Australian company angered over city's decision to switch to Chinese made product

In October, more than 40,000 households in Bendigo and Marong will begin receiving a new 12 month supply of compostable kitchen caddy liners to collect food waste for their organics bin.

More news:

The previous contract was held with BioBag World Australia Pty Ltd, which manufactures its caddy liner products in Australia.

BioBag World Australia Pty Ltd director Scott Morton said he wanted to highlight the implications of switching from Australian-made to Chinese-made products.

Mr Morton said he hoped to start a wider conversation about the true cost of not supporting local jobs.

"For me, it's nothing personal against the council, I understand that we weren't the cheapest, however I think there is a larger conversation that needs to be had on the value of buying Australian-made products," he said.

"If I am not selling the products that are made here then I am not buying cartons, freight, pallets, so there is a much larger issue because all the money is not staying in the economy.

"It's not just me, it's the entire supply chain that suffers."

City of Greater Bendigo resource recovery and education manager Brooke Pearce said council called for public tenders for the supply of a range of residential, commercial caddies and compostable liners for the caddies.

Ms Pearce said the council considered three tenders.

"Under the Local Government Act, all councils must, whenever practicable, give effective and substantial preference to contracts for the purchase of goods, machinery or material manufactured or produced in Australia or New Zealand. However, this is not at any cost, it's about achieving best value," she said.

Ms Pearce said following a thorough evaluation, the contract was awarded to Source Separation Systems who submitted a tender that was substantially lower than the two other tenders.

She said this would result in significant savings for the city over the term of the contract.

The Bendigo Advertiser was unable to obtain the exact figures due to commercial in-confidence.

Although Source Separation Systems Pty Ltd is an Australian owned business with a principal office in Boolaroo, NSW, the caddy liners are not manufactured in Australia.

Ms Pearce said the caddy liners are compostable liners made from corn starch and are manufactured in China, not Australia.

Source Separation Systems does however manufacture kitchen caddies in Braeside, Melbourne.

Mr Morton worried local government councils were not looking at the bigger picture when making the decision to not support local.

Other news:

"I am frustrated as a manufacturer because it's really hard to compete against China, even when we get close it always comes down to pure dollars only," he said.

"I know I am in South Australia but I am employing young people in manufacturing and I am keeping the money locally yet many councils are not supporting that.

"It's crucial to bring this up because the council obviously has to answer to the rate payer and the ratepayer should understand that the council is choosing to support Chinese products over Australian made."

Mr Morton said the move would affect his entire supply chain.

"I buy my cartons from a Victorian company, but they won't get that order now. It's a huge flow on for all of those smaller companies," he said.

South Australian Independent Senator Rex Patrick said he was disappointed with the decision made by the City of Greater Bendigo.

"Councils need to be backing Australian industry," he said.

"They need to be looking at procurements from an Australian jobs and economic activity perspective, and in the wake of COVID, also from a national resilience perspective."

Mr Patrick said while this decision didn't involve jobs in Bendigo, it will be the people and businesses of Bendigo that bear the costs, through their personal and corporate tax contributions, of unemployment created elsewhere in Australia.

The new caddy liners will be delivered to local households by staff from Access Australia Group Limited - a local social enterprise that provides supported employment for over 100 people.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content: