Rubbish Awareness Key to Better Waste Outcomes

The plan, adopted at the November Council meeting following many months of community consultation, aligns with State Government targets to divert even more waste from going into landfill.

Mayor Tracey Roberts said it was important that the community was better aware of what waste material can be disposed of via each service method offered by the City, and ultimately where the waste is disposed.

“We know when people take personal responsibility for the waste they produce they are more likely to make decisions which promote sustainable living and higher environmental standards.

“The City will endeavour to develop education programmes in conjunction with local schools and local community groups which increases awareness in waste management,” she said.

The strategic plan has five priorities to meet the 2020 target of a 65 percent diversion from landfill, including regular audits of bin contents to improve the understanding of materials disposed by residents and the levels of contamination

The City will also investigate opportunities to recover useable resources currently lost within the waste stream.

The report noted that the diminishing availability of landfill in the Perth metropolitan area meant the City will soon need to investigate and implement alternative disposal options for non-recyclable waste.

Another priority will be to monitor current best practice and research new service development options throughout Australia and the international waste management industry.

This will allow for benchmarking against current activities to identify, where possible, more beneficial solutions.

The City currently diverts more than 50 per cent of household waste from landfill, meeting that target in 2014, a year earlier than the State’s diversion target date.