Palerang
Indicator: Solid Waste
Results for this indicator are also available for [an error occurred while processing this directive]
Please note: Text or data highlighted in this colour represent an update to this indicator for the period 2008/09.
What the results tell us for Palerang
Total volumes of waste in Palerang Council area were estimated to be growing steadily over the reporting period. The total volumes follow the steady increases in population in the Council area.
Recycling services are well supported by residents, with an 82% increase in the volume of recyclables recovered over the reporting period amounting to around 130 kg per resident per year.
The waste stream
Waste management in Palerang Council area is governed by the Palerang Council Waste Management Strategy 2005-2025. The aim of the Strategy is to have no active land filling operations in Palerang Council area by 2025, and replace these sites with transfer stations.
Palerang Council has initiated an innovative approach to reducing waste to landfill and improving soil conditions. In partnership with other nearby Councils, Palerang initiated the grant-funded program “Groundswell” to reduce the amount of organic waste going to landfill by providing village residents with an organic waste bin collection service. An audit of current household waste bin contents revealed just over 50% was food and garden organics, so this program has the potential to significantly reduce waste going to landfill and divert it for processing into a product which will improve agricultural land.
Lack of economies of scale make changes difficult for Palerang Council to implement, with its dispersed rural population and isolated villages. The establishment of the Groundswell program was only possible through partnership and grant funding.
Total waste that needed to be addressed by Council (Table 1) was estimated at some 13,310 tonnes in 2008-09. Overall the volume of total waste appears to have increased over the reporting period by around 7%, however Council notes that this closely reflects the growing population.
The process of estimating waste data includes reasonably accurate calculations from a single audit in 2006-07, with values estimated for 2005-06 extrapolated back to 2004-05 based on average annual population growth rates. The apparent trend is partly affected by this methodology.
The volumes reported for the 2004-09 reporting period are well above those reported previously, as a result of changes in the estimation methodologies. Overall waste sent to landfill per person in the Council area is around 810kg in 2008-09 (based on an estimated population of 14,000), which is high in comparison to estimates from other Council areas in the region but comparable to the Australian Capital Territory (ACT).
The volumes of recyclables recovered increased over the reporting period due largely to the introduction of recycle bin collection services in the three main villages plus some rural-residential collection facilities.
| Volumes of waste | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | % Change 04-05 to 08-09 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Recycled (tonnes) | 997 | 1,034 | 1,613 | 1,728 | 1799 | 80% |
| Recycled (% of total*) | 8 % | 8 % | 13% | 13% | 14% | 69% |
| To landfill (tonnes) | 11,483 | 11,610 | 11,140 | 11,306 | 11,511 | 0% |
| To landfill (% of total*) | 92% | 92% | 87% | 87% | 86% | -6% |
| Total | 12,481 | 12,644 | 12,752 | 13,034 | 13,310 | 7% |
* percentage of total waste stream (landfill plus resource recovery)
Data source: Palerang Council
Waste to landfill
The estimated annual tonnage of waste deposited in the Council area’s landfills during the 2004-09 reporting period remained steady (Table 2). Despite an increase in overall waste stream and population waste landfilled decreased per head of population. The major contributing factor has been the introduction of widespread recycling services within the Palerang area and subsequent increase in material being recycled.
| Type of waste going to landfill | 2004-05 (tonnes) | 2005-06 (tonnes) | 2006-07 (tonnes) | 2007-08 (tonnes) | 2008-09 (tonnes) | % Change 04-05 to 08-09 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total household | 8,075 | 8,556 | 7,686 | 7,801 | 7,942 | -2% |
| Domestic collection | 2,078 | 2,148 | 1,618 | 1,646 | 1,673 | -19% |
| Private delivery | 5,997 | 6,408 | 6,068 | 6,156 | 6,269 | 5% |
| Commercial and industrial | 1,649 | 1,660 | 1,671 | 1,696 | 1,727 | 5% |
| Building and demolition | 1,759 | 1,771 | 1,782 | 1,809 | 1,842 | 5% |
| Total | 11,483 | 11,610 | 11,140 | 11,306 | 11,511 | 0% |
Source: Palerang Council
A total of about 22 hectares is set aside for landfill in the Palerang area at seven sites (Bungendore, Captains Flat, Macs Reef, Braidwood, Nerriga, Majors Creek and Araluen). In 2008 the Captain’s Flat landfill was closed and replaced by a transfer station; the first of a planned succession of landfill closures.
