Commercial development

Commercial development includes offices or office blocks; cafes, restaurants and take-away outlets; non-food retail e.g. hardware stores, homeware stores; group retail centres such as shopping malls or plazas; hospitality and accommodation e.g. hotels, motels, serviced apartments.

Note: If your development is mixed-use, please read the relevant residential section as well.

Commercial and residential waste and recycling is to be stored and collected separately. This is to ensure there is no conflict between employees and residents, and each service is used and managed correctly.

Getting started

Identify type and scale of development (including likely occupancy)
Estimate waste and recycling generation rates (using the Average Generation Calculator)
Design waste storage, route of transfer and collection point
Select type of equipment (e.g. bin tugs, balers) that might be required
Work out how the system will be managed, and complete the Commercial section of the WRMP

Remember – Council’s Resource Recovery officers are ready to assist at any stage. Email us at rethinkwaste@innerwest.nsw.gov.au

General Design Considerations

Poor design can result in problems which can result in extra costs, frustration, complaints and even risks to safety.Consider the following issues as you design:

Noise

Proponents must ensure compliance with the NSW Protection of the Environment (Noise Control) Regulation 2017

Strategies to ensure compliance might include:

Locating bin storage areas (BSAs) and collection points away from neighbours, tenants and public areas
Avoiding the need for collection vehicles to reverse (Note: Council vehicles do not reverse into or out of private property)
Selecting road, driveway and pathway surfacing materials that minimise noise
Ensuring a private service can be contracted which is able to collect waste/recycling within the required hours:

Odour

Organic waste (food, greenwaste) may cause odour issues. Where large amounts of organic waste are likely to be generated, having separate and more frequent collections may help reduce the problem. Alternatively, wrapped food waste can be frozen in dedicated freezer space until collection.

Air flow from enclosed storage/service areas should not exit near public areas. Locate natural ventilation openings close to the floor or ceiling and ensure they are meshed to prevent access by insects.

If forced ventilation or air conditioning is used, it must meet the requirements of the Building Code of Australia, and AS 1668.2 – The use of Ventilation and Air Conditioning in Buildings. These systems must not be connected to the same ventilation system that supplies air to public or tenanted areas of the building.

Hygiene and undesirable visitors

If lids of bins are partly open, rats and birds can get in easily. Ensuring the development has enough space to store the required number of bins will mean that lids can be closed, and the bins will be sealed against these intruders.

The bin storage area must be designed to meet the guidelines given below – this will make the area, and the bins, easier to keep clean.

Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) principles can be applied to the design of bin storage areas. The four CPTED principles are:

Surveillance – allow people to see what others are doing by ensuring clear sightlines, selecting appropriate landscaping, and providing adequate lighting
Access control – establish physical and symbolic barriers to attract, channel or restrict the movement of people
Territorial reinforcement – create a sense of community ownership to promote use, and to discourage antisocial behaviours
Space management – manage and maintain spaces to ensure that space is appropriately utilised and cared for e.g. remove graffiti, replace burn-out light bulbs and clear away litter

As far as practicable, the design of bin storage areas should maximise casual surveillance by other tenants, and allow easy access for tenants and building management while at the same time barring access by members of the public.

The bin storage area or areas

Well-designed bin storage areas can circumvent potential conflict between different businesses, or business types.

Note: In mixed-use developments, commercial and residential waste/recycling bins must have their own storage areas. This is to prevent the residents from using the waste services paid for by the businesses, or vice versa.

When calculating the bin storage area requirements consider:

Waste and recycling generation rates
Frequency of collection
Accessibility by users
The likely collection service type, including access requirements for collection vehicles.

Size of bin storage area or areas – keep it loose!

The most challenging part of calculating the size of a bin storage area is predicting the future waste management requirements as businesses grow, or change. Requirements should be discussed with waste contractors at the design stage, and the design should be flexible, to meet future needs. Flexibility can be incorporated by:

Identifying suitable waste storage and collection points that would enable on-site collection in the future
Keeping waste and bin storage areas clear of potential obstacles that would limit bin size e.g. fixed structures to separate bin bays, as bin sizes and/or configurations may change
Designing access paths and doorways to maximum possible width to allow for potential changes in bin size
If hospitality or food retailers are potential tenants, ensure there is storage space for kegs, pallets, dairy crates and bread crates

Bin Storage Area – design

The bin storage area must:

Be constructed in accordance with the requirements of the Building Code of Australia
Have a separate ventilation system in place if enclosed. The system is to comply with AS 1668 – The use of mechanical ventilation and air-conditioning in buildings

Waste and recycling collection

Inner West Council provides a commercial service to some areas – contact rethinkwaste@innerwest.nsw.gov.au to find out more.

The collection point is where bins are placed in readiness for emptying by the private contractor, or Council.

660L bins

If the business chooses to use 660L bins, the collection point must be flat (zero gradient). 660L bins should not be moved more than 10m from the storage area to the collection point.The gradient on this route of transfer must not exceed 1:40.

1100L bins or bigger

If the business chooses to use bins that are bigger than 660L, the collection point must be flat (zero gradient). Bins that are larger than 660L should not be manually moved.