Council has committed to the Municipal Association of Victoria’s Rescue Our RecyclingAction Plan.
The decision is a result of
a notice of motion from Councillor Sarah Mansfield, which received unanimous support
and will see a continued focus on
finding workable long-term solutions in waste management for the region.
As part of the
plan, Council has pledged to undertake
the following five steps:
- collaborate with the state government
to procure kerbside recycling services with the aim of enhancing competition
and attracting new investment - educate the community to
reduce waste and minimise contamination in recycling bins - buy recycled products for
corporate operations, services and infrastructure programs - explore options for stream
separation in kerbside recycling collections to reduce contamination rates and
maximise the value of recyclable materials - work with the state and federal
governments to achieve reforms.
We will engage with providers of
recycling services in the G21 Region to identify opportunities to enhance local
recycling.
We will also write to
state and federal government members of parliament calling on them to urgently undertake the
required steps outlined in the Action Plan.
Recycling is a key
component of waste management in the region, however reducing our waste is the
most effective way to help solve this national problem.
Waste
management provider SKM Recycling has resumed receiving
household recycling for our municpality after diverting it to landfill for three weeks recently.
Our decision to follow the
Action Plan aligns with our Council Plan, our Environment Strategy and One
Planet Living Principals.
Councillor Bruce Harwood – Mayor
Council is prioritising our waste problem and doing everything possible
to take long-term pressure off our landfill site at Drysdale.The City is
lobbying our state and federal governments for urgent investment into recycling
facilities and the development of recycled products.I also call on our
dedicated locals to keep applying the ‘Reduce, Reuse and Recycle’ mantra to
their everyday lives, as waste is everyone’s problem.
Councillor Sarah Mansfield – Chair – Environment and Sustainability
Portfolio
We need to
start acting and governing differently towards the waste management process. We
need to look at the issue as a whole country and find a way for all government
levels, the private sector and community to work together, to ensure we
continue to have recycling as an option of our waste management strategy, with
zero waste being the ultimate goal.Zero waste takes
a lot of work and current systems and regulation around packaging can make it
hard for people to be as sustainable as they’d like to be. All three levels of
government need to work together to make it as easy as possible for the
community to reduce its waste.