Estimates of illegal dumping of materials were not available for this report. An ongoing concern for Council is the disposal of excess soil from Canberra construction sites, which may contain contaminants. This is of particular concern when used to fill erosion gullies due to potential water pollution.
Recycling and other actions to reduce waste
Council has a fortnightly kerbside recycling scheme in Braidwood, Bungendore and Captains Flat. In addition to these services, Council provides drop-off recycling centres at 18 locations throughout its area. The introduction of the household recycle bin collection in the three main villages plus some rural-residential facilities at the end of 2005-2006 has resulted in a major increase in household items being recycled through the ACT waste recovery centre for the second half of the reporting period. The provision of recycling bins in the main villages and at rural-residential collection points has been well supported by residents. It is noted that some materials collected at landfill sites were double that counted in the 2004-08 report and have been corrected in Table 3 for this 2004-09 report.
The amount of material recycled during the reporting period increased by around 82%. On an annual basis, this corresponds to an increase from about 80kg/person to 130kg/person over the reporting period.
The major categories of material recycled during the reporting period were paper, glass and green waste, with recovery of each of these increasing during the reporting period. Ferrous metals were the next largest category, however there was a decrease in collection of this commodity over the reporting period.
| Material recycled | 2004-05 (tonnes) | 2005-06 (tonnes) | 2006-07 (tonnes) | 2007-08 (tonnes) | 2008-09 (tonnes) | % Change 04-05 to 08-09 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acid Lead Batteries | 29.5 | 30 | 3.0 | 7.2 | 18.9 | -36% |
| Aluminium | 0.4 | 0.4 | 5.2 | 6.5 | 7.2 | 1611% |
| Clothing | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cooking oil and fat | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Demolition | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Garden waste/compost | 350.0 | 375.0 | 400.0 | 425.0 | 450.0 | 29% |
| Glass | 68.8 | 70.0 | 363.7 | 456.5 | 506.2 | 636% |
| Liquid paper board | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Metals (ferrous) | 540.7 | 550.0 | 533.2 | 387.8 | 307.2 | -43% |
| Motor oil | 0 | 0.2 | 5.8 | 8.0 | 14.8 | n/a |
| Paper | 0 | 0 | 265.0 | 360.1 | 427.5 | n/a |
| Plastic | 7.2 | 7.3 | 36.4 | 45.6 | 50.6 | 607% |
| Salvage and reuse | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32.0 | 23.1 | n/a |
| Steel cans | 0 | 0 | 5.2 | 6.5 | 7.2 | n/a |
| Tyres (Units) | 0.9 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 22% |
| Other | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total tonnes recovered | 997 | 1034 | 1618 | 1736 | 1814 | 82% |
Source: Palerang Council
Resource implications of waste
Data on Council expenditure on waste management is included in Council’s annual reports but has not been extracted for this report. The 2008-09 budget included an operational expenditure of $2,270,000 and a capital expenditure (new works) of $800,000.
About the data
The domestic kerbside recycling collection vehicles are weighed at the sorting centre in the ACT. Recycled materials collected from landfill site drop off points are weighed by the contractors removing the materials. Amounts of waste landfilled are estimated from audits and vehicle traffic records.
Some data was sourced from the Department of Local Government Comparative Information publications, which report annually on four key performance indicators. Comparative data used for previous reporting periods were from the former Tallaganda and Yarrowlumla Shires as all domestic waste services undertaken and landfill sites within these shires now occur in the Palerang Council Area. The four key indicators were:
- average charge for domestic waste management services per residential property
- costs per service for domestic waste collection
- recyclables—kilograms per capita per annum (calculated from materials sent by council for recycling)
- domestic waste—kilograms per capita per annum (estimated from kerbside pickups only).
These indicators are seen to relate to the economic efficiency and environmental management performance of residential garbage collection services generally provided by councils in urban or town areas.
Trends are difficult to discern in smaller communities where a single activity can have a substantial impact on volumes transported to landfill or volumes recycled.
References
NSW Department of Local Government, Comparative Information http://www.dlg.nsw.gov.au.
