2018-06-27 Special Meeting Agenda

SPECIAL MEETING AGENDA   27 JUNE 2018




                         Page 45 of 65

SPECIAL MEETING AGENDA                                                              27 JUNE 2018

                                              4

  While Noosa Council is aware of LGAQ’s proposed initiative to build a series of large and
  expensive waste to energy facilities, it does not support that proposal to the exclusion of Noosa
  providing local (and lower cost) solutions to diverting a large percentage of its waste. The
  LGAQ solution could exclude Noosa from access to waste levy funds and potentially limit any
  benefits from a local innovative project.
  Given its proven history as an innovator in waste diversion Noosa wishes to register its early
  interest in access to waste levy funding to support our local waste reduction initiative.
  Reduction in waste generation
  Waste generation in Australia is growing at an alarming rate despite the endeavours that have
  been made to reduce packaging. The burden of managing this increased waste volume has
  been imposed on Local Government and there is a widely held perception that not enough is
  being done at the State and Federal level to reduce waste generation.
  Reducing waste generation at its source is a significant part of any overhaul of the waste
  management industry. Noosa Council requests a much more concerted effort to be
  undertaken by all levels of government to reduce the volume of waste being generated by
  suppliers, distributors and retailers.
  A national approach is required to waste diversion targets and measuring systems
  The   current situation where   each   state  sets its own   waste   reduction  targets is
  counterproductive to the achievement of a unified approach to managing the reduction of
  waste and the recycling of resources. It is imperative that the various states and the federal
  government work together to develop a national waste reduction strategy with waste reduction
  targets applicable to all states. The methodology for measurement of success also requires a
  common set of criteria, what is waste and of how each item in the waste stream is labelled.
  For example, some states allow the weight of methane generated and flared at landfills to be
  deducted from the weight of waste buried in landfill, which is difficult to comprehend.

  PART 2.       OPERATIONAL CONCERNS

  Allowances for stockpiles of recyclable material on hand
  The previous waste levy in 2011 incorporated a cumbersome and time consuming method of
  calculating existing stockpiles of recyclable materials pre and post introduction of the levy.
  Council requests that recyclable stockpiles held at landfill sites be removed from any
  calculations related to the waste levy and it apply exclusively to waste disposed to landfill.
  Material used for day covering waste and final capping
  Disposal facilities use a range of material for the covering waste disposed to landfill. This
  includes:
  e     Clean inert soil for day cover
  e     Ground timber waste and occasionally green waste for erosion control on batters and
        sloping surfaces
  e     Final capping of cells with clay and clean soil to promote vegetation or provision of turf.
  The government needs to clearly articulate that these products are exempt from the levy as
  they are not waste but protective environmental initiatives to ensure efficient operation of the
  disposal facility. Imposition of the levy to any of these materials will result in minimising the
  amount of these material used with resultant degradation in landfilling operation.

                                                                                     Page 45 of 65