Towards zero waste in Banyule

The Towards Zero Waste Management Plan 2019 - 2023 was adopted by Council on 19 November 2018. The Plan contains a 4-year action plan for Council’s waste management activities with a goal of achieving zero waste to landfill by 2030.

Thank you to those who provided feedback during our community consultation phases.

Some great initiatives arising from the Plan include:

  • Reusable nappy workshops - These workshops introduce parents to the modern reusable nappies which are easy to use and will save you money! The first workshop is now taking bookings. If you're unable to attend a workshop, information on reusable nappies will be available at Malahang Festival and Arty Farty Festival.
  • Home composting workshop - For bookings.
  • A Green Cone rebate program - From Monday 16 September, we will be offering eligible residents the opportunity to purchase a Green Cone at a reduced rate. A Green Cone is a maintenance-free composter that recycles food waste into nutrients that enrich the surrounding soil. Details on how to purchase a Green Cone will be in the September edition of the Banyule Banner.

Waste in Banyule, a shared responsibility

Waste services involve many different areas:

  • Kerbside collection
  • Hard waste and bundled branches collection
  • Electronic waste disposal
  • Waste Recovery Centre
  • Community events and resource recovery
  • Education, information and advocacy, including the Rethink Centre, view the promotional clip.

While Council is committed to achieving zero waste to landfill by 2030, Council cannot achieve this target on its own. Achieving zero waste requires all levels of government, manufacturers, the recycling industry, businesses and the community to actively participate. Our new draft Towards Zero Waste Plan focuses on implementing change and advocating to the Victorian and Federal governments to bring about these changes.

What's in the Plan

The Plan lists four strategic directions and an overall vision to help us achieve zero waste.

These are:

  • Avoid waste generation
  • Build, support and strengthen a community culture that is striving to achieve zero waste
  • Deliver environmentally responsible and cost-effective recycling and waste services
  • Advocate to other levels of government to avoid waste, reduce waste to landfill and increase recycling.

A total of 32 actions are proposed by the Plan. Whilst all are important to achieving zero waste, the following are considered key actions for the Banyule community over the next four years:

  • Development of a business case (including financial costings) for commencement of a food organics garden organics (FOGO) kerbside collection service for households that will enable food waste to be recycled.
  • Development of a business case (including financial costings) for expanding the offering provided by the Waste Recovery Centre (including a re-sale shop) based on planning restrictions and physical constraints of the site.
  • Undertake a review of the current booked hard waste service including whether the service needs be modified to provide residents with convenient access to an E-waste service in response to the landfill ban which commences 1 July 2019.
  • Develop and deliver community education programs to avoid waste and support the diversion of resources from landfill for reuse and recycling as much as possible.
  • Undertake a review to determine if having a separate waste charge is a more appropriate method to fund waste services than the current funding model.
  • Undertake research into Council’s capacity to provide or coordinate waste collection services for difficult to access properties and higher density developments.

By successfully implementing the key actions above, within the four year period of the Plan, Banyule could achieve an increase of diversion from landfill from 51% to 64%.

Funding for the implementation of the Plan will be provided by Council through either our recurrent operating budget or capital works budget process.

The four year Action Plan will be monitored and evaluated annually with the results reported back to the community.

Development of plan

We developed the plan using community feedback to identify your needs, expectations and behaviours. These findings were collated and analysed in conjunction with reviewing: the Waste Management Plan 2014- 2019, current industry standards and best practice within waste management, future needs identification and legislative requirements.

The consultation undertaken to develop the draft Plan included:

The group met every 3-4 weeks from February 2018 to June 2018 and were consulted on a range of waste and recovery topics. They helped shape the vision, strategic directions, and action items contained within the draft Plan. Additionally community members who nominated to be part of the Community Reference Group, but were unsuccessful, were invited to an separate consultation event so they had the opportunity to put forwards their ideas.

The Waste Management Survey was available to all Banyule residents and businesses on Shaping Banyule. The information collected by the survey was presented and discussed with the Community Reference Group and assisted to identify issues that needed to be considered as part of the draft Plan’s development.

Key findings from the 2018 Waste Management Surveys were:

  • 93% of respondents were happy with the kerbside waste service provided to their home
  • Respondents were least satisfied with their garden organics bin. There were many written requests for a larger bin at no additional cost
  • 88% of respondents were aware that Council provided a hard waste and bundled branches collection service
  • 17% of respondents were aware that an E-waste ban to landfill will commence 1 July 2019
  • Respondents indicated a preference to dispose of E-waste either through the Waste Recovery Centre or the hard waste collection service
  • 60% of respondents preferred to put food in their garden bin and have it taken away weekly instead of the garbage bin if the cost was approximately the same
  • 40% of respondents preferred to be self-sufficient and compost their food at home instead of Council taking food away to be composted
  • 74% of respondents felt Council should recycle food at Council run community events, 95% for plastic glass and aluminium and 83% plates bowls and cutlery.

We would like your feedback on the Draft Zero Waste Plan. Please let us know your thoughts before Tuesday 9 October 2018.

Background

Waste Services is one of Council's most visible and used services, used by every household, school and business in Banyule.

Our work is guided by the Banyule Waste Management Plan which expires in 2019.

The objectives of the Waste Management Plan are to :

  • Provide a four year waste management direction that meets community needs and expectations
  • Inform the integration of waste services andn facilities to ensure compliance with relevant legislative requirements and policy direction
  • Influence waste avoidance and minimization from all sources in the community
  • Forecast waste management investment options and associated costings for a 10 year period

Our review process looked at: what occurred throughout the implementation of the Waste Management Plan 2014- 2019, what the key achievements and learnings have been, industry standards and best practice within waste management, along with what our future needs may be and what legislative requirements we must comply with. For example the possible banning of electronic waste from landfill and the potential ban of single use plastic bags.

In addition to all of the above we believed it was essential that the community played a key part in developing the revised plan.

To do this we formed a Waste Management Plan Community Reference Group late in 2017. This Group has worked with us throughout the development of the plan.