Decision details

Moved by Councillor Scott, seconded by Councillor Jarrett –

(A)       Council note:

(i)         the National Waste Report 2020 outlines Australia’s waste production has increased to 74 million tonnes annually. Forty per cent of this waste is sent directly to landfills;

(ii)        Labor’s Environment Minister, Tanya Plibersek MP, has outlined eight priority recycling areas for addressing, which include photovoltaic waste, electronic waste, textile, tyres, mattresses, solvents, plastics in healthcare and children’s car seats;

(iii)       annually, in Australia, 1.8M mattresses are disposed of; 740,000 of which are disposed into landfill (or 22,000 tonnes of mattresses);

(a)        to combat the mattress waste issues, the Australian Bedding Stewardship Council (ABSC) was established in 2020, a not-for-profit, industry partnership established to expand on the provisional product stewardship scheme, which originated in 2016; and

(b)        the Australian Bedding Stewardship Council works with all levels of Government, supply chain, manufacturers, retailers and recyclers to move towards a circular economy for mattresses and bedding;

(iv)       the City of Sydney has been recycling mattresses since 2015 in partnership with Soft Landing, a national social enterprise that collects and recycles mattresses to keep waste out of landfill and create jobs for people experiencing barriers to work; 

(v)        annually, 200,000 car seats are disposed of, with more than 80 per cent able to be recycled;

(a)        to combat improper car seat disposal, a national, voluntary, industry led product stewardship scheme, SeatCare, was developed and trialled but is not currently operational; and

(b)        the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water advises that although the program is not currently operational, a Seatcare working group remains, and the Government hopes that they will still be able to move forward and deliver Seatcare nationally;

(vi)       almost 200,000 tonnes of textiles are disposed of each year, with more than 105,000 tonnes exported offshore. To help address this, the City of Sydney:

(a)        offers textile recycling through our quarterly Recycle It Saturday events and Ultimo recycling pop-ups, and through our free doorstep recycling service;

(b)        also runs clothing swap events, as well as sewing and repair workshops; and

(c)        is currently participating in a 12-month uniform recycling trial with Upparel who collect old uniforms from our cleaning, resource recovery, and parks teams. They donate unbranded uniforms that are in good condition to charity for reuse, and securely recycle items that cannot be reused to produce a soft infill fibre that is used by other local manufacturers for pet bedding, soft furniture and building insulation;

(vii)      to combat the improper waste disposal of textiles, in June 2023, the Australian Fashion Council and Labor’s Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek MP, launched the National Clothing Product Stewardship Scheme, Seamless;

(viii)    Seamless aims to create a circular clothing industry by 2030, incentivising clothing designs that are more durable, recyclable and foster ethical manufacturing;

(ix)       textile resource recovery company, BlockTexx, operates a series of linen collections around Australia called ‘Give a Sheet® for the Planet!’ Australians can donate their unwanted household linen, sheets and towels to be converted into valuable, high-grade recycled materials. To date, 32,000 kilos of linen have been diverted from landfill;

(x)        the City of Sydney’s Leave Nothing To Waste Action Plan 2017-2030 includes actions needed by other Government agencies and regulators to build a stronger circular economy; and 

(xi)       in June 2023, following Council’s unanimous support for the Lord Mayoral Minute - Collective Action on Waste, the Lord Mayor wrote to relevant Federal and NSW Government Ministers requesting their commitment to taking strategic action on waste alongside other levels of Government;

(B)       the Chief Executive Officer be requested to:

(i)         congratulate City staff who worked to ensure the City of Sydney’s mattress recycling contract with Soft Landing is accredited with the Australian Bedding Stewardship Scheme, and for their efforts to ensure that, where possible, mattresses are recycled;

(ii)        investigate signing up for to future iterations of SeatCare, or a similar child car seat recycling scheme when operational; and 

(iii)       explore potential partnerships or City-supported linen drives with Give A Sheet! and

(C)       the Lord Mayor be requested to write again to relevant Federal and NSW Government Ministers asking for a progress update on the issues raised in her previous correspondence following the Council Resolution in June 2023.

Carried unanimously.

X086655