Towards Zero Waste for Launceston is an initiative of Gentle Footprints Permaculture Education, the City of Launceston and the Northern Tasmanian Waste Management Group.

They’ve produced a free, handy guide to help reduce waste.  It covers everything from composting and worm farms, to the Swap not Shop movement, how to reduce recycling contamination, and the principles of the waste hierarchy.

Get a copy here:

Towards Zero Waste for Launceston

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To celebrate April being Urban Agriculture month, there will be an official launch of the Towards Zero Waste for Launceston booklet.  At the event, you can see a worm-a-bago worm farm in action!

Northern Suburbs Community Centre
49 Georgetown Rd, Newnham
on
Friday 30 April from 12.00 – 12.45pm.
Waste free refreshments will be provided.
>> Spaces are limited so bookings are essential by calling 6326 5506 <<

The Northern Tasmanian Waste Management Group’s annual resource recovery and waste minimisation grants program has allocated $70,000 towards funding eligible organisations in Northern Tasmania who are demonstrating innovation towards decreasing the amount of waste sent to landfill.

The program responds to the increasing financial pressures associated with meeting landfill management, environmental and rehabilitation standards, as well as the need to reduce the strain on landfill airspace and the environment by recycling and reusing materials.

The 2020/21 Grants Program closed on 1 December 2020 with financial support being provided across 12 projects to help fund costs associated with procuring infrastructure or educational materials necessary to improve waste management practices in Northern Tasmania.   The total value of these projects once completed is over $287,000 and is estimated to divert more than 128 tonnes of waste from landfill per annum.

The funds have been distributed as follows:

Launceston College (Plastic Fantastic Planters) –
Have been granted funds to help establish a new student enterprise initiative that is focused on diverting plastic waste from landfill by turning plastic into planters. Bottle lids will primarily be used as a raw material as they are currently unable to be recycled. The College will not just collect, sort and recycle the plastic but close the loop on this recycling stream by creating a sustainable, marketable product in these planters which will be sold in the colleges new retail space “The Cell” and other local small businesses. This project aims to demonstrate the profitability of a sustainable product and the ability of students to design, manufacture, market, and sell 100% recycled products.

Northern Midlands Council (Recycling Trailer) –
Have been awarded funding to construct a recycling hub trailer for the collection of items that are not recyclable through the kerbside recycling collection such as CD’s, bread tags, coffee pods etc. The trailer will be taken to schools and community events to increase awareness of recycling including the new and emerging waste streams and will encourage the community to recycle these items rather than them ending up in landfill.

University of Tasmania (Inveresk precinct On-site FOGO Waste Management System) –
Have been granted funds to help establish a combined community and University food garden in the Inveresk precinct with the aim of creating a fully accessible garden comprised of orchards and garden beds. To close the loop and create a circular economy UTAS will be installing an in-vessel composting system to recycle their food and garden waste as well as their compostable packaging. The project will be run by UTAS staff and students with the compost then used to nourish their gardens.

The Launceston Preparatory School (Multi-sort Recycle Bins) –
Have been granted funding to assist with the purchase of several multi-sort recycling bins and trolleys for the school. The colour coding and duplicate bins located in key waste points throughout the school will educate the students and embed long term sustainable waste management practices from an early age in the hope they will advocate sustainability in their homes and into the future.

Westbury Primary School (Westbury Community Recycling Hub) –
Have been awarded funds to establish a recycling hub that is open to the community to recycle items that are not recyclable through the kerbside recycling collection. The community hub will be based at Westbury Primary School which is central to the community and available during school hours. Students will run the project and will be regularly checking the hub capacity and once a compartment is full they will weigh the items before packaging them up to send to the appropriate organisations for recycling.

Rotary Club of Central Launceston (Recycling Batteries with Rotary) –
Have been granted funding to provide their Rotarians with two battery recycling boxes to place in their workplaces and their partner’s workplaces to encourage staff and customers to deposit used batteries for recycling. The boxes will be brought to weekly Rotary meetings in which the batteries will get placed into a bigger collection container to be taken to the local recycling depot. The aim of the project is to increase the awareness about the need to divert used batteries from landfill and the harmful effect on the environment and safety issues they pose to collection contractors and landfill operators.

