THE City of Greater Bendigo is seeking feedback from the public on waste and recovery, as the council transitions to a "circular economy".
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Presentation and assets director Brian Westley said the council is committed to transitioning to a circular economy in-line with the state government's Recycling Victoria policy.
"A transition to the circular economy means changing how we as individuals, businesses, local government and society think about the materials and products we buy, use and consume and eventually throw away," he said.
"It's about moving away from taking resources out of the ground, making them into products for use and then discarding them into landfill or low-value recycling."
Mr Westley said the council was asking for community input via an online survey.
The survey allows residents to share any challenges they faced, and to describe the work they are already doing to reduce waste.
"The city is already using old tyres, plastics and glass in road and footpath and other projects which is a great way to recycle these resources," he said.
"In addition, there are companies doing brilliant things like turning recycled plastics into things like outdoor furniture.
"We know the community has great ideas and we want to find out what they think as the results of the survey will help the city to develop the actions needed to support the community to reduce waste and manage resources in the future."
Mr Westley said it was "well documented" that the Eaglehawk Landfill would reach its capacity in the next couple of years.
He said the city was working towards how the site will operate in the future perhaps as a transfer/sorting station.
Bendigo's council is already carting up to 30,000 tonnes of rubbish a year to a landfill in the state's north to try and extend the life of the Eaglehawk tip.
Last year, the Bendigo Advertiser revealed the council was close to opening a tender process for the works.
"The closure of the landfill will have an impact and the city is proactively taking steps to manage this important challenge by introducing additional recycling bins in public spaces and expanding our organics collections to assist local residents and businesses to send less waste to landfill," Mr Westley said.
"We are also developing a circular economy and zero waste policy which will detail the city's intent for a circular economy and zero waste within the region, guide future activities and measure progress towards our goals.
Mr Westley said through this work the council would be engaging with its residents, community groups, service providers, businesses and other key stakeholders affected by the closure.
He said the council received over 40 expressions of interest from service providers keen to develop circular economy solutions for a post-landfill region.
"This is about looking at waste as a resource and how this resource can be used in the future," he said,
Community members are encouraged to take a few minutes to complete the survey, which is open until Friday April 30, 2021 and can be found here.
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