Waste Officer - Graduate, Charuka Sanduni.
Whyalla Residents Lead the Way in Waste Management
Whyalla City Council’s ongoing commitment to waste management is achieving strong results, thanks to the success of numerous waste education programs, in particular ‘Take the Pledge’.
Launched in January, the program has seen over 550 registrations and the distribution of more than 800 kitchen caddy kits to local households. Recent bin inspections have further highlighted the community's dedication to improving waste management, resulting in seven 'Take the Pledge' winners being selected based on their outstanding efforts to reduce contamination in yellow and green bins and improve landfill diversion.
Over the past four months, more than 400 residents actively participated in 'Take the Pledge' activities. These efforts were supported by waste education campaigns held at a Westlands Shopping Centre information stall and at the annual Cuttlefest event.
Mayor Phill Stone commented on the success of the campaign, stating that "The success of the 'Take the Pledge' program is a testament to Whyalla’s commitment to effective waste management. With over 550 households taking part and hundreds actively engaging in community initiatives, it reflects strong community effort.’’
“It’s great to see the huge support from our community to reduce landfilling by separating their waste properly. We encourage everyone to place their food and garden organic waste in the green bin to cut the landfilling by half.
“Anyone in the community can pick up the kitchen caddy from the council or library for their food scraps, even if they do not wish to take part in the program. “
Council has also expanded its waste education efforts to local schools and community groups, including interactive sessions and presentations. Since 2022, these initiatives have reached over 2,500 community members, significantly improving waste management outcomes across the city.
The success of all these initiatives is evident, with key achievements including:
- 260,330 kg of waste diverted from landfill in the 2023/2024 financial year, compared to 2021/2022. This included:
- An increase of 186,220 kg of recyclable materials collected.
- An additional 74,110 kg of green waste sent for composting.
Any community groups, clubs, schools, or other organisations can contact the council to organise waste education sessions. To boost community awareness further, a new "Which Bin" video series is being shared across the council’s social media platforms, offering helpful waste management tips.
Council’s Waste Education Officer Charuka Sanduni said council was also working to tackle the issue of illegal bins through a three-stage removal process, starting with non-paying additional green bins.
“Non-rate-paying bins negatively impact waste separation, leading to increased landfill costs and additional bin replacement expenses. This strategy will help reduce these costs while ensuring fairness for rate-paying residents,” Ms Sanduni said.
“The process aims to monitor illegal dumping and contamination while encouraging compliance with council's system.
“Veolia is assisting in tracking the number of bins per property and responding to community complaints about missing or misused bins.”
Council will continue to develop its waste management strategies, encouraging increased landfill diversion to reduce both financial and environmental impacts.