The average Ipswich household sends about 1 tonne of waste to landfill each year. More than 70 per cent of those materials could be diverted from landfill today.
Ipswich residents are being called on to have their say during November on ways for Ipswich to become more sustainable with its resources and reduce the amount of waste our community sends to landfill.
Growth, Infrastructure and Waste Committee chairperson Mayor Teresa Harding said we have to divert half of what the City of Ipswich sends to landfill by 2025 in order to meet ambitious targets.
“There are many challenges, but also many exciting opportunities for council and the community to work together and create real change in how we reduce Ipswich’s waste going to landfill,” she said.
For example, each year the amount of food sent to landfill by Ipswich households is equivalent to the weight of more than 100 Boeing C-17 Globemaster aircraft. This food could easily be diverted into composting – changing it from a waste into a resource.
Mayor Harding said council had a legal responsibility to plan for how we deal with waste generated in Ipswich, by the Ipswich community.
“Our current strategy was adopted in 2017, but so much has changed since then on an international, national and local scale. Both state and federal governments have set ambitious targets for recycling and reducing waste to landfill,” she said.
“At the same time we have a population set to double in 20 years, so how Ipswich deals with the waste we create in our own community is vital to having a liveable city now and into the future.”
In particular, council is seeking ideas and feedback on four key topics; food and organic waste, glass recycling, large item kerbside collection and council infrastructure.
This community input will be important for informing updates to the revised Materials Recovery Plan, which sets strategies for diverting Ipswich’s waste from landfill and increasing resource recovery.
Join the conversation on www.shapeyouripswich.com.au