A big thank you! Waste and recycling year in review
Bega Valley Shire Council’s Waste Services team is passing on a huge thank you to the community for a solid year committed to recycling and keeping resources away from landfill.
FOGO kitchen scraps and garden waste get turned into compost for your garden.
16 February 2023
Bega Valley Shire Council’s Waste Services team is passing on a huge thank you to the community for a solid year committed to recycling and keeping resources away from landfill.
Figures from 2022 show recycling is on the up—whether it’s kitchen scraps into compost or breathing new life into throwaway household goods.
Waste Strategy Coordinator, Tim Cook said 2022 was a year of big challenges and even bigger achievements.
“Most of our achievements came from the community and Council being on the same page when it comes to waste minimisation,” Mr Cook said.
“While our motivated team offered a wide range of projects and incentives to keep all we can away from landfill, it was the Bega Valley Shire residents who responded by changing the way they think about waste.
“For example, general household recycling remained high with 1835 tonnes of resources diverted from landfill in yellow lid bins from July to December alone.
“Add to this the 25 tonnes of recycling coming in during the year through our Community Recycling Centre, Mobile Community Recycling Centre and our library-based Community Recycling Stations, and we’re beginning to see a picture emerge that recycling increases when greater opportunities are given.
“By increasing recycling opportunities in our homes, public spaces and community events, we are making responsible waste management and looking after our environment priorities for lots of people.”
Mr Cook said the year had presented some unforeseen challenges with changes to FOGO bin use and the temporary suspension of soft plastic recycling.
“While challenging, the public response to these obstacles has demonstrated how serious our community is about keeping waste away from landfill.
“Participation in FOGO organics recycling is still incredibly high with 5815 tonnes of green waste received last year for composting, and while we wait for soft plastic recycling to start again, it’s great to see the community is still happy to recycle everything they can.
“Local Return and Earn data shows more than 43 million containers were recycled in the past five years in the Bega Valley. This equates to 3,650 tonnes of resources diverted from landfill and turned back into useful products. Among our Regional Joint Organisation of Councils, the Bega Valley is the third best recycler of containers using the scheme.
“This demonstrates another trend where recycling—when partnered with a chance to increase household income—is a phenomenal success.
“Income and recycling came together again with the community and Council participating in the Garage Sale Trail, where over two weekends, 44 local garage sales coordinated to keep 12.5 tonnes of resources away from our landfill site while earning participants an average of $1363 per garage sale.
“Reducing the financial burden of recycling is something we provide through numerous channels. In 2022 we sent out more than 80,000 free waste vouchers, and with it being the first year of using paperless vouchers it’s great to see the community embracing a system that reduces costs and keeps thousands of vouchers out of the bin.
“Our range of community and school waste grants were money well spent as always, with a total of $72,041 handed out to projects so far this financial year, ranging from community clean-ups, festival waste management, and the continuation of our Let’s Get it Sorted waste education campaign conducted through local schools.
“Looking forward, we have projects and plans for an even better year of keeping everything we possibly can away from a large hole in the ground. Burying waste does not make it go away, and we are delighted that the community is right beside us in turning the problem of waste on its head.
“From us at the Waste Services team, we say a massive thank-you to everyone in the community who has contributed in any way towards landfill avoidance.”
To learn more about the wide range of Waste Services projects and incentives, visit Council’s website.
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- 02 6499 2222
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Zingel Place
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Bega NSW 2550 -
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