Central Coast Council waste management strategy: community input sought

How to deal with waste is one of the most costly and challenging issues facing Central Coast Council. It is considering a range of options that could impact everyone who puts their bins out.

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How should the Central Coast reduce its waste problem?

Collecting red bins less often, allowing food waste to go into the green bin and increasing rates and tipping fees are among possible measures Central Coast Council will consider in its war on waste.

Dealing with the mountains of waste generated on the Central Coast each year is one of the most costly and challenging issues facing the council.

Over the two financial years from 2016 to 2018 council paid almost $58 million in compulsory waste levies to the NSW Government and only a tiny fraction of that was returned to council to offset waste management costs.

Central Coast Council's excavator sorting through household kerbside collection waste at Buttonderry Waste Management Facility

The waste system is under increasing pressure. Landfill sites are rapidly filling up. Markets for recycled materials in Australia remain limited. China has stopped receiving Australian waste.

Coasties still recycle less than half of their total household waste.

Central Coast Council is now developing its first waste management strategy with a key aim of reducing the waste that goes to landfill.

Central Coast Council is seeking community feedback on a new Waste management Strategy.

Have your say

Council is also seeking public feedback through an online survey and a series of pop-up sessions which start on the Central Coast today:

■ Today (Thursday) Lake Haven Shopping Centre, 10am-2pm

■ Saturday (May 25) EDSAC Oval, Bateau Bay, 8am-2pm

■ Thursday (May 30) Deepwater Plaza, Woy Woy, 10am-12pm

■ Saturday (June 1) Umina Oval, 8am-2pm

Take council’s survey

Are you a good recycler? Take this quiz

Recycled materials used to resurface Boomerang Road at Long Jetty this week.

Council Director Roads Transport Drainage and Waste, Boris Bolgoff said there were a number of options available to process waste for other uses instead of sending it to landfill.

“There are a variety of methods for different waste streams that we can look at implementing into future practice to help reduce our waste,” Mr Bolgoff said.

“Solutions to help divert waste from landfill will be considered from many perspectives including cost, carbon emissions, community acceptance, contribution towards diversion of waste and local markets that can purchase recycled products,” he said.

“This is why it is critical the community have their say, as their responses will help us put together an action plan with recommendations of solutions to investigate.”

Mayor Jane Smith says council is committed to working with the community on waste management. (AAP Image/Sue Graham)

Mayor Jane Smith said Council was committed to working with the community to find innovative solutions to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill.

“Reducing waste to landfill is one of the key challenges we face as government and community on a global and local scale,” Mayor Smith said.

“We are already doing our bit by using recycled material in our road works, reducing single use plastics at events and installing renewable energy in our buildings, but there is always more we can do, particularly in our household domestic waste.

A Central Coast Council audit of household bins has revealed local waste habits.

What’s in your bin?

In 2018 Central Coast Council took a deep dive into the waste habits of Coaties when they conducted a waste audit. It showed that at least ten per cent of what was in the red bin should have been in the recycling bin. It also showed that at least 13 per cent of what was in the yellow bin was not actually recyclable resulting in the entire contents being sent to landfill.

Over in the green bin, Coasties were still contaminating the contents with stuff that did not belong there such as rocks, textiles, food waste and treated timber.