COUNCIL IN FOCUS
Taking responsibility SIX YEARS AGO, THE CITY OF HOBART SET AN AMBITIOUS GOAL OF ZERO WASTE TO LANDFILL BY 2030. LORD MAYOR ANNA REYNOLDS SHARES HOW THE COUNCIL IS EMPOWERING THE COMMUNITY TO MAKE POSITIVE CHANGE TO REACH ITS TARGET.
60 / WMR / November 2021
(Picture: City of Hobart)
L
ord Mayor Anna Reynolds is “very much” looking forward to the day the council can permanently decommission and rehabilitate the landfill facility nestled in bushland at the foot of kunanyi/Mount Wellington. She says the council’s ambitious goal of zero waste to landfill by 2030 comes down to “the choices our residents make about their waste”. To help influence those choices the council is working to make low-waste options easier, cost-effective and more convenient, targeting the four top household waste streams – disposable nappies, food, plastic and textiles. One of the most recent initiatives is a rebate program to put cash back into the pockets of parents who switch to reusable nappies. “Disposable nappies were invented for convenience and most of us have become used to the ‘throw it away’ lifestyle over the years,” Anna says. “We know the ‘ick’ factor is also of concern, but becoming a more sustainable community means a return to taking responsibility for our own waste and understanding the impacts our choices have. “Even though the long-term cost of disposable nappies is greater than that for cloth, many parents are deterred by the upfront cost of reusable nappies. By offering a cashback program, it can help make that initial cost a little less daunting – and the risk of trying something new a little more acceptable.”
McRobies Gully Waste Management Centre.
A child requires an average of 6000 disposable nappies from birth to toilet training. By comparison, it takes about 24 reusable cloth nappies to fulfil the same needs. Even substituting one nappy a day can divert more than 1000 individual nappies from landfill over a child’s life. The city offered 100 residents a 50 per cent rebate (up to $50) on the price of cloth nappies to help them make the switch from disposables. It also partnered with local business, Tiny Footprints, to run workshops for parents to bust the myths around hygiene, ease of use and the quality of the nappies. Hannah Leitch is a big advocate of cloth nappies. The mother of two began using cloth nappies following the birth of her son 20 months ago. She’s now also using them for her youngest, who is just 11 weeks old. She said the thought of all the waste created by nappies going to landfill
was enough encouragement for her to “give it a go”. “I started right from newborn and, in all honesty, I find them quite easy,” Hannah says. “They’re so much better now than they used to be. If you follow the instructions, they should last right through to toilet training and can be used again.” Hannah says she’s noticed more people using cloth nappies. In fact, there’s social media groups dedicated to advising and supporting parents who choose to use cloth. “There’s a lot more consciousness of the environmental impact of using disposables, people are more aware,” she says. “Disposables were invented for convenience but there’s a cost to them. “I know a lot more people who are using them now, I’d like to think that more and more people are doing it.” Reducing environmental impacts isn’t the only benefit of people making
