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.
