City of Cockburn Council has revealed just 115kg of landfill waste, or less than five grams per person, was created by the 21,000 visitors who attended the recent two-day Coogee Live beach festival.
The achievement was among a raft of new waste records achieved at the huge City of Cockburn community event where tens of thousands of people enjoyed entertainment along 1.5km of Cockburn’s coastal reserve on 8-9 March.
Council Waste Education Coordinator, Clare Courtauld said recruiting vendors who pledged not to use single-use plastic products made it possible to reduce waste at large scale events.
At Coogee Live, 24 food truck and bar vendors agreed to provide reusable dishware and cutlery supplied by Go2Cup, or compostable containers. They served food and drink via 34,000 reusable dishware and cutlery items, preventing the same amount of single-use plastic items from ending up in bins for disposal in landfill.
“These record-breaking results are more proof that wastewise events are achievable and help people become more aware of how they can reduce and avoid waste in their own lives,” Ms Courtauld said.
“Even on a large scale like at Coogee Live, event organisers can actively support waste reduction by avoiding the presence of single-use plastic items and replacing them with reusable alternatives.
Other achievements included:
- – 190kg of organic waste diverted from landfill and composted by Bibra Lake-based WRITE Solutions Zero waste contamination in bins;
- – a 75% waste recovery rate at Coogee Live 2025, up from less than 30 per cent prior to the City updating its Wastewise Events Policy in 2023;
- – 2,000+ Containers for Change deposits donated to St Pat’s Community Support Centre which helps people experiencing homelessness.
- “At Coogee Live, traditional bins were removed and patrons were able to engage with six waste sorting stations to place their waste in the correct bins,” Ms Courtauld said.
“This helps build further awareness of the circular economy and how waste can be reused if options are available to channel these materials in the right direction.”
City of Cockburn Events and Culture Manager, Marie La Frenais said being waste wise was part of the City’s culture.
“Coogee Live is a shining example to other local governments holding large community events that reducing waste is not only vital, but achievable,” she said.
“Coogee Live is also carbon neutral event. Any carbon emissions released as a result of the event, from things like patron travel, food consumption and onsite generators, were offset by the City’s investment in planting mixed native trees and shrubs throughout the state.”
Mayor, Logan Howlett said the Council continuously strived to improve waste outcomes at its Cockburn Live event series each year.
“To dispose of the equivalent of just seven wheelie bins of waste at a festival attended by 21,000 people across two days is a fantastic effort,” he said.
“The City’s WasteWise Events Policy adheres to the WA Plan for Plastics and the WA Waste Authority’s Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Strategy 2030.
“The City has also discouraged single-use plastics at its events for several years by providing free water stations. This reduces the need for people to buy thousands of single-use plastic water bottles which often end up in a rubbish or recycling bin,” said the Mayor.
