City of Coffs Harbour Council says the local community has been central to the success of the organisation’s new blueprint for waste minimisation.
The Council resolved to endorse the Resource Recovery and Waste Strategy at its 1 May meeting.
“The strategy is a major piece of work and at its core it moves us toward a more circular economy – a world where we strive to reduce the creation of waste in the first place and to maximise recycling,” said Mayor, Nikki Williams.
“It’s up to all of us to embrace systems where materials are reused, refurbished, recycled or composted.”
The average household in the Coffs Harbour Local Government Area annually produces around 1,400kg of waste, much of which ends up in landfill.
More than 900 responses from the community informed the creation of the Resource Recovery and Waste Strategy 2025-2041, as the Council consulted with residents through surveys, pop-ups and workshops late last year.
“The new strategy provides a framework for how the City and the community can work together to manage waste and create a more sustainable future,” said Acting Infrastructure Director, Daniel Noble.
“Education is central to how we move forward, and this includes building a greater understanding of what items should go in which kerbside bins.
“At present around half of the content of red-lid bins should be in other bins – recyclables should be in the yellow-lid bin while food and garden organics should be in the green-lid bin. So we can, and need to be, better in this space.”
The recently launched Coffs Coast Waste Services App will help on this front as it includes a searchable A-to-Z guide of what to do with any given product.
The app is ‘personalised’ for residents by Coffs Coast Waste Services, a regional partnership between Handybin Waste Services, City of Coffs Harbour Council, Nambucca Valley Council and Bellingen Shire Council, and can be downloaded for free on either the App Store or Google Play.
Mayor Williams said the new waste strategy provides a framework to drive higher rates of resource recovery through effective community participation and continued waste education. This includes exploring ways to make current programs, such the management of bulky goods, more effective for the community.
“The waste space is very dynamic with new technologies providing opportunities to be smarter and more sustainable. On top of that new regulations are emerging, requiring all councils to find new ways to reduce waste and increase resource recovery,” she said.
“This strategy covers the period through to 2041, though the initiatives are focussed on the first five years. It gives us a solid way forward.”
