The February 2024 Victorian storms caused considerable damage across Eastern Victoria, leaving behind fallen trees, branches and other green waste.
The Victorian Government is in the process of clearing or pruning fallen trees and branches to make private properties safe, open roads and restore vital services for impacted communities.
We are working with local councils, and communities to collect and manage timber and green waste left by the storms.
Managing green waste
The Victorian Government’s operations have transitioned from the emergency response phase into the recovery phase.
We’ve been working with local councils to process green waste at microsites across impacted communities. The sites used for processing each week adapt to meet collection requirements.
This helps to efficiently process the timber green waste and ensure that the materials are processed, where possible, in the community.
Where appropriate, byproducts may be available to community through local councils. The government is engaging with storm-affected communities for their feedback on how this is managed going forward.
Protecting the local ecosystem
Dead and fallen trees play an important role in the ecosystems of many forests. In some cases, where there is no perceived bushfire risk, these may be left alone to protect biodiversity.
Any removal of fallen trees, branches and other green waste caused by the storms in public areas and bushland all follow rigorous environmental values assessment by the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action.
We are committed to protecting the local ecosystem, while also making sure any future community risks are minimised, including from bushfires.
Removal of dangerous trees from private property
Eligible homeowners can register to have dangerous trees or hanging branches cut down or pruned if they are a risk to their homes or block the main home entrance.
After registering, our contractors will visit your home to inspect the site to determine if the trees are hazardous and then plan to undertake works. After works are complete, our contractors will remove the leftover green waste.
Trees that don’t pose a risk to your home or access to your home will not be removed.
Find out more information about Clean up support for storm damaged homes.
Ensuring safety
We are working with WorkSafe Victoria and the Environment Protection Authority to ensure green waste is managed safely for the community and for workers.
To ensure community safety, and to follow best practice, any green waste and building debris that may pose a health risk to anybody across Victoria is collected, removed and managed separately from one another at different processing facilities.
We will continue to follow these practices and maintain the high standards we and our lead-contractors hold ourselves accountable to.
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