of the contents of garbage bags was recyclable material. This represents a significant amount of material that could be recycled and is an inefficient use of resources. Complete separation of recyclables would therefore decrease the amount of waste going to landfill by 40%. This is a key goal of environmental management at the Resort.
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Since Winter 2005, Mt Buller participates in the Victorian Resort-wide Public Place Recycling Program funded by NevRwaste (North-east Victorian Regional Waste Management Group) and EcoRecycle. Bright yellow pillar box recycling bins and associated promotional material are provided throughout public areas to increase participation in recycling across the Resort. Regular audits reveal whether the bins are being used appropriately. In 2006, this Program was extended into the Ski Field. It is hoped that participation in this program will increase the recycling rate by at least 20% across the Resort.
