Moved by Councillor Worling, seconded by
Councillor Chan –
(A)
Council
note:
(i)
the City
of Sydney collects and manages around 65,000 tonnes of waste each year from
more than 115,000 households and around 11,000 tonnes from City-managed assets,
parks and public places. By 2030, this waste is
forecast to grow to more than 100,000 tonnes a year;
(ii)
currently,
more than half of our household and commercial waste goes to landfill with
no further opportunity for reuse or recycling, and limited recovery of energy;
(iii) according to the NSW Waste and
Sustainable Materials Strategy’ published by the Department of Planning,
Industry and Environment in 2021, there will be no capacity at existing
landfill sites in NSW by 2036;
(iv) the City’s current waste strategy, Leave nothing to waste: Waste strategy and action plan
2017-2030, was adopted by Council (following public exhibition) in October
2017. It set the target to divert 70 per cent of residential
waste away from landfill (with a minimum of 35 per cent as source-separated
recycling). The strategy is currently being reviewed and will be
updated to reflect recent federal and state policy changes in waste and the
circular economy;
(v)
in February 2023, Council resolved to develop
additional ways to manage and monitor residential waste; and to encourage
activities to reduce waste and improve recycling, including the development of
a community education campaign, which is currently underway;
(vi) as part of a long-term community strategic
plan, the City has committed to support the
development of a circular economy through business support programs, community
workshops, library services and grants;
(vii) in May 2023, the Lord Mayor hosted Greater
Sydney and Metropolitan Councils, NSW Government agencies and other key
stakeholders for the Metropolitan Sydney Mayoral Summit on Waste and has since
written to the Premier and relevant NSW Ministers highlighting the urgency for
all councils and other levels of government to work together to better manage
waste; and
(viii) since 2014, the City
has provided more than $400,000 in kind grants for circular economy related
projects; and
(B)
as part
of the development of the community education campaign, the Chief Executive
Officer be requested to:
(i)
investigate
how the City could support the development and
creation of a digital information hub to promote businesses across the Local
Government Area who are actively fighting the war on waste and championing a
more circular economy;
(ii)
explore
ways to further improve our communication with residents, tenants, real estate
agents and other stakeholders across the City on how
to dispose of unwanted items responsibly;
(iii) investigate strategic partnerships with
existing organisations to assist in the redistribution and rehoming of quality
furniture and other household items that could otherwise go to landfill if left
out for bulky waste pick-ups;
(iv) explore opportunities for expanded waste and
recycling drop-off services across the Local Government Area;
(v)
develop
initiatives to improve recycling, reuse and repair within multi-unit dwellings
and investigate incentivising the uptake of dedicated onsite reuse spaces or
share rooms through partnerships with community groups and neighbourhood
sharing services;
(vi) explore and develop a dedicated circular
economy grant scheme that prioritises supporting and promoting reduce, reuse,
repair and recycle innovators and ideas; and
(vii) facilitate discussions with key stakeholders
and strategic partners about waste and the circular economy, and the need to
work collaboratively to educate and change behaviours at a local and State
level.
Amendment.
Moved by Councillor Scott, seconded by Councillor Ellsmore –
That the
motion be amended such that it read as follows –
It is resolved that:
(A)
Council
note:
(i)
through
the National Waste Policy, the Commonwealth Government has introduced the
following targets:
(a)
reduce
total waste generated by 10 per cent per person by 2030;
(b)
recover
80 per cent of all waste by 2030. Significantly increase the use of recycled
content by governments and industry; and
(c)
phase
out problematic and unnecessary plastics by 2025;
(ii)
in 2018/19,
the Sydney metropolitan area councils sent 993,381 tonnes to landfill (51 per
cent of the state);
(iii) the largest volume of material was collected
from the Sydney metropolitan region, although only 25 per cent was recycled.
Conversely, the rest of the state collected the least weight, but recycled the
greatest proportion of the material;
(iv) in 2018/19, the Sydney metropolitan area
generated 1.84 million tonnes of kerbside waste, of which 847,000 (46 per cent)
was diverted from landfill. This was a decrease from 48.8 per cent in 2017/18;
(v)
the
City of Sydney collects and manages around 65,000 tonnes of waste each year
from more than 115,000 households and around 11,000 tonnes from City-managed
assets, parks and public places. By 2030, this waste
is forecast to grow to more than 100,000 tonnes a year;
(vi)
currently,
more than half of our household and commercial waste goes to landfill with
no further opportunity for reuse or recycling, and limited recovery of energy;
(vii)
according
to the NSW Waste and Sustainable Materials Strategy’ published by the
Department of Planning, Industry and Environment in 2021, there will be no
capacity at existing landfill sites in NSW by 2036;
(viii)
the
City’s current waste strategy, Leave nothing to waste:
Waste strategy and action plan 2017-2030, was adopted by Council (following
public exhibition) in October 2017. It set the target to divert 70 per cent of residential waste away from landfill
(with a minimum of 35 per cent as source-separated recycling). The
strategy is currently being reviewed
and will be updated to reflect recent federal and state policy changes in waste
and the circular economy;
(ix)
in
February 2023, Council resolved to develop additional ways to manage and
monitor residential waste; and to encourage activities to reduce waste and
improve recycling, including the development of a community education
campaign, which is currently underway;
(x)
as part
of a long-term community strategic plan, the City has
committed to support the development of a circular economy through business
support programs, community workshops, library services and grants;
(xi)
in May
2023, the Lord Mayor hosted Greater Sydney and Metropolitan Councils, NSW
Government agencies and other key stakeholders for the Metropolitan Sydney
Mayoral Summit on Waste and has since written to the Premier and relevant NSW
Ministers highlighting the urgency for all councils and other levels of
government to work together to better manage waste; and
(xii)
since
2014, the City has provided more than $400,000 in kind
grants for circular economy related projects; and
(B)
as part
of the development of the community education campaign, the Chief Executive
Officer be requested to:
(i)
investigate
how the City could support the development and
creation of a digital information hub to promote businesses across the Local Government
Area who are actively fighting the war on waste and championing a more circular
economy;
(ii)
explore
ways to further improve our communication with residents, tenants, real estate
agents and other stakeholders across the City on how
to dispose of unwanted items responsibly;
(iii)
investigate
strategic partnerships with existing organisations to assist in the
redistribution and rehoming of quality furniture and other household items that
could otherwise go to landfill if left out for bulky waste pick-ups;
(iv)
explore
opportunities for expanded City-run waste and recycling drop-off services
across the Local Government Area;
(v)
develop
initiatives to improve recycling, reuse and repair within multi-unit dwellings
and investigate incentivising the uptake of dedicated onsite reuse spaces or
share rooms through partnerships with community groups and neighbourhood
sharing services;
(vi)
explore
and develop a dedicated circular economy grant scheme that prioritises
supporting and promoting reduce, reuse, repair and recycle innovators and
ideas; and
(viii)
facilitate
discussions with key stakeholders and strategic partners about waste and the
circular economy, and the need to work collaboratively to educate and change
behaviours at a local and State level.
The
amendment was carried unanimously.
The
substantive motion was carried unanimously.
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