Have Your Say On Draft Waste & Resource Recovery Strategy

Have Your Say On Draft Waste & Resource Recovery Strategy

Published on 27 May 2021

Colac Otway residents are urged to have their say on the shire’s draft Resource Recovery and Waste Management Strategy which will lead the way in recycling, reusing and reducing waste going to landfill.

Colac Otway Mayor Cr Kate Hanson said Colac Otway had been a leader in greenwaste reuse for more than two decades, introducing separate greenwaste bins in 1998 and compost caddies in 2015 to encourage food waste composting.

“We were able to find alternative recycling processing during the recycling crisis in 2019, and were among a small number of Councils which continue to recycle material from kerbside collection and avoided sending thousands of tonnes of recyclables to landfill.

“Colac Otway Shire Council’s Draft Resource Recovery and Waste Management Strategy 2021-2030 aims to guide how we further improve our current processes to increase our recycling and composting.

“This draft strategy also sets out how Colac Otway Shire will deliver a sustainable service which meets community expectations, and reduces waste, landfill costs and our impact on the environment, now and as our population grows.

“The strategy meets Local Government requirements with sustainable Waste Policy and Operational Guidelines, and plans for the introduction of an addition kerbside for glass collection; implementation of a hard waste collection service; and encouragement of a ‘circular economy’ where we minimise waste and continually recycle and reuse our resources.

Key actions of the draft strategy including:

Introducing a separate glass-only collections service Implementing a hard waste collection service for the community Encouraging more reuse /recycling / circular economy measures Managing all waste streams more effectively Reducing landfill disposal volumes Improving effective recycling and separating systems Improving Transfer Station resource management Exploring opportunities for social enterprises Delivering community education programs to support the reduction of kerbside bin contamination and increase resource recovery Collaborating and partnering with government agencies, other councils and organisations to explore opportunities for resource recovery and alternative waste technologies.

The Draft Strategy and consultation information can be viewed online at Council’s website at www.colacotway.vic.gov.au or at Council’s Customer Service Centres in Colac or Apollo Bay, when COVID19 Restrictions ease and centres reopen.

The draft strategy will be on public exhibition for a period of six weeks and residents and ratepayers are invited to make a submission in writing by 5pm on Friday 9 July, 2021.