City of Launceston (Lilydale Community Recycling Trailer) –
Have been granted funds to build a trailer to take out to the Lilydale Waste Transfer Station once a week to allow the Lilydale community to bring in their recyclable items for recycling. The initial phase of the project is to offer cardboard, e-waste, commingled and household battery recycling with plans to expand the project and establish a mobile recycling hub if the trailer is the initial phase is successful. When the trailer is not in use at Lilydale there is capacity to utilise the trailer at schools and at events and festivals around the Launceston municipality.

Launceston Big Picture School (Smells Like Green Spirit) –
Have been granted funds to purchase a compost tumbler so the school can improve their carbon footprint and recycle the food waste that comes from their commercial kitchen. The first stage of the project will be to set up a compost team to lead to the school-wide waste audit in the first term of 2021, the school advisory group will then be charged with educating the school community about composting. This project will also involve teaching the students about the science of composting with a hands on learning opportunity that will be integrated into the school curriculum.

Fork It Farm (Return, Reuse and Repurpose) –
Have been granted funds to establish two new sustainable practises to their business, the first is to purchase glass washer infrastructure to develop a jar return and re-use scheme for their product range to enable them to sanitise and sterilise the jars for reuse. The second is to purchase a kiln to process their only waste product into biochar which will then be put back into their soils to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide entering the atmosphere.

Dorset Council (Dorset Recycling Education Campaign) –
Have been granted funds to launch a recycling education campaign to reduce the incidences of the top recycling bin contaminants in Dorset (soft plastic, food and garden waste). The aim of the project is to engage the community and increase their awareness on household waste management.

Shachaya Group Pty Ltd (Organisational Waste Recycling) –
Have been grated funds to establish sustainable waste management receptacles at the Panorama Resort St Helens. The project will involve purchasing recycling bins for glass, paper, plastic and aluminium and produce educational material for the guests on how to recycle.

Longford Primary School (Longford Using Waste to Improve our Place) –
Have been granted funds to help establish a school orchard and chicken coop for their food and garden waste that they compost onsite. The project involves the purchase of multisort bins for the school and wicking beds for the garden.

Waste NoT Awards 2020 Winners

The winners of the seventh annual Waste NoT awards have been announced, with nine projects selected across several categories for their innovative waste management initiatives in Northern Tasmania. Congratulations everyone!

Early Learners Category: Break O’Day Child and Family Centre

The Centre set up composting and worm farms on the site with the contents recycled into the centre’s gardens. The centre’s bins have been labelled, encouraging recycling and the centre’s arts and crafts projects consist of recycled materials. Staff have swapped from paper towel to use reusable cloths and are delivering training to make bees-wax wraps, moisturisers, lip balms, bath bombs and face scrubs. They also support and encourage families to take garden cuttings and seeds from the garden to increase home-cooked food rather than packaged snacks and meals. These programs are now ongoing and are practiced day-to-day, so the children learn how to reduce waste from the moment they walk and talk.

Primary School Category: Our Lady of Mercy Catholic School

The Sustainability at Our Lady of Mercy project involved installing source separation bins (general waste, green waste and recycling) around the school to promote recycling and sustainability. The green waste is turned into compost to use on the school’s garden and the SRC and ECO leaders work with staff and students to implement this project through advertising, including newsletters and assembly presentations, while the class teachers have been promoting the project in the classroom and around the school. A sustainability club has been formed who meet twice a week in which members are taking further care of the school grounds and the environment in collaboration with the community.

Secondary School Category: Kings Meadows High School

A project initiated by their Year 9 students, which set up an additional recycling program for a school-wide white paper collection through a local waste management contractor. This project was extended to capture used paper resources, which are disposed of at the end of the term when students clean out their lockers. At the same time, other items were separated such as water bottles, pencil cases and stationery and students identified whether they were recyclable or could be reused.

Colleges/Tertiary Institutions Category: University of Tasmania

The University established a network of recycling walls throughout the campuses with three walls being located at the Newnham and Inveresk sites. The walls have been created using old filing cabinets, which were sourced from their furniture re-use program with the aim of encouraging staff and students to recycle difficult-to-recycle items such as small e-waste, batteries and toothbrushes. Filing cabinets do not have much use at the University nowadays due to the widespread use of electronic files. UTAS made good use of their stockpile in 2020 to extetnd the network and now there are 20 recycling walls across the two campus sites with demands still coming in from staff and students to have them installed in departments and student living areas. The community can also now get involved with the UTAS recycling walls because they are listed as Teracycle Community Collection hubs, allowing the public to drop off their items too.

