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Education campaign key to eliminating waste

Cowra Shire Council’s Waste Minimisation Communication Strategy is leading Local Government in educating and assisting communities to eliminate waste. Cowra Shire Council’s General Manager, James Roncon, said the recently released strategy has set the benchmark for Local Government.

“Often in waste and recycling the focus is on the infrastructure,” he said. “Cowra is showing that the educational aspects need just as much attention.”

NetWaste, a collaborative waste management project involving 28 Councils, covering about one third of the area of New South Wales and serving a population of over 300,000 people, has recently adopted the Cowra document.

A working party is being developed to use the Cowra strategy as a template in educating the local communities across the NetWaste region. NetWaste’s aim is to improve waste management and recycling services in an environmentally sustainable way within the region.

“Cowra is very happy that the NetWaste Councils want to work together,” he said. “Cowra took the strategy to NetWaste to develop a regional plan. This strategy is great for Council, but there was always potential for more. A NetWaste strategy will allow for joint marketing and projects across a large area of the state, thus saving resources and allowing smaller Councils to provide the same standard of information and material to their ratepayers.”

Cowra received funding from the EPA last year and decided to ensure that the marketing dollars complemented current annual activities and events and worked to achieve long term goals in regards to waste and recycling.

Council has produced a booklet on how to reduce, reuse and recycle waste which was distributed free in the local paper. It has conducted a successful community recycling survey and is currently completing a magnet brochure which explains to local residents what can be recycled in the shire and handy hints on reducing and reusing waste.

For more information contact Emma Gosper, Corporate and Community Relations Advisor on (02) 6340 2087.

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