City of Darwin’s Waste Management Strategy

There has been some commentary and concerns raised regarding Council’s Waste Management Strategy and I would like to clarify a number of points.

Council has not made any decisions regarding changes to waste management.

Council is developing a long term Waste Management Strategy aimed at improving waste management services and encouraging the community to adopt a culture of reduce, reuse, recycle.

Darwin’s current waste management practices are lagging behind the rest of Australia and we divert only 12 per cent of our waste to recycling.

From 5 November to 16 December 2018 City of Darwin ran a consultation into possible changes to the current practices, targeting Darwin residents, ratepayers, businesses and stakeholders.  

The consultation took the form of emails, letters, on-line advertising and ideas forums, on-line surveys, briefings, invitations to provide written feedback and information stalls at various locations across Darwin.

A report on this consultation was tabled at Council’s Ordinary Meeting on 26 February, and was received and noted by Council. The report noted that recycling and waste reduction is an important priority for both residents and businesses and that there is strong support for change and better waste management practices.

The report findings will be used to inform a Waste Management Strategy, any key objectives identified from the strategy will require additional research and feasibility studies prior to considering their implementation.

There has been considerable discussion regarding the introduction of a third ‘green’ bin and I can advise that there has been no decision to introduce this option at this stage as further feasibility is required to inform Council and the community before a decision can be taken.

I hope this clarifies the current situation and allays any concerns the public may have.

Regards

Lord Mayor of Darwin Kon Vatskalis