What do you think of what Bega Council does with your rubbish and recycling? Photo: Bega Valley Shire Council.
A South Coast council is asking people what they think of a new plan to deal with their waste.
Bega Valley Shire Council (BVSC) has released a draft version of its Waste Strategy 2025-2035: Resources Not Waste after deciding to review and update its Recycling the Future Waste and Resource Recovery Strategy 2018-2028.
The council’s waste strategy coordinator Tim Cook said a review of the existing strategy had been underway for several months.
“Its development has been guided by an extensive community engagement process designed to ensure the strategy reflects community needs and expectations,” he said.
“We arrived at this milestone through listening to our community, starting with the formation of a community working group to shape the strategy’s core themes and actions.
“The group came together over 12 months of workshops, helping shape engagement materials, review feedback and refine the vision and strategic priorities.”
In early 2024, the council conducted a Waste Service Review and Customer Satisfaction Survey, which included a ”Have Your Say” campaign and council staff attending eight community events, resulting in more than 450 responses.
“The insights gained from these activities were pivotal in shaping the draft strategy,” Mr Cook said.
“This next step in the process is crucial – we need to hear from as many people as possible to ensure the final strategy meets the needs of our community and environment.”
The council says the draft plan came after several rounds of community consultation. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
In the draft strategy, there are five strategic themes, which include cutting waste generation in Bega Valley Shire, reducing environmental harm from waste management processes and minimising illegal dumping.
Also, it proposes 18 strategic actions for dealing with residents’ rubbish and recycling.
“These themes and actions will collectively improve council’s waste and recycling services to minimise waste generation, make resource recovery easier and improve customer experience when interacting with our services,” the draft strategy says.
“Importantly this includes education, advocacy and partnering with the community and businesses.”
Mr Cook said the draft strategy would sit alongside the council’s other climate policies.
“The draft strategy emphasises sustainability, resource recovery and partnerships to meet both council and state targets, especially milestones for 2030,” he said.
“It aligns closely with council’s broader climate resilience and environmental plans, with a commitment to future community engagement as individual actions progress.”
Once the comment period finishes, BVSC will review the feedback before the strategy returns to the council for determination later in 2025.
The Waste Strategy is open for comment until 11:59 pm on 28 February.
Feedback can be emailed to [email protected] (with ”Waste Strategy” in the subject line) or by completing an online form. Also, people can post written feedback to Chief Executive Officer, Bega Valley Shire Council, PO Box 492, Bega NSW 2550.
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