Upper Lachlan
Indicator: Solid Waste
Results for this indicator are also available for [an error occurred while processing this directive]
What the results tell us for Upper Lachlan
Of the estimated amount of waste generated per person during the reporting period, volumes of domestic waste transported to landfill decreased by 25% over the reporting period.
The waste stream
Total waste that needed to be addressed by the Shire Council (Table 1) in 2007-08 was 3,010 tonnes. This corresponds to around 392kg per resident.
| Volumes of waste | 2004-05 (tonnes) | 2005-06 (tonnes) | 2006-07 (tonnes) | 2007-08 (tonnes) | % Change 04-05 to 07-08 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Recycled | 660 | 671 | 620 | 473 | -28% |
| Recycled (% of total*) | 16% | 20% | 17% | 16% | 0% |
| To landfill | 3,363 | 2,727 | 2,928 | 2,536 | -25% |
| Landfill (% of total*) | 84% | 80% | 83% | 84% | 0% |
| Total | 4,023 | 3,399 | 3,549 | 3010 | -25% |
* Percentage of total waste stream (landfill plus resource recovery); Data source: Upper Lachlan Council
The volumes of all waste types have been trending down over the reporting period. Domestic waste volumes increased slightly during 2006-2007 as a result of Shire Council introducing kerbside collections during 2007 to a greater number of residents within the Shire. Kerbside collections are now available to residents in Crookwell, Binda, Laggan, Taralga, Golspie, Grabben Gullen, Dalton, Gunning and Collector (approximately 2,500 collection services). Despite the increase in waste volumes in 2006-2007 the total waste volume fell 25% between 2004-2005 and 2007-2008. While the waste volumes have decreased, the percentage of the stream landfilled or recycled has remained constant (84% landfilled; 16% recycled) with little variation between the years. This indicates that while the Shire is reducing waste production the composition of the waste stream (taken to landfill) is not changing.
Note: Recycling volumes taken to landfill do not include the volumes from the kerbside collections. In effect the Shire has increased recycling as a percentage of the waste stream, however as it is diverted from landfill the volumes have not been recorded as entering the landfill in the table above.
Waste to landfill
The types of waste going to landfill during the reporting period are shown in Table 2. By far the largest volume comes from households. While the volume of all waste streams is decreasing, the greatest decrease is in the building and demolition waste stream, which fell during the period by 71%.
| Type of waste going to landfill | 2004-05 (tonnes) | 2005-06 (tonnes) | 2006-07 (tonnes) | 2007-08 (tonnes) | % Change 04-05 to 07-08 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total household | 2,765 | 2,392 | 2,585 | 2,345 | -15% |
| Domestic collection | Not separated | Not separated | Not separated | Not separated | |
| Private delivery | Not separated | Not separated | Not separated | Not separated | |
| Commercial and industrial | 30.705 | 3.985 | 23.62 | 26.73 | -13% |
| Building and demolition | 567.96 | 331.09 | 319.6 | 164.18 | -71% |
| Total | 3,363 | 2,727 | 2,928 | 2,536 | -25% |
Source: Upper Lachlan Shire Council
About 20 hectares is set aside for landfill in the Shire, at seven sites (Crookwell, Laggan, Bigga, Tuena, Gunning, Collector and Taralga). Active landfills are Crookwell, Gunning, Collector, Bigga and Tuena; Taralga is a transfer station. The area of all active landfills/transfer stations is 37ha.
Shire Council has no records of illegal dumping to contribute to this report.
Recycling and other actions to reduce waste
Kerbside recycling collections have been introduced in selected areas of the Shire with high participation rates, alongside drop-off recycling centres at Gunning, Crookwell, Collector Taralga, Bigga and Tuena. The volume of glass (-7%), plastic (-76%) and aluminium (-19%) recycling dropped off at Shire Council’s landfills has decreased as a result of the new kerbside collections. However, Shire Council reports that overall rates of recycling within the Shire are increasing. As a consequence, Shire Council is currently undertaking recycling education programs, though no results have been gathered yet on changes in community trends.
Kerbside collections are taken directly to a recycling facility in the ACT therefore diverting them from landfill entirely.
Decreases in the garden waste received at Shire Council’s landfills can also be noticed, possibly due to the ongoing drought conditions throughout the Shire.
Increases in ferrous (974%), non-ferrous (217%) and acid-lead battery (119%) wastes received at the tip have been seen since 2004. This may be due to farm clean-outs occurring throughout the Shire, or due to increased community knowledge of free disposal of these recyclable items through Shire Council’s landfills.
| Material recycled | 2004-05 (tonnes) | 2005-06 (tonnes) | 2006-07 (tonnes) | 2007-08 (tonnes) | % Change 04-05 to 07-08 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acid Lead Batteries | - | 4 | 3 | 10 | +119% |
| Aluminium | 1.89 | 2.15 | 2.047 | 1.5314 | -19% |
| Clothing | - | - | - | - | |
| Cooking oil and fat | - | - | - | - | |
| Demolition | - | - | - | - | |
| Glass | 18 | 23 | 72 | 17 | -7% |
| Green waste | 630 | 541 | 451 | 366 | -42% |
| Liquid paper board | - | - | - | - | |
| Metals (ferrous) | 7 | 99 | 87 | 74 | 974% |
| Paper | - | - | - | - | |
| Plastic | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | -76% |
| Steel cans | in scrap steel | - | - | - | |
| Tyres (Units) | - | - | - | - | |
| Other | 3 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 83% |
| Total tonnes diverted | 660 | 671 | 620 | 473 | -28% |
Source: Upper Lachlan Shire Council
Note: Data from Crookwell landfill – does not include recyclables collected at kerbside and sent to ACT. This reporting period has no data available. Will be available for next report.
Resource implications of waste
Data on the amount of funds invested in waste management in the Shire were not available for this Report.
About the data
Data are based on vehicle counts are used at the landfill entry gate. These counts are then converted to tonnes using materials weight factors supplied by the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) (NSW).
Recycling taken out of the site is weighed by the respective purchaser and recorded from the dockets/invoices received by Shire Council staff.
Per person calculations are on the basis of estimated residential population as at 30 June for each year of the reporting period. The calculations above use an unofficial estimated population for the Upper Lachlan Council area at 30 June 2008 of 7,372 (official ABS figures had not been released at the time this Report was compiled).
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.
Data were sourced from the Department of Local Government Comparative Information publications, which report annually on four key performance indicators. 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.
References
NSW Department of Local Government, Comparative Information http://www.dlg.nsw.gov.au.
Regional State of Environment Report 2004, http://www.envcomm.act.gov.au/soe/soe2004/UpperLachlan/solidwaste.htm
Upper Lachlan Shire Council website, http://upperlachlan.local-e.nsw.gov.au/roads/1566.html
