Synthetic turf for reserve

Synthetic turf for reserve

At its March monthly meeting, the Melville City Council endorsed $1.2 million in capital expenditure to contribute to the cost of installing synthetic turf at the Len Shearer Reserve in Booragoon.

The City has also been successful in securing a $1 million Department of Sport and Recreation grant for the turf.

Melville City Council Mayor Russell Aubrey said, "Council’s sign-off on this expenditure welcomes an exciting new phase for the sports clubs that use Len Shearer.

"Synthetic turf will allow for an increase in multi-purpose sports activity on the Reserve.

"In recent times, the City has restricted use of the Reserve due to unusually hot and dry weather and strict watering allocations.

"The synthetic turf will result in an overall reduction in the water required to maintain Len Shearer Reserve reducing the likelihood of having to close the Reserve due to water shortages."

SunSmart tool provides defence against skin cancer

SunSmart has launched a new online planning tool, ‘Creating effective shade’ to assist community groups and councils to ensure adequate quality shade is provided in parks, playgrounds and public open spaces.

Overexposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation is known to be a major cause of skin cancer. Australia receives some of the highest levels of UV radiation in the world and as a result, two in three Australians will develop some form of skin cancer before the age of 70.

In this environment, the role of shade as a defence against the adverse effects of radiation and heat is essential. Shade alone as a sun protection measure can reduce overall exposure to UV by up to 75 percent and there is strong evidence that if shade is made available people will use it.

The tool allows councils to assess whether the existing shade at your site is adequate and also develop a list of practical recommendations to improve both built and natural shade options.

For further information visit the SunSmart website www.sunsmart.com.au/workplaces_and_local_government

Meeting the infrastructure asset management challenge*

Growing importance is being placed on the long-term lifecycle costs associated with the operation, maintenance and renewal of physical assets. This has created the need for skills in the management of infrastructure networks such as roads, water supply, drainage and sewerage.

State governments have legislation requiring local authorities to create and implement asset management plans for the physical infrastructure under their control. Which has also added to the demand for specialists with Infrastructure Asset Management qualifications.

Recognising the need, the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australia (IPWEA) and the Centre for Pavement Engineering Education (CPEE), jointly developed a program for engineering and science graduates employed in local government and public works authorities in the emerging discipline of Infrastructure Asset Management.

It is no wonder that the demand and popularity of the industry specific four unit Graduate Certificate & eight unit Graduate Diploma in Infrastructure Asset Management, through the University of Tasmania, has been on the increase.

The courses, which are very practical, encourage direct application of the skills and knowledge acquired. The application of learnings to problems in the workplace is facilitated by the distance education format, which does not require attendance at a university or attend face-to-face lectures.

Applicants for the course should hold a Bachelor degree in Engineering or Science (in an appropriate discipline) or an equivalent qualification. An applicant holding a three year Bachelor degree will be required to have had at least three years relevant work experience.

To receive further information, email info@pavementeducation.edu.au or visit www.pavementeducation.edu.au

*Copy supplied by CPEE

New green building initiative

An innovative green-building initiative, announced today by Parramatta City Council, is set to create the next generation of modern, efficient and sustainable buildings.

Parramatta City Council is one of only two councils in NSW to establish Environmental Upgrade Agreements (EUAs), a financing model that aims to make it easier for building owners to implement upgrades to their properties.

An EUA is an agreement between a building owner, financier and local council to finance building upgrades to existing non-residential buildings. It offers a number of advantages to traditional commercial arrangements, including removing the need for upfront capital, improved loan rates and making repayments through cost savings.

Lord Mayor of Parramatta, Cr Lorraine Wearne, said Parramatta has one of the lowest A-grade office vacancy rates in the country and building stocks need to be improved.

"A significant number of buildings in and around Parramatta were built over 20 years ago, which should make EUAs attractive for many local building owners," she said.

"Research shows that building owners can reduce their vacancy and outgoings, whilst improving yields and higher tenant retention, by undertaking environmental building upgrades.

"These upgrades make properties more cost efficient and attractive to tenants and potential buyers who want modern, efficient and sustainable buildings. Many upgrades can be easily implemented and achieve a strong return on investment within one to three years."

Cr Wearne said EUAs can also deliver commercial and environmental benefits for the entire community.

EUAs in Parramatta’s CBD alone can potentially attract $150 million of investment in building upgrades; create148 full-time jobs; and reduce building owners’ outgoing costs by $26 million through water and electricity savings.

"Parramatta is home to the sixth biggest CBD in the country, with an economy generating more than $14b annually. It is important that we continue to look at ways to attract employment and investment in our City," she said.

To find out more about the Environmental Upgrade Agreement and the Clean Technology Investment Program, contact Matthew Fisher on 9806 5755 or visit www.parracity.nsw.gov.au

Council builds housing for local doctors

Construction has started on seven new houses for local doctors in Port Hedland, Western Australia, as stage one of the GP Housing Project.

The project is a partnership between Port Hedland Town Council, BHP Billiton Iron Ore and Royalties for Regions.

The initiative aims to attract and retain GP’s to meet the community’s increasing need for essential services.

Council is investing $2.25 million into the development of the project and stage one.

Mayor Kelly Howlett said: "As our population continues to grow, the need for essential services such as health will also increase.

"Like other professions and industries, the health sector struggles to bring staff to Port Hedland mainly due to a lack of housing and accommodation."

"This project will assist in retaining GP’s and help them to relocate their families to Port Hedland and make this town their home." she said

The GP Housing Project was the result of a business case commissioned by BHP Billiton Iron Ore in 2009.

The company’s Manager, Community Port and Rail Peta Greening, said, "We identified the need for dedicated GP housing through our social impact assessments, community surveys and social baseline studies.

"We have worked closely with the Town of Port Hedland and State Government to ensure the success of this important project."

Stage One of the GP Housing Project is expected to be completed by late-2012.

Building approvals delayed

Proper Council decision making could be endangered by Queensland Labor’s bid to force councils to wait for development assessment panels to give the green light for major building approvals according to Local Government Association of Queensland chief executive Greg Hallam

Mr Hallam said that far from giving more power to the people, the move would give faceless, unelected officials unprecedented influence over the future development of communities.

He said Ms Bligh had tried to hoodwink voters into believing there was something underhand with the way councils dealt with major developments.

"The truth is that council development approvals are decided openly by democratically elected people after often lengthy public debate.

"The recommendations of council planning officers are publicly available and if councils do not agree with those recommendations they have to state the reasons.

"I’d like to see that level of accountability at the State Government level.”

Mr Hallam said if Ms Bligh and Labor were so concerned that the public’s right to decide the future of their community was being eroded she should have independent panels running the ruler over some of the planning decisions made by her own Cabinet.

"In fact, I call on Ms Bligh to publicly release all of the departmental briefing papers regarding Cabinet decisions on planning matters over the past three years.

"I’m sure the community would want to know more about what went into the Government decision to quietly allow thousands of coal seam gas wells to dot Queensland’s landscape.

"And what was really behind Cabinet’s move to run roughshod over the concerns of the Sunshine Coast community and put planning powers for property giant Stockland’s massive Caloundra South project into the hands of the unelected and unaccountable Urban Land Development Authority?

"This move is nothing but a duplicitous grab for votes that will jam up the building approval process and end up taking away the rights Ms Bligh says she wants to protect.”

Mr Hallam said the Crime and Misconduct Commission had spent millions of dollars in 2005 investigating development decisions by the Gold Coast City Council and found no irregularities.

"LGAQ has supported every integrity reform in Queensland for the past decade but this one is ridiculous," he said.

Council goes slow on the H2O at Yarra Bay

The grass really will be greener at Yarra Bay soon, with Randwick City Council installing a water tank at Yarra Bay Bicentennial Park and Oval to capture and reuse stormwater.

The stormwater harvesting system, an $800,000 project with half the cost being met by the NSW Office of Water, will provide a consistent supply of water to help irrigate Yarra Bay, and will save up to $50,000 and 27 mega litres of tap water every year.

Randwick Mayor Councillor Scott Nash described the project as a great example of Council showing leadership and commitment to reducing energy and water use.

"Council is proud to be at the forefront of innovations in environmental initiatives. This new irrigation system will deliver financial and environmental savings. It makes sense for the planet, and for our ratepayers too. We expect the project will be complete by mid 2012."

For any enquiries about the Yarra Bay Bicentennial Park stormwater harvesting system, please call 1300 722 524.

Liverpool City Council tops household recycling in Sydney

Liverpool City Council has been identified as the top performing Sydney metropolitan council for its recycling efforts in the NSW Local Government annual performance report.

The report details the 2010–11 performance of local government kerbside and drop-off waste, recycling and resource recovery services and Liverpool City Council is on the top, with a recovery rate of 70.5 percent.

Liverpool City Council has surpassed the state-wide target of 66 per cent set by the Office of Environment and Heritage, four years prior to the deadline of 2014.

The data, self-reported by councils, covers collections of ‘dry recyclables’, such as bottles, paper, plastics and cardboard, food and garden organics, kerbside clean up waste and residual waste to landfill.

Liverpool City Mayor, Wendy Waller said, "This is a positive outcome for Council, following a number of new initiatives implemented by Council in 2009.

"Some of these initiatives include the commencement of the three bin system; the introduction of recycling service to multi-unit dwellings and a dedicated green waste bin to single unit dwellings.

"Council also contracted the services of the SITA Advanced Waste Treatment processing facility, to sort garbage and recycle or compost materials which would have gone straight to landfill," she said

"Council has an ongoing education campaign and our residents are to be commended.

"Council’s Waste Management Strategy aims to reinforce the message that waste items can be valuable resources and can be recovered and made into new and other materials.

"Well done to the residents of Liverpool City for doing their part in resource recovery and helping divert the amount of waste sent to landfill," Mayor Waller said.

In 2010/11 Liverpool Council residents generated approximately 73,500 tonnes of domestic waste and diverted approximately 53,800 tonnes of this waste from being sent to landfill.

For more information on Council’s waste collection service visit Council’s website: www.liverpool.nsw.gov.au.

Sydney goes green for conference

The City of Sydney installed fresh green grass, tables, chairs and a giant screen in Sussex Lane to create Pop Sydney – a unique green experience in the heart of the city.

Pop Sydney was part of the national Green Cities conference, held in Sydney in March and attended by more than 2,000 of the world’s top green building professionals.

The City of Sydney was a major sponsor of the Green Cities conference,.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore MP said people were able stretch out on the grass, play lawn bowls and escape the office for some afternoon sun in the open air.

More than 450 people attended two fully booked Pop Sydney night time events in the laneway where bloggers, architects and Sydneysiders discussed their support for a greener city and a networking event that connected residents with green experts.

Grass from the laneway will be re-used in the city’s parks or, if it’s not suitable for replanting, will be composted into a high-quality soil mix for use in city parks and gardens.

Council takes over landfill

Alice Springs Town Council will take over the full functions of town’s landfill to run as a business unit of Council’s operations as of 1 July 2012.

The council has contracted out the function in the past and found contractors had difficulty in meeting the Council’s target of 50 percent landfill reduction by 2030.

"We are purchasing new equipment and employing new staff for the landfill operations." said Mayor Damien Ryan.

Following this, the landfill site will undergo major upgrades to redevelop the site into a regional waste management facility.

"This is in line with Council’s current waste management strategy," said Mayor Ryan.

The Council have demonstrated their commitment to achieving the target by initiation of a "cash for containers’ scheme which, in two years, saw 16,794,249 cans and bottles recycled. The aluminium was re-sold and the glass containers were crushed and replace 40 percent of sand in the creation of footpaths in Alice Springs.

In December 2011, 20 ton of wooden pallets were broken up to be recycled in other areas.

Alice Springs’ remoteness from the major trading centres means that most goods arrive on pallets that, until recently, were destined to become land fill

While the Council are justifiably proud of the results so far, they are aware that they need to recycle more.

Alice Springs Town Council acknowledge the contribution from the Australian Government’s Regional Development Australia Fund of $3.5million and a further $775 000 from the Northern Territory Government Minister for Local Government towards the regional waste management facility.

Manager of Council’s Ranger Unit, Kevin Everett, said council wants to raise residents’ awareness of the real cost of dumping rubbish.

"Unfortunately there has been a recent spike in rubbish dumping which is not only breaking a by-law but has a massive impact on our local environment."

The fine for those caught dumping can exceed $685 (up to $68,500 for companies), which pales in comparison to the $3 fee for a load of domestic general waste.

Council has established recycling bays at the landfill in an effort to encourage more recycling, while disposal of domestic green waste is free. Council is also encouraging residents to dob-in-a-dumper.

Innovative design and sustainability*

An innovative Australian company is changing the face of our parks, streetscapes and other public places.

Furphy’s Foundry manufactures a wide range of 100% recycled cast aluminium, mild steel and stainless steel fabricated products, combined with select grade hardwood timber sourced from sustainable plantations providing new and contemporary designs.

Furphy’s Foundry product range is manufactured in Australia and includes seats, benches, tables, tree guards, bollards, drinking fountains, litter and recycling receptacles, shelters, balustrades, fencing and the BETA Site pre fabricated toilet units.

Their ability to continue as a leader in this market is underpinned by a new strategic direction focusing heavily on design innovation, sustainable products, enhanced customer service, high quality products and competitive pricing. Furphy’s Foundry is commited to manufacturing quality products.

Please contact us with your Urban Design and Street Furniture Requirements at www.furphyfoundry.com.au

*Copy provided by Furphy Foundry

What travels down the drain does matter

Campbelltown City Council has launched a project to educate residents on the importance of reducing the impact of stormwater pollution on local waterways.

The drain stencilling project involves the marking of stormwater drain lids with environmental messages, to serve as a visible reminder to residents of the need to change these behaviours to help reduce pollutants entering our drainage systems.

The project is being introduced in Glen Alpine, where it is partly funded by the NSW Environmental Trust, and will be progressively rolled out throughout the Campbelltown Local Government Area (LGA).

Mayor of Campbelltown, Cr Anoulack Chanthivong, said drain stencilling was an innovative way of educating residents on being mindful of their actions and the impact on the environment.

"Simple, everyday actions, that are often taken for granted, such as washing the car on the road or driveway, littering, sweeping or hosing lawn mowing clippings into gutters and not cleaning up after your pets, can directly affect the health of our waterways," he said.

"The drain stencilling project is designed to serve as a visible reminder to residents of the need to change these behaviours to help reduce pollutants entering our drainage systems.

"The drain is just for rain, and healthy waterways are one way we can help protect the survival of freshwater and marine aquatic life," Cr Chanthivong said.

The broader implementation of the project across the Campbelltown LGA will involve a competition in partnership with local primary schools to determine other appropriate designs for the drain stencils, and Campbelltown City Council will nominate pollution hot-spots to be targeted for stencilling.

It is envisaged that up to 1000 drains across the LGA will be stencilled as part of the project.

The stencilling project will also be complemented by a wider education campaign on the impacts of stormwater pollution.

For more information, contact Council’s Environmental Planning section on (02) 4645 4847 or visit www.campbelltown.nsw.gov.au.

Unley embraces ecobums

Australia sends 2.1 billion disposable nappies to landfill a year. At around 150 years to break down, this creates a significant ecological problem.

As part of an ongoing city-wide waste management program, the City of Unley is consciously trying to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill by offering a subsidised program to encourage parents to use cloth nappies via a Cloth Nappy Library.

Cloth nappies have come a long way since the old toweling squares. Modern versions are much more absorbent, less bulky and easier to wash – plus they are just as easy to use as disposables and they look great.

The Cloth Nappy Library gives users the opportunity to try out different types, sizes and brands of modern cloth nappies for two weeks, to enable them to find the perfect nappy system to suit their needs.

Practical qualifications in road engineering

Many may not appreciate that Australia relies more on road transport than any other nation in the world, on a per capita basis, and is challenged on critical fronts like few others, given its size, its climatic and geological diversity, and a low population base (but high road length km/head).

For most developed countries more and more use of allocated funds for roads will be spent on the maintenance of the road, as distinct from their construction. Limiting the deterioration rate of the road pavement is therefore an essential goal as typically pavement maintenance is the largest single component of a road agency’s recurring costs.

The challenge however comes also at the start when proper design is undertaken, then ensuring proper construction to provide optimum performance thereafter. Then follows the development of optimum maintenance strategies, understanding maintenance and rehabilitation requirements, and the implementation of the most appropriate strategies thereafter.

Why has this great significance for you? Well, future improved performance is being threatened by the continuing loss of experienced road and pavement engineers, and supervisors, resulting in the evaluation of pavements and the selection of the most appropriate maintenance and rehabilitation being undertaken by less experienced and knowledgeable persons. Today’s roads and pavement engineers and supervisors however need to be more skilled and knowledgeable, and this is a priority issue in Australia.

The Centre for Pavement Engineering Education (CPEE) is accepting applications for its roads and pavement engineering postgraduate programs including the Graduate Certificate of Pavement Technology and Master of Technology in Pavements in 2012.

The application of learnings to problems in the workplace is facilitated by the distance education format which does not require attendance at a university or attend face-to-face lectures.

To receive further information, email info@pavementeducation.edu.au or visit www.pavementeducation.edu.au

*Copy supplied by CPEE

Ambassadors Tours: a life changing experience

The highly successful Ambassadors Tours programme devised and run by Coffs Harbour City Council has proved to be a life-changing experience for both the volunteer tour guides and participants, in the two years since it began.

Surveys of 200 of the more than 800 people, who have experienced one of the free walks or rides, reveal that nearly 70% have made one or more changes to their daily lives, inspired by knowledge of Coffs Harbour’s natural world gained from the tours. In addition, a number of tour guides have found new jobs or career paths as a result.

"I’ve been an enthusiastic advocate of the Ambassadors Tours programme from the very beginning and am very pleased to see that it has more than fulfilled its early promise," said Coffs Harbour Mayor, Councillor Keith Rhoades.

"Like many of the very best ideas, this was a simple initiative – enthusiastic and knowledgeable locals sharing their love of a special area with visitors and fellow residents on a free walk or ride. At the same time, the guides also help educate the participants on the ways we can all contribute to the health of our local environment."

‘Coffs Ambassadors’ tour guides receive comprehensive training and mentoring in interpretive tour guiding and Aboriginal cultural awareness by National Parks and Wildlife Service ‘Discovery’ Rangers and Council staff. Initial funding came from the NSW Environmental Trust, but the programme is now supported through Council’s Environmental Levy.

Ten different tours are offered across the Local Government Area (LGA) opening up a diverse range of landscapes including rainforests, estuaries, headlands, beaches and eucalypt bushland. All are free.

Tours are advertised through Council’s ‘What’s On’ e-newsletters to local residents, media releases, newspaper articles and posters distributed at community venues and tourist accommodation.

Of the tour participants surveyed, 69 percent reported that they have made changes to the way they behave as a result of learning more about the local environment.

Changes include fishing in the right zone of the Solitary Islands Marine Park, keeping cats inside at night, ensuring dogs are on leads and safely fenced, retaining native trees and shrubs on private property, preventing chemicals and rubbish going into stormwater drains, picking up rubbish, joining a Landcare group, removing weeds from gardens and disposing of garden waste is green bins.

More than 90 percent rated the tours as ‘excellent’ or ‘very good’.

2012 Workplace Safety Guide

Fulfilling their duty to provide industries across Australia with updated health and safety information each year, Pro-Visual Publishing has just released the 2012 edition of the National Guide to Public Works and Services Safety, with the intent on reducing workplace accidents and injury to those involved in the Local Government and Public Works sector.

The guide contains vastly detailed information supported by the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australia and is distributed at no cost to thousands of members of the Local Government and Public services sector across Australia.

A major focus of the guide is on the harmonisation of the Modern Work Health and Safety Act, containing information on the aims of compliance and enforcement, along with a detailed list of information for regulators on injunctions, infringement notices and prosecutions, in the event of an alleged breach of safety acts.

Other prominent topics included in the guide such as risk management in the workplace, first aid, health and safety duties of workers and traffic management plans are directed towards principal employers and contractors.

"Maintaining a constant awareness of work health and safety laws is vital for employers and employees alike in the public works and services sectors. I would like to thank all of the sponsors for their support of the 2012 National Guide to Public Works and Services Safety, who have made it possible for it to be distributed free of charge to the industry," said John Hutchings, CEO, Pro- Visual Publishing.

Recipients of the Guide are also provided with the opportunity to enter a competition in which the best entry wins a $5000 dollar holiday voucher

Pro-Visual Publishing is the leading specialist in wall-mounted workplace health & safety, food safety & hygiene and health and wellbeing information resource charts. Each chart is practical and informative, providing a quick reference point for management and staff and are designed to inform, motivate, educate and above all keep people and their workplaces safe!

For further information, or to obtain additional copies of the Chart, please call (02) 8272 2611, email marketing@provisual.com.au or see www.provisual.com.au

Water quality mission in Kenya

A team of Tweed volunteers has returned from Kenya after completing a successful seven-week mission to improve health, education and water quality in an impoverished village.

Council’s Senior Construction Engineer Nigel Dobson joined the group as part of the Tweed Kenya Mentoring Program, to coordinate the construction of a dam which will provide clean water to more than 6000 people.

He said the dam project near the village of Obambo Kadenge was even more successful than originally planned.

"We were fortunate with the fall of the land and had a very good local contractor, which meant we ended up with a dam with a capacity of about 20 million litres ,almost double what we were expecting," Mr Dobson said.

"This will be the main domestic water supply for people within a 6km radius and replaces a dam which was almost entirely silted over.

"The dam will also allow villagers to make use of SkyJuice SkyStation water treatment units which were installed on a previous visit."

Mr Dobson is the fourth Council employee to visit Kenya as a volunteer with the Tweed Kenya Mentoring Program, a Council initiative to deliver water saving projects.

It uses the Tweed’s human, technical and financial resources to support an environmental education and safe water program in the informal settlements surrounding Nairobi and in poverty stricken rural areas.

Mr Dobson was joined by 12 volunteers, many of them Tweed residents, from the Kenya Health program, including his wife Tiffany Dobson and mother Helen Dobson.

The Kenya Health team held free clinics and visited schools and orphanages to teach about basic health and sanitation.

New playground for Wyee Point


Local Federal Member, Greg Combet joins Lake Macquarie City Council Mayor, Greg Piper to celebrate the opening of the upgraded Wyee Point Reserve surrounded by enthusiastic locals.

New high quality recreational facilities at Wyee Point were officially opened on Saturday 10 March.

The facilities include a children’s play area, BBQs, tables and shelters, carparking, an amenities building, a kick-about field, a walking track, and an informal recreation area.

Mayor of Lake Macquarie, Cr Greg Piper MP, said the people of Wyee Point have been rightly arguing for years that their growing community was overdue for new and upgraded recreational facilities.

"A lot of people provided valuable input to bring this project to fruition," Cr Piper said. "Thanks to the efforts of local residents and Council staff, we now have facilities that will serve the Wyee Point community for years to come."

The Wyee Point Reserve project was funded by the Federal Government’s Regional and Local Community Infrastructure Program $900,000, section 94 funds $1.3 million, and Delta Electricity $25,000.

MAV: State focus on waste and recycling welcomed

The Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) has welcomed the Victorian Government’s decision to focus Sustainability Victoria’s work on waste, recycling and energy efficiency programs.

Cr Bill McArthur, MAV President said that councils had sought a stronger emphasis on waste management and resource recovery, which are critical to Victoria’s future environmental sustainability.

"As well as being a core function for local government under State laws, waste management and recycling are the single largest line item in council budgets.

"It’s critical that Sustainability Victoria’s programs, resources and expertise align with the practical roles fulfilled by councils to divert waste from landfill, avoid further greenhouse gas generation, and boost economic activity through new recycling and resource recovery initiatives.

"Managing landfills is costly and provides a vital service to the community. However building new landfills and rehabilitating closed sites is complex and can require millions of extra dollars from ratepayers, who already pay landfill levies through their council waste charges or rates.

"State landfill levies raise more than $130 million annually, but historically only a small portion has been reinvested to support local waste management and the development of innovative solutions.

"We look forward to Sustainability Victoria engaging with the MAV and local government on how to best support councils to meet landfill management obligations and progress resource recovery programs.

"The Victorian Government has made a significant step towards resolving this long-standing issue," he said.

The landfill levy is a State charge on solid waste. Councils pay the levy on municipal waste, with the costs passed to ratepayers through garbage charges for kerbside collections, gate fees at landfills and transfer stations, or rates.

A State increase in the levy commenced in 2010, and over four years from 2011 councils will collect an estimated $160 million in landfill levies from ratepayers, to be paid into the Government’s Sustainability Fund.

The MAV recently received confirmation from the Premier and Minister Ryan Smith that the Sustainability Fund will, as its first priority, support waste reduction and innovations in recycling and resource recovery.

Cr McArthur said local government was already investing heavily to reduce long-term costs, environmental impacts and the significant greenhouse gas emissions generated by landfills.

"This shift in Sustainability Fund priorities to focus on resource efficiency and waste reduction will further assist councils, particularly given their increasing costs to meet higher Environment Protection Authority landfill standards.

"We commend the re-investment of landfill levies to help reduce waste going to landfill and save our valuable resources, such as through green organics recycling programs."