Brimbank’s recycling rate (41%) has remained stable in the last financial year despite the increased amount of waste generated by households during the COVID-19 health emergency.
With more people working and studying from home in the municipality, Council’s kerbside waste collection services collected larger volumes of waste, and often during challenging lockdown periods.
About 31,907 tonnes of waste was recycled during this period, slightly down from the previous financial year. But this was still a good result considering the pressure placed on residents and Council’s waste and recycling services during the pandemic.
Council’s Waste, Recycling and Litter Strategy Community Report Card for 2020/2021 was endorsed at the Council Meeting on 17 August.
Council’s Hard Waste Collection Service continues to be well supported by the community with 20,752 no-charge collections for the last financial year.
The service, which started in July 2019, collected about 3,149 tonnes of hard waste with 25 per cent recycled.
Council continues to take a tough stance on littering and illegal dumping. Council increased enforcement activity and continued installation of surveillance cameras. There were 172 litter infringement notices issued, which was 62 more infringement notices than the previous 12 months.
In addition, to ensure there are alternatives to landfill into the future, Council strongly advocated to the State Government for the a North West Region Advanced Waste Processing Procurement Process to start, based on the learnings from the South East process, which is nearing completion.
Quotes to be attributed to Brimbank Mayor Cr Ranka Rasic:
“In 2020/2021 our community was challenged by a global pandemic, but the majority of residents continue to seek better ways to dispose of their waste in responsible ways.
“I thank those that continue to do their bit during these challenging times. I urge everyone to continue to live and work in an environmentally sustainable way.
“Brimbank’s Waste, Recycling and Litter Strategy sets a target of zero waste to landfill by 2028 and Council has taken actions like expanded recycling services, initiatives to reduce rubbish dumping and a focus on helping the community avoid waste as part of this initiative.”