The City of Greater Bendigo is undertaking a range of work to transition to a circular economy and wants to hear the thoughts of members of the community about waste and resource recovery via an online survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CoGB_Circular_Economy.
City of Greater Bendigo Presentation and Assets Director Brian Westley said the City is committed to transitioning to a circular economy in-line with the Victorian Government's Recycling Victoria Policy.
"A transition to the circular economy means changing how we as individuals, businesses, local government and society think about the materials and products we buy, use and consume and eventually throw away," Mr Westley said.
"It's about moving away from taking resources out of the ground, making them into products for use and then discarding them into landfill or low-value recycling. This is important because there will be no "away" locations for these materials and products to go to in the future. Real change will begin with waste avoidance in the first place.
"We are asking the community to let us know their thoughts about this by completing an online survey where they can share any challenges they face, the work they are already doing to reduce waste, and any other opportunities or ideas they may have.
"The City is already using old tyres, plastics and glass in road and footpath and other projects which is a great way to recycle these resources. In addition, there are companies doing brilliant things like turning recycled plastics into things like outdoor furniture.
"We know the community has great ideas and we want to find out what they think as the results of the survey will help the City to develop the actions needed to support the community to reduce waste and manage resources in the future.
"It's well documented that the Eaglehawk Landfill will reach its capacity in the next couple of years and the City is working towards how the site will operate in the future perhaps as a transfer/sorting station.
"The closure of the landfill will have an impact and the City is proactively taking steps to manage this important challenge by introducing additional recycling bins in public spaces and expanding our organics collections to assist local residents and businesses to send less waste to landfill.
"We are also developing a Circular Economy and Zero Waste Policy which will detail the City's intent for a circular economy and zero waste within the region, guide future activities and measure progress towards our goals.
"Through this work the City is engaging with residents, community groups, service providers, businesses and other key stakeholders across Greater Bendigo who will be impacted by the closure of the landfill.
"The City recently received over 40 expressions of interest from service providers who are keen to develop circular economy solutions for a post-landfill region. This is about looking at waste as a resource and how this resource can be used in the future."
Community members are encouraged to take a few minutes to complete the survey which is open until Friday April 30, 2021 and can be found at
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CoGB_Circular_Economy
In addition, City staff will also attend local shopping centres and other public spaces while the survey is open to encourage residents to complete the survey. Everyone who completes the survey will have an opportunity to enter a draw to win an eco-friendly prize pack valued at $320.
