The council's chief executive officer Peter Schneider said the past four years had been very productive for the city infrastructure director who was now moving on to pursue other professional and personal interests.

Mr Schneider said among the finest achievements of Mr Cavanagh and his team over that time was the successful completion of the city centre renewal.

"This was an extremely complex, once-in-a-generation project that transformed Liebig Street into a more accessible and social space that meets expectations of what a city centre should be in the 21st century," he said.

Mr Schneider said Mr Cavanagh and his team had thoroughly investigated how the city could deal more effectively with household waste.

"This led to the introduction of the Food Organics, Garden Organics (FOGO) collection which has had a massive impact on the volume of material being sent to landfill," he said.

"The push to improve recycling continued with the glass collection trial to reduce contamination of recyclable materials and this will be rolled out across the city over the next year.

"In recent weeks we saw the glass recycling effort deliver real benefits with the first section of road sealed with asphalt containing a large quantity of locally recycled glass.

Mr Schneider said Mr Cavanagh was also instrumental in obtaining more funding for the Port of Warrnambool, which over the coming months will result in a detailed design for the boat launching upgrade.

"He pushed for the establishment of the Princes Highway West Action Alliance which helped secure commitments from the Federal Government to improve the Princes Highway between Warrnambool and Port Fairy," he said.

The new railways car park, upgrades to Lake Pertobe and saleyards roof - projects which attracted external funding - were also highlighted.

"We wish Scott and his family well," Mr Schneider said.

Mr Cavanagh said he had been really fortunate to be part of the council team at a time when so many significant projects were under way or set to begin.

"I'm extremely proud of the work the city infrastructure team has done and continues to do. Warrnambool is a beautiful city and that doesn't happen by accident," he said.

"Built infrastructure plays a significant role in the liveability of a city and it's been a privilege to add to the work that has been done over the past 150 years."

He will finish up his role with the council on July 24.

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