Hi everyone, I just thought I would share with you the response I received from Cr Seema Abdullah with regard to my recent blog on rubbish dumping and hard rubbish collections and call for council to declare a climate emergency.
Feel free to add your comments at the bottom.
Thank you for your message and comments in relation to tip tickets, hard rubbish collection and the environment. Council received 105 submissions to its recent review of the Greater Shepparton Waste Management Strategy including comments such as yours about free tip vouchers and hard rubbish collection.As you would appreciate, there is nothing free about tip vouchers and it is simply a method whereby ratepayers are subsidising those who chose to go to the transfer station. Tip vouchers would come at a substantial cost to the community with potential increases to waste collection rates, and is estimated to far out weigh the additional cost associated with annual or biannual clean-up programs in the nearby park areas for those who chose to dump illegally.Hard rubbish collection has been tried by some councils but abandoned by many as this process has occupational health and safety issues for collectors including the potential for hazardous waste,poses a risk for children, is unsightly, causes uncontrolled scavenging on nature strips and generally does not encourage reuse and recycling which is a foundation of our waste minimisation strategy.In relation to the environment it is Local Government that is generally leading the way and Greater Shepparton has many environmental projects of significance. As we know, State Government has set very high standards for renewable energy and the Federal Government is allocating some funding for various projects also.Some of the steps taken by Council in this direction include where Greater Shepparton: * has purchased 100% renewable energy, * is establishing a large scale solar farm in conjunction with GV Community energy, * has started a program of purchasing electric vehicles and * is working with the youth of the area on the Shepparton Statement, an online platform for youth to share ideas and have their inputs into Council’s future environmental policy.The environment is critical to us all but particularly to the Goulburn Valley where a large percentage of the Nations’ agriculture is grown or processed therefore it is in all of our interests to continue to set high standards and to make change for the good. This is the space that Greater Shepparton is operating in and we continue to listen to the many views in relation to the environment including the call for a declaration of climate crisis. Council will continue to consider this, however, our current focus is to deliver positive environmental action either through the issues mentioned above, our One Tree per Child program, planning reforms to save paddock trees or the significant work put into our recent flood study.Again I thank you for your interest in these matters.
Regards, Seema Abdullah
Cr Seema Abdullah
Mayor
Greater Shepparton City Council