Waste ideas far from rubbish
GIPPSLAND Waste and Resource Recovery Group (GWRRG) aims to create a greener Gippsland by 2046.
A community forum was held in Wonthaggi on Thursday to allow residents to have their say about effective waste management.
GWRRG, in collaboration with councils including Bass Coast and South Gippsland, is in the process of developing a long term plan for Gippsland’s waste management.
The community consultation was part of a process to develop the implementation plan, which will guide how waste is managed for at least the next decade.
This will reflect the infrastructure plan, which has a strong focus on recycle and reuse.
The goals include reduction of waste in landfills, improved industry viability and the management of landfill land resource recovery facilities.
“Education was a theme that came out of the community forum,” GWRRG engagement and education team leader Ian Needham said.
“There’s a mindset in our society that once you put your waste in the right bin, you’ve done your bit. It is necessary to educate residents about what to do and how to dispose waste appropriately.”
Other themes included separating green waste from organic waste and reducing landfills.
According to the GWRRG, 40 per cent of the weight in household bins is food organics, paper and cardboard, which can be recycled with appropriate methods.
Reducing landfills with reduce greenhouse gas emissions, operation costs, odour and vermin.
GWRRG fears if something isn’t done now, around 196,000 tonnes of waste will be dumped in landfills within the next 30 years.
“We have done, and continue to do, a lot of work to establish what the various resource streams in Gippsland look like, where they come from and where they go. This is a vital part of the planning for waste management and important in the context of establishing what we can do better,” GWRRG executive officer Matthew Peake said.
“Waste management and resource recovery are big industries, with the sector employing around 8000 people state wide with an annual turnover of $2.2 billion. As population increases, so will with challenges and opportunities, and this is what we need to focus on in the region.”
More consultations will be held in Foster and Leongatha in the coming weeks.
Foster’s session will be held on February 16 at the Foster community house and Leongatha’s session will be on February 18 in the council chambers at Memorial Hall.
Each day, a business and industry forum from 10am to 12pm and a community forum will be held from 4pm to 5.30pm.
Community concern: from left, Richard Kentwell, Gippsland Waste and Resource Recovery Group project officer Nola Anderson, Rose Thomas, Ron Wangman, Paul Norton and Gippsland Waste and Resource Recovery Group engagement and education team leader Ian Needham discussed ideas to construct a waste management implementation plan at Wonthaggi on Thursday afternoon.
Short URL: /?p=17587
Posted by Tayla Kershaw on Feb 9 2016. Filed under Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry
