A key aim of a new waste strategy is to reduce resources going to landfill.
7 June 2024
Bega Valley Shire Council has thanked the community for its valuable response to a survey designed to shape a new Waste Services Strategy draft.
"With 452 residents participating, the survey provided critical insights into how people use and rate waste services in the shire," Council's Waste Strategy Coordinator, Tim Cook said.
"This is a great step towards drafting an informed strategy and we are very grateful for this engaged response.
"From the outset our focus was to get a widespread and well-thought response to the survey that covered as much of the shire as possible, including towns, villages and rural localities.
"The team used a range of mediums to reach as many people as possible, including online platforms, local media and face-to-face interactions at community events.
Mr Cook said the survey revealed overall satisfaction with Council's waste services, with many respondents acknowledging the fair value for money these services provide.
Key community requests included:
- more waste education initiatives
- improved access to Waste and Recycling Centres through extended opening hours
- increased opportunities to divert resources from landfill
- stronger action against illegal dumping and littering
- a proactive approach to reducing contamination of household bins.
"With more than 3,200 comments provided in the surveys received, we are committed to a thorough analysis of the feedback to inform the drafting of the new strategy," Mr Cook said.
"We have compiled a listening report to highlight results and trends found so far and we will continue to analyse data throughout the drafting process.
"The next steps involve workshopping the survey results with the executive management team and Councillors to identify achievable strategic themes and projects going forward.
"These will be reviewed by the Waste Strategy Community Working Group for further input before drafting the strategy.
"Once the draft strategy is ready, Councillors will consider placing it on public exhibition, inviting further community feedback.
"Subsequent amendments and adjustments will be made based on this feedback before final determination by Councillors."
For more information about the project, please visit the Waste Services Strategy webpage on the Council's website.
