PENRITH PLANS PRUDENTLY

from Waste Management Review June 2019

CLEANING UP A LEGACY STOCKPILE

PENRITH CITY COUNCIL’S JOSHUA ROMEO TELLS WASTEMANAGEMENTREVIEW ABOUT COUNCIL’S ACHIEVEMENTS IN PLANNING FOR HIGH DENSITY DEVELOPMENT.

Q. How does sustainability guide the council’s waste programs? A. Penrith City Council is committed to sustainability through policy and practice. Sustainability is about integrating environmental, social and economic sustainability considerations into our policy, planning, decision making and operational processes and balancing short-term priorities with longer termneeds.

The Waste and Resource Recovery Strategy (WARR) takes a broad understanding of the concept and outlines our plan for action into the future. The strategy identifies key activities that will be taken by council to implement within the liveability of the city, including leadership, business innovation, resource efficiency andsupport improved practice.

Q. What are the key elements to a successful relationship between waste managers and developers? A. Consistency of service across Penrith local government area promotes equity and increases critical mass for sustainability. Penrith believes that communication, timing, consistency and flexibility are important elements to building rapport, and as such a successful relationship between waste managers, developers and other interested parties.

One of our recent examples is a Waste Planning Officer within the waste management team which has allowed for development responsive

to planning, urban design and waste collection objectives. This is observed through higher density dwellings required to accommodate onsite waste collection. It allows the removal of kerbside bin presentati on, facilitating activated street frontages and increased amenity outcomes within urban densification.

Q. Which bin system do you use and why? A. Penrith is now entering its 10th year under the three-bin food organics, garden organics (FOGO) system, which continues council’s commitment to sustainability.

Council is committed to actively supporting the community to reduce waste sent to landfill. Penrith believes the three-bin FOGO system is one of the best ways council and the community can achieve these goals. As a further demonstration of this, council broadened its most recent waste and resource recovery tender process to include all council managed waste allowing for consistent management, processing and disposal across all managed waste streams.

Council has recently undertaken independent audits of bins and community consultation as part of the review of the WARR Strategy. This research supported expansion of the three-bin FOGO service into rural

properties. Small focus groups included representation from some harder-toreach demographics including those residents from the rural areas and younger residents.

Audits were also undertaken of council-managed waste from public spaces and council-owned properties. The new contracts provide opportunities for the integration of all collection services. This allows for efficient servicing of public space bins, council property bins and commercial properties, maximising opportunities for source separation and resource recovery.

Council’s ‘best fit’ approach to the provision of waste and resource recovery services integrated with the outcomes of improved waste planning has seen a two-stream onsite collection service provided to multiunit dwellings and residential flat buildings. This allows for the provision of a uniform service with heightened amenity outcomes, removing the need for kerbside bin presentation in high density areas.

Q. What is council most proud of when it comes to its achievements in waste management? A. Council is committed to the implementation of sustainability projects and waste and resource recovery objectives to achieve environmentally sustainable outcomes.

An example is the flexibility of bin service options available following resident consultation. Opportunities have been identified and implemented including increasing sustainable waste management options, improving bin capacity where relevant, as well as integrating public space and civic services with newly introduced commercial waste and resource recovery services.

Council is proud of the way Penrith residents have been early adopters of sustainable practices through sorting behaviours at the household level. This is aligned with the recent tender with Australian Native Landscapes further facilitating the ‘closing the loop’ objectives for sustainability and 75 per cent diversion from landfill.

Council’s value of innovation has been reflected through its recent response to the Western Sydney District Plan. Through close collaboration with industry consultants, developer forums and council’s collections contractors, council has implemented an Australianfirst fleet solution to address collection within higher density developments.