Council awarded for excellence

An initiative that led to one local beachside café using 9000 plastic straws less a year and another which orchestrated a coordinated approach to reducing suicide have both scored Northern Beaches Council top awards in the recent Local Government NSW awards for excellence.

Council’s Swap for Good program which encourages local businesses to reduce their use of single use plastics bagged the Environmental Leadership and Sustainability Award. And the judges were so impressed with Council’s Northern Beaches Suicide Response (The Response), they gave it the top award in the Community Partnership and Collaboration category.

Through Council’s Swap for Good campaign, our largest shopping centre on the Northern Beaches saves up to 12.4 million plastic bottles by installing a water refill station. Swap & Go coffee systems are now established in almost 30 local cafes. Nine thousand plastic cups each year have been removed from a business water refill station. And local school canteens are removing straws and plastic bags from use.

With the Northern Beaches Suicide Response initiative, Council took a leadership role in establishing The Response together with NSW Police, health authorities, local service groups and the community to ensure a coordinated and collaborative response to address suicide on the Northern Beaches.

The Northern Beaches Suicide Response has improved safety in key locations, delivered targeted suicide intervention training to over 400 community members and 40 police. Most importantly, suicide rates between 2018 and 2019 decreased by almost a third, following implementation of The Response.

Council could not have won these awards without the enthusiastic support of our local community. We wish to thank, in particular, all the local businesses who took on the challenge of eliminating their use of single use plastics and also all our partner organisations in helping us and the community tackle the tragedy of suicide on the Northern Beaches.