Sweeping in Australia
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Sweeping in Australia |
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City of Geelong Using Tech to Save Time, Moneyby Stretch Kontelj, Mayor of the Fity of Greater Geelong, Australiaadapted by Ranger Kidwell-Ross to include additional information posted April 2025 The City of Geelong and surrounding area offers some of the most breathtaking landscapes in Australia – from rugged untouched coastline on the Bellarine, to wildflower infused grassland on the volcanic plain, to majestic open forest in the Brisbane Ranges. However, ever since European settlement biodiversity has declined in the region primarily due to land clearing, weeds and pest animals. To combat this trend, the Geelong council constantly looks for the most efficient and effective delivery of its services across the region.  "We're actively seeking ways to work smarter, save resources, and enhance our everyday operations," says Geelong's Mayor, Stretch Kontelj. "This requires us to better utilize our assets while trialing and adopting technology to streamline our processes and improve our output. We are constantly exploring avenues that not only save money, but best support our teams to achieve the best outcomes for our community."
As part of that process, Geelong has started harnessing new technologies to help its street sweeping services 'go the extra mile.' The City is now employing telematic technology to collect and transmit data from its street sweeper vehicles to improve routes. The GPS and data tracking provides insight into street mapping and route adjustments, as well as reducing idle time and fuel consumption. Already this has significantly improved the efficiency of street sweeping by 205, equating to an extra 5000 km (3106 miles) of streets swept in our city in a year. Keeping Geelong's streets clean is a fundamental council responsibility and so the City has also invested in new equipment to address the spate of illegal rubbish dumping in Greater Geelong. Our team responds to almost 7000 reports of rubbish dumped on our nature strips, roadsides, parks and public places each year – which has increased by a concerning 18 per cent in the past year. This increase is a huge cost to ratepayers, to the tune of more than $1,000,000 annually, and impacts our environment and wildlife, as well as public health and safety. To address these concerns and alleviate the pressure this puts on our rubbish collection teams the City has invested in a "rubbish grabber attachment" for its collection truck. Previously, City teams would respond to rubbish dumping with a front-end loader, requiring more teams and trucks to be out on Geelong's roads responding to call outs. However, the new grabber attachment significantly cuts down the clean-up time at collection jobs, helps protect our sensitive rural roadside vegetation and supports the City's collection team to keep the streets tidy. "We acknowledge that our population is growing rapidly, and for us to meet the changing needs of our city we need to be agile to work as an effective local government," added Kontelj. "We are always considering new ways to save money and resources, so that we can deliver more projects that ultimately benefit everyone in Greater Geelong." Editor's Note: In 2010 our WorldSweeper international associate, Phineas Fogg, offered us an article about Geelong Power Sweep. You can check out that article here.
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