Small – Medium Organisations Category: Panama Productions

The 2020 Panama Music Festival was successful in achieving zero waste. To meet this goal, Panama had a dedicated team of volunteers – called the Zero Waste Team – who had a designated sorting area where they would sort the waste into recycling or compost and pull out any contamination. This, combined with better targeted signage at key areas, reduced the amount of contamination. They also had reusable cups and crockery, which was washed and reused at the event using a commercial mobile glass washer.

Large Organisations Category: Hydro Tasmania

Set a target of diverting 95 per cent of their waste from landfill by the end of December 2021 by creating a roadmap called “Too Good To Waste”, which is engaging while also setting achievable goals for the organisation. To start the roadmap, Hydro Group conducted 13 site waste audits across the state, which revealed 90 per cent of their waste could be diverted from landfill. The roadmap also focuses on shifting behaviours, reframing waste as a commodity and enacting a circular culture within the organisation. Actions underway include targeting specific materials to reduce or remove from their waste streams, through to education and communication programs to influence the wider community. The roadmap also outlines how they will measure and track their progress, including regular audits, employee engagement and periodic reviews.

Individuals Category: Isaac Williams Design Objects

A project called “Rebirthed”, which began as a design challenge to maximise the life of a collection of furniture destined for landfill. Originally, the project focused on presenting a range of cork/steel and timber furniture items but has since expanded to include a collection of wallets and bags as a way of keeping the usable sections of the old upholstery away from landfill as well. The stitching in wallets is made from recycled bike tyres. The designs help change perceptions and shift the perspective around waste to instead look at it as a resource.

Not-For-Profit/Community Group Category: Northern Suburbs Community Centre

Awarded for many of their waste reduction activities at the centre, including the design and development of 5 mobile worm farms (AKA – the Worm-a-bago) which was offered as a competition prize for high schools and colleges. The Worm-a-bagos come with education material including ‘how to’ videos that focus on the benefits of worm farms in the garden. They have also created an upcycled bath tub worm farm for their own use. Sawdust from The Shed at Rocherlea is used as garden mulch and the garden beds are made of recycled pallets, fence palings, apple crates and IBC containers. Upcycled corrugated iron, pallets and fence palings were used to make a four-bay composting system. Growing fresh foods in the garden supports the centre’s sharing table and is used in the kitchen to prepare meals. This also includes 180 frozen meals for emergency food relief, which in itself generates 30 litres of organic waste a week. A permaculture course had been introduced into the neighbourhood houses, which is an effective mechanism to introduce waste reduction concepts. They also have a shared learning arrangement with UTAS and TasTAFE for sustainability and workplace pathway students to visit the site and be involved with the programs on offer. They have a swap shop currently under development as well as a 10-page education resource, which is due for release soon and will be available on the NSCC website.

State/Local Government Category and Overall 2020 Winner: Launceston General Hospital (Food Services Department)

The food waste recovery project, a first of its kind in Tasmania. The LGH food services department provides 20,000 meals to patients, staff and visitors each week. The project has enabled the team to divert 35 wheelie bins or 1750kg of food waste from landfill every week by initiating composting. The project is innovative and was made possible by engaging with a range of stakeholders including the public and private sector, waste contractors and consumers. The project involved rethinking food types, supply chains and compliance with regulatory frameworks such as the food standards code. The reduction in methane emissions by composting the hospital’s food waste is equal to removing five cars from our roads each year. LGH Food Services is implementing, where possible, more eco-friendly or compostable packaging such as takeaway cups, sandwich packets and straws – all of which can now be composted alongside the food waste.

Circular Economy Northern Tasmania…. it makes sense

Northern Tasmanian businesses that want to explore circular economy initiatives are being encouraged to apply to a new grants program.

The circular economy is about moving away from a “take it, make it, break it and bin it” lifecycle to one that reuses, repairs, repurposes and recycles and creates new value and business opportunities from waste and underutilised resources.  Grants of up to $30,000 will be available for businesses with circular economy initiatives that can show a benefit to the region.

