Tweed Shire Council’s ambitious plan to get to zero waste by 2040

Here’s how they plan to get there.

Stotts Island garbage tip entrance Photo: Scott Powick / Tweed Daily News TWE090511garbo

Imagine a future where no unnecessary waste goes into landfill.

The Tweed Shire Council believes it's possible by 2040 and have released an ambitious plan on how they'll get there.

The Towards Zero Waste policy was adopted in August 2020 with the objective to develop a framework towards zero waste for the shire.

According to the March 2021 report, tabled at the most recent council meeting, zero waste means "nothing is placed in landfill that doesn't need to be and all material are recycled or recovered".

The plan on how to get there is based on three parts ‒ lead by example and embed local circular economy, engage and educate households and businesses on resource value and maximise recovery of resources.

The plan relies on use of a "circular economy" where waste and resource use are minimised, the value of products and materials is maintained for as long as possible through good design, durability and repair and when a product has reached the end of its life, its parts are used again to create new products.

"The circular economy involves different business models like sharing schemes for tools, bikes and cars, leasing arrangements for electrical appliances, and repair opportunities for furniture," the report reads.

"If we keep manufacture and remanufacture as local as possible, we can provide local jobs and services."

 

The plan to reach the target includes developing a behaviour change strategy, increasing community knowledge of "circular economy" principles and reducing waste by 25 per cent by June 2030.

"We will focus on reviewing options for alternative ways of collecting and treating landfill bound waste to increase the quantity, quality and value of material recovered from that stream, including energy from waste," the report states.

"We will consider measures to increase the range of materials collected and reduce the levels of unwanted materials (contamination) in our segregated streams."

The plan also includes conducting a waste audits, setting conditions for businesses and controlling council generated waste.

The report outlines goals of diverting 70 per cent of waste from landfill by 2025 and 90 per cent by 2030.

The draft report is expected to be placed on public display for 28 days.

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