As evidenced by the popularity of ABC’s recent War on Waste series, our nation’s fascination with rubbish has reached new heights. The timing seems fruitful then for City of Sydney’s announcement of a new strategy that aims to set a path towards zero residential waste.
Titled ‘Leave Nothing to Waste’, the plan would put in place a number of residential services, including weekly kerbside e-waste collections, an opt-in trial of residential food waste collection, a community drop-off centre for problem-waste streams and clothing and textiles collection from apartment buildings.
Lord Mayor Clover Moore says that the services would provide residents more opportunities to sort their waste, leading to higher rates of recycling and reduced demand on finite sources.
“Our residents generate close to 65,000 tonnes of waste every year – and while 69 per cent is now diverted from landfill, this plan looks to increase that to 90 per cent by 2030. To do that, we have to drastically increase our recycling rates,” says Moore.
What about those frustrating items that refuse to be recycled? City of Sydney acknowledges that not everything is fully recyclable, so intends to work with the waste industry to investigate the feasibility of an ‘energy from waste’ treatment facility.
The overall plan must be approved by council before any actions can be implemented, and it will take until 2019 for changes to begin taking place.
If your suburb belongs within the local government area of the City of Sydney (you can check here), you can have your own say on the plan and the issues it raises by commenting on ‘Leave Nothing to Waste’ on sydneyyoursay.com.au from Tuesday June 27.