Businesses wishing to apply for a circular economy grant are encouraged to express an interest via City of Launceston council’s website before October 2.
EOIs that show potential will be encouraged to complete a full application.

Download a copy of the Grants Program Guidelines, including eligibility and assessment details here:

Circular Economy Grants Program Northern Tasmania

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The grants are a COVID19 care and recovery initiative from local government in the North, building off the existing work of the Northern Tasmania Waste Management Group and delivered in partnership with Northern Tasmania Development Corporation.

“It’s very exciting to be working with NTDC and other Councils on an initiative which is aimed at prompting some new ways of thinking about re-use and waste in Northern Tasmania,” Mayor van Zetten said.

“As a direct result of the City of Launceston’s Community Care and Recovery Package we’ve been able to start this important conversation with other Northern Tasmanian Councils, and I’m really looking forward to seeing the grants application process kicking off.”

West Tamar Council Mayor and Local Government Association of Tasmania president Christina Holmdahl said the grants were an example of councils continuing to provide innovative economic recovery pathways.

“Local government has been working extremely hard on recovery opportunities and we see these grants as a way for businesses to innovate, diversify and update their processes with a circular economy viewpoint,” Councillor Holmdahl said.  “I’d encourage any business with an idea to investigate the grants program as the opportunity in this space is tremendous.”

NTWMG chairman and George Town Council general manager Shane Power said the grants were another example of Councils and the NTWMG driving innovation to deliver positive environmental outcomes and facilitate new economic activity.

“We are confident the grants will attract entrepreneurs seeking funds to make value from materials that may have otherwise ended up in landfill or stockpiles, therefore, maximising their lifespan,” Mr Power said.  “We also envisage businesses from various sectors will be able to use the funding to invest in areas such as product design, plant and equipment and process improvements in the manufacturing of products.”

Mr Power added any business could improve its bottom line by avoiding costs associated with waste disposal, improving their production processes, increasing the lifespan of materials, realising value by re-purposing or even monetising materials that may be by-products or surplus to existing product developments.

The grants will be delivered by NTWMG in partnership with Northern Tasmania Development Corporation. NTDC chief executive Mark Baker said the benefits of a circular economy approach were three-fold.

“Moving from a linear economy to a circular economy is a win-win-win,” Mr Baker said.  “It’s a win for the environment as it reduces the amount of waste going into landfill, carbon going into the atmosphere and water going down the drain.

“It’s a win for business as they either reuse more of their resource or get access to cheaper resource from other businesses’ waste, which saves money.  And it’s a win for jobs with circular economy innovations offering new opportunities in industry.”

The grants are open to businesses in George Town, Launceston, West Tamar, Northern Midlands, Flinders Island, Dorset, Break O’Day and Meander Valley council regions.

Clothing and Textiles – too valuable to waste!

Did you know?

So what can you do?

1. Buy second hand, quality items which will last
2. Only buy what you love and know you will wear again and again and again
3. Borrow or rent instead of buying if only needed for a single occasion or short period of time
4. Host clothes-swap parties with friends
5. Repair or mend items that are worn or torn
6. Give unwanted, quality items to charity stores for resale
7. Send unwearable items to Manrags for recycling
8. Upcycle old items into rag rugs, pet bedding, dish cloths, cleaning rags, craft projects and pillow stuffing

The winners of the sixth annual Waste NoT Awards have been announced, with nine projects selected across several categories for their innovative waste management initiatives in Northern Tasmania.

Early Learners Category
WINNER:
Harper Ling – Harper was nominated by her parents in the Early Learners category for her project “Clean up Local”. Harper is 6 years old and she started her Clean up Local campaign earlier this year after she visited a rubbish-ridden beach and decided it was time to change. Her family helped her launch the Clean Up Local campaign on Facebook in April 2019 calling for volunteers one Sunday each month to pick up as much litter as they could find in one hour. August’s clean-up was held at the playground on Lilydale road, Rocherlea and previous to this they did a clean-up on the East Tamar highway which resulted in 15 full bags of rubbish being removed. This is an ongoing project that Harper is very passionate about and each month Clean up Local are getting more and more volunteers.

