Decision details

Moved by Councillor Chung, seconded by Councillor Forster –

It is resolved that:

(A)        Council note:

(i)          each year, at least eight million tonnes of plastics flow into the ocean - which is equivalent to dumping the contents of one garbage truck into the ocean every minute. If no action is taken, this is expected to increase to two per minute by 2030 and four per minute by 2050;

(ii)         eighty per cent of plastic pollution in our ocean comes from land-based sources flowing through drains to our waterways and oceans via stormwater runoff. Urban stormwater runoff often also contains harmful levels of other less visible (but extremely damaging) pollutants, such as suspended solids, heavy metals, nutrients and bacteria;

(iii)        the City of Sydney currently has 50 gross pollutant traps that collect approximately 150 tonnes of litter annually and has set targets to reduce solid pollution by 50 per cent on 2006 levels; and

(iv)       the degradation of our local waterways and oceans is a risk to public health and has a direct impact to our economy, with the ban on commercial fishing and cautions around consumption of fish products from Sydney Harbour due to pollution as just one current example;

(B)        Council endorses a ‘Zero Litter to Ocean’ target across the entire local government area by 30 June 2030;

(C)       the ‘Zero Litter to Ocean’ target be included in the 2021-2026 Environmental Action Plan; and

(D)       the Chief Executive Officer be requested to consult with Stormwater NSW, industry and environmental groups and prepare a report to be brought back to Council, prior to the 2020/21 budget process, to demonstrate the best alternatives for how this target can be achieved, including timeframes and budgets.

___________________________________________________________________

Note – the above motion was not carried. The resolution below was carried –

It is resolved that:

(A)        Council note:

(i)          each year, at least eight million tonnes of plastics flow into the ocean - which is equivalent to dumping the contents of one garbage truck into the ocean every minute. If no action is taken, this is expected to increase to two per minute by 2030 and four per minute by 2050;

(ii)         eighty per cent of plastic pollution in our ocean comes from land-based sources flowing through drains to our waterways and oceans via stormwater runoff. Urban stormwater runoff often also contains harmful levels of other less visible (but extremely damaging) pollutants, such as suspended solids, heavy metals, nutrients and bacteria;

(iii)        the City of Sydney currently has 50 gross pollutant traps that collect approximately 150 tonnes of litter annually and has set targets to reduce solid pollution by 50 per cent on 2006 levels;

(iv)       the degradation of our local waterways and oceans is a risk to public health and has a direct impact to our economy, with the ban on commercial fishing and cautions around consumption of fish products from Sydney Harbour due to pollution as just one current example;

(v)         that addressing the problem of plastic pollution requires a whole of system approach which minimises the production of plastic, and moves towards eliminating single-use plastics; and

(vi)       that in June 2019, over 50 leading companies joined the City in pledging to dramatically reduce plastics across their businesses. The City has taken a platinum pledge, committing to phasing out seven single-use items in its buildings, at its own venues, and at events within our local government area;

(B)        Council strongly supports a ‘Zero Litter to Ocean’ target across the entire local government area by 30 June 2030 as part of the next Environmental Strategy and Action Plan; and

(C)       the Chief Executive Officer be requested to consult with Stormwater NSW, industry and environmental groups and prepare a report that demonstrates the best alternatives for how this target can be achieved, including timeframes and budgets, as part of the next Environmental Strategy and Action Plan.

The motion, as varied by consent, was carried unanimously.

S129259