Located 40 kilometres south of Melbourne, the City of Frankston has taken out the overall national Keep Australia Beautiful (KAB), Australian Sustainable Cities Award for 2008.
Held in Sydney in October, the KAB Awards recognise efforts by residents, community groups, businesses and government agencies to protect and enhance their local environment to ensure its long term sustainability at all levels.
The overall award recognises Frankston’s commitment and investment in a wide range of environmental sustainability initiatives and its support of local community projects.
In addition to winning the overall title, Council also won the national Resource Recovery Award and was highly commended in the Water Conservation and Community Partnership categories.
Australian Sustainable Cities Judge and Director of the CSIRO Sustainable Communities Initiative, Sean Rooney, said Frankston’s efforts deliver on all key principles behind the Sustainable Cities Awards.
“Frankston City Council has a long term vision when planning for a sustainable future,” he said. “Its ‘Frankston 2025’ project in particular is the driving force for social, environmental and economic sustainability. Following extensive community consultation, the project now guides Council’s activities and decisions.”
Sean Rooney said that from the Frankston 2025 project, Council has set targets and undertaken projects to reduce water usage by 45 per cent over the next ten years, while the diversion of waste from landfill is another key priority.
“A great example is the ‘If you don’t eat it, your garden
will – Halve Garbage Waste!’ program,” he said. “This program has significantly reduced organic matter going into the waste stream and weekly rubbish bin collections are now reduced to fortnightly for the 1,000 participating homes.”
Frankston resident, Leon Costermans, took out the Dame Phyllis Frost Award for his outstanding individual contribution to the environment and the community. Leon has been an effective champion of the natural environment of Frankston for over 20 years, initiating the Friends of Langwarrin Flora and Fauna Reserve in 1988 and volunteering his expertise to Council in helping to revitalise the George Pentland Botanical Garden since 1995.
Other Sustainable Cities awards recipients for 2008
include:
- Community Action – Magnetic Island Solar Suburb, Qld
- Heritage and Culture – Devonport City Council, Tas
- Environmental Innovation – City of Gosnells, WA
- Water Conservation – City of Salisbury, SA
- Energy Innovation – Alice Solar City, NT
- Litter Prevention – City of Sydney, NSW
- Community Partnership – TravelSmart Belconnen, ACT
- Protection of the Environment – City of Salisbury, SA
- Young Legends – Carrum Downs Secondary College,
Frankston, Vic - Dame Phyllis Frost Award: Winning Organisation – City of
Sydney, NSW
Full details for each entrant are available at www.kab.org.au/sustainablecities