WINNER:
GlenDhu Childrens Services – In 2018 GlenDhu Children’s Services were moved by the iconic diver who filmed his dive with plastic floating all around him. The children of GlenDhu Children’s Services wondered how all the rubbish got there, where it came from and what would happen. This led to an educational journey of research and investigation with day to day consumption becoming their focus and the war on waste project began. Part of their project included identifying lunch box item packaging that could be swapped for more sustainable options and introducing a REDcycle and FOGO bin. During this project, they learnt that many simple changes can make a big difference. The children are now working on a poster to present to local supermarkets highlighting the issue of single use plastics packaging.

Primary School Category
WINNER:
Trevallyn Primary School – Trevallyn Primary were selected for their project ‘Waste at the Taste’ which come about in an effort to increase the community’s uptake of recycling and composting at the annual school fair. Trevallyn Primary created a YouTube video to educate patrons on what can go in each bin in preparation for the fair. Though their efforts they saved over 150kgs from going into landfill.

Secondary School Category
WINNER:
Deloraine High School – Deloraine High School were selected for their sustainable community’s project which involved a group of grade 9/10 students from the new 10 week short course working to make the community more sustainable. Some of the things the students completed as part of the project were two waste audits; litter surveys & they designed and installed a new five-bay recycling bin bank and a water bottle refilling station. The students also hosted a sustainability event to inform and engage over 300 staff and students including students from the neighbouring primary school and encouraged students to take part in the new recycling initiatives implemented by the group.

Colleges/Tertiary Institutions Category
WINNER:
Launceston College STEAM Team – This unique project involved the college students creating their own plastics recycling plant that would recycle their 3D print waste material. By creating the facility at the college this enabled the students to explore the entire recycling process, close the loop and allow students to understand the challenges and success of recycling plastic. They are now recycling other materials including their HDPE and LDPE and the whole college is getting involved by providing the STEAM team with plastic bottles to recycle. This project has attracted attention across the state – it’s the first of its kind and could be replicated in other schools.

Small – Medium Organisations Category
WINNER:
Vibestown Productions – Vibestown Productions were selected for their project at the 2019 Party in the Paddock Festival. This annual music festival is held in White Hills over 4 days and attracts over 8000 revellers with the majority of those camping on site. The waste reduction and management project was implemented and managed by a small team of event staff and over 100 volunteers. Water bottle refill stations were in place to eliminate all single use plastics use, they also had a cup refund scheme where patrons purchased their cup, enjoyed their beverages and either returned for another round or returned the cup to get their deposit back.

Individuals Category
WINNER:
The Poulton Family – The Poultons are being recognised for their bread bag challenge which began when their son Callen came home from school asking why they don’t do soft plastic recycling. When the family decided to put another bin in the cardboard box that they use as a rubbish bin there was not much room for both bags so they used a bread bag as the rubbish bag, which led to the idea of the bread bag challenge. The challenge was to reduce their weekly landfill waste to a bread bag, after achieving this and maintaining it for several months, the family decided to use social media to challenge their friends and family.
The Poulton Family and their Bread Bag Challenge was also selected by the judges as the overall winner in the 2019 Waste NoT Awards – Congratulations!

Not For Profit/Community Group Category
WINNER:
Harvest Launceston Community Farmers Market – Harvest Market was recognised for their commitment to achieving sustainable waste management practices. As an iconic and reputable community event held every Saturday it became apparent that Harvest needed to be a leader in this space and so a strategic decision to become a zero-waste event by 2021 was put in place. The first step was to identify the waste being created and so a waste audit took place. The audit showed that 95% of waste was compostable. When City of Launceston launched their FOGO service in 2018 it was not commercially available at that stage so Harvest worked with the Council to make it happen. There are 4 FOGO bins in central locations and the market entry/exit points, the bins are monitored by volunteers and signage has been erected. To launch Harvest’s first FOGO, special guest Costa from Gardening Australia gave it the thumbs up.

State/Local Government Category
WINNER:
Break O’Day Council – selected for their unique project called Hook, Line & Sinker. This project come about after community consultation on reducing waste and looking after the environment. In an effort to reduce marine waste, Council introduced Hook, Line & Sinker collection containers on jetties and the wharf. The containers are a simple design made from repurposed PVC pipe. The containers are located in visible areas with an aim to provide a place for fishers to discard used hooks and sinkers as well as tangled line rather than tossing it in the bay, threatening the marine wildlife and polluting the beaches.