Last week we were excited to open the consultation for Council’s revised Resource Recovery Strategy.
While there is a legislative requirement to review this strategy every three years, it has also been an incredibly valuable and insightful process to undertake.
It has allowed me to really pause and reflect on how far we have come since our first Waste Strategy was adopted in 2019 and gain some perspective about the collective challenges, we may face in the years to come.
One of the most significant changes to this strategy is the need to bring our target of reaching zero waste, or 90% of waste being diverted from landfill, forward ten years from 2050 to 2040.
This 10 year reduction is a target I am proud to be supporting as waste management is a significant issue not just for our community but right across the state, the nation and indeed the world.
We have reached a critical juncture where we can no longer continue with ‘business as usual’.
Our thinking must change – we must move toward a circular economy. We can no longer think in terms of waste, we need to think in terms of resources and how those resources can be returned into productive use over and again.
This new iteration of the Strategy seeks to address some of the barriers to reaching zero waste here in Central Queensland, including the investment in services and infrastructure needed to make a significant and lasting impact.
We will continue to partner with other Councils and levels of government to deliver the best possible outcomes for our region, but we all need to work together and rise to the challenge that is before us.
A step I have been taking and one I encourage the community to start doing is making sure we are getting it right when it comes to the yellow lid recycling bin.
Contamination of the yellow lid recycling bin is definitely a concern in our region, but we are certainly not alone in this.
Together with other regional Councils across the state we have been advocating for consistency in the way we communicate and approach behaviour change
We are pleased to be sharing a 6-week pilot digital advertising campaign being issued at the state level which will provide the community with short videos covering six key themes that have been identified as barriers to getting it right at the yellow lid bin.
The ‘Let’s get it sorted’ campaign will be seen across 19 Queensland councils from late March to early May 2023 and each week we will share a new video to our Facebook page.
I encourage everyone to head over to our Facebook page and check out these videos each week.
The Draft Resource Recovery Strategy is also open for feedback until 11 April – this is your chance to have your say on the future of waste management on our region.
