2015-08-24 General Committee Agenda

GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA   24 AUGUST 2015




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GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                                                           24 AUGUST 2015

                SUMMARY (What are the highlights?)

                A first for Queensland

                Jurors were selected from 3,000 residents on the electoral roll representing a cross section of Noosa’s
                diverse community. The Jury met once a month over six months to reach agreement and prepare this
                verdict. The group toured the Eumundi Road Landfill Site, reviewed 30 submissions and heard
                presentations from community representatives, industry spokespeople and experts in the field of
                waste management.

                A strong case for action
                The Jury considered a range of forces, risks and factors facing Noosa Council and agreed that
                immediate action was required because of:
                ¢   Political and regulatory forces
                ¢   Financial risks to Council and ratepayers
                ¢   The limited life of the Eumundi Road Landfill Site
                ¢   Increasing waste growth
                *   Climate change obligations
                *   National and global trends concerning organic waste management.

                Eight guidelines underpin recommendations
                The Jury agreed on a set of criteria to guide their thinking and urged Noosa Council to adopt eight
                guidelines when considering ways to minimise organic waste going to landfill:
                1.  Minimise cost to ratepayers: Waste management must be self-funded
                2.  Aim high: Actions must match Noosa’s global profile and environmental credentials
                3.  Invest in long term behavioural change: Plan generations ahead to achieve significant benefit
                4.  Look beyond Council’s borders: Apply national and global best practice
                5.  Include domestic residents: Residents must be part of the solution
                6.  Encourage collective action: Centralised organic waste treatment is cost-effective and sustainable
                7.  Recognise community diversity: Help all sectors of the community to participate
                8.  Involve commercial producers: Help large producers to prevent organic waste going to landfill

                Nine recommendations unanimously supported
                The Jury unanimously agreed to urge Council to adopt eight recommendations to minimise organic
                waste going to landfill in Noosa, targeting 100% diversion of organic waste by 2030:
                1.  Expand Noosa’s existing three-bin system in a staged manner to introduce mandatory weekly
                    organics collection for residential areas, with mandatory green waste collection in 2015/16
                2.  Minimise cost to ratepayers with cost increases not to exceed $50 per ratepayer for green waste
                    collection and $70 per ratepayer for full organic waste collection
                3.  Council to move to fortnightly collection of general waste bins in stage 2
                4.  Construct a composting facility at Eumundi Road Landfill Site (or another suitable location)
                5.  Design and implement a grassroots, long-term education and awareness campaign
                6.  Reward excellent waste management to continue positive behavioural change
                7.  Monitor compliance with the new waste collection system
                8.  Ban non-biodegradable plastic bags by 2017
                9.  Direct large producers to target 100% diversion of organic waste from landfill by 2030
                Cover photo: The Noosa Community Jury toured the Eumundi Road Landfill Site in February 2015. The well-managed facility
                and its towering piles of green waste provided jurors with a very real understanding of the scale of the challenge. Jurors

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