Publications
View Media Statements released by the Waste Authority
Media Statements released by the Minister and other sources about waste
New Authority Announced
Four new members of the Waste Authority have been appointed.
View media statement
Published: 2011-06-27
New Chair Appointed
The State Government has appointed a new chair. Jim Malcolm formerly takes up the position on Friday 14th January for a term of 6 months.
View media statementhttp://www.mediastatements.wa.gov.au/Pages/Results.aspx?ItemID=135249
Published: 2011-01-14
Westonia claims State Tidy Towns title
The Wheatbelt town of Westonia has won the State title in the 2010 Tidy Towns - Sustainable Communities Awards.
At a ceremony held at the Perth Exhibition Convention Centre today, His Excellency Dr Ken Michael, AC, the Governor of Western Australia and Patron of Keep Australia Beautiful WA, presented the award.
Westonia was recognised for its vision and hard work that had transformed the town into what the judges described as a fantastic place to live and a must-visit location.
View media statement
Published: 2010-11-19
Green Skills recognised for environmental excellence
Environmental excellence in Western Australia was rewarded last night with the announcement that Green Skills had won the overall prize in the 2010 WA Environment Awards.
Presenting the awards at a gala ceremony in Perth last night, Environment Minister Donna Faragher said Green Skills’ commitment to improving and enhancing environmental care and sustainability since 1989 had seen it win the award from a pool of outstanding projects from throughout the State.
View Release Here
Published: 2010-11-07
Major new glass reprocessing plant opened with State support
Glass recycling will get a major boost in Western Australia with the launch today of a new reprocessing plant, the first of its kind in the State, in Kewdale.
In opening the new Colmax Glass facility during Keep Australia Beautiful Week, Environment Minister Donna Faragher said it was a positive step to managing waste and increasing recycling rates.
“This state-of-the-art complex transforms glass into high-value products suitable for a variety of practical uses, including bottle manufacture; insulation batts; surface coatings for road markings and swimming pools; blasting abrasives; filtration; and cement additives,” Mrs Faragher said.
View Media Statement here
Published: 2010-08-26
‘Renovation rescue’ comes to the suburbs
Perth will soon have its own suburban ‘renovation rescue’ competition, with teams of students using eco-friendly building concepts to renovate four houses.Environment Minister Donna Faragher said the RetroBuild competition would see four teams of university and trades students involved in the planning, designing and renovating of four separate houses.
Read meida statement
Published: 2010-08-10
Funding for Wheatbelt waste projects
Environment Minister Donna Faragher today announced funding for three innovative Wheatbelt projects seeking to improve the management and recycling of waste.Mrs Faragher said $17,773 had been awarded to the projects through the Liberal-National Government’s Community Grants and Strategic Waste Initiatives schemes.The Minister said both schemes were funded by the State waste levy from urban landfill sites.
Read statement here
Published: 2010-08-02
Burswood acts on kitchen waste
Burswood Entertainment Complex has secured State Government funding to help establish Western Australia’s first large-scale collection of food waste for composting from a commercial kitchen.
Environment Minister Donna Faragher said the project would receive $21,180 through the State Government’s Strategic Waste Initiatives Scheme (SWIS).
View Media Statement here
Published: 2010-07-28
Tough new penalties for littering
The State Government will encourage people to keep WA beautiful by toughening up Western Australia’s littering fines.
The proposed changes will make WA’s litter and unlawful dumping penalties among the highest in Australia.
Read Media Statement here
Published: 2010-05-14
State Government moves to deal with e-waste
Environment Minister Donna Faragher has approved funding of $400,000 for the collection and recycling of electronic waste (e-waste), including analogue televisions and computers, at metropolitan and regional depots.
Mrs Faragher also announced the formation of a Waste Authority committee to consider other strategies for dealing with e-waste.
“The issue of e-waste is a growing problem throughout the world and will be a particular problem in Australia as analogue televisions are progressively switched off across the country during the next three years,” she said.
View Media Statement here
Published: 2010-03-26
Schools clean up for a sustainable future
Students from more than 100 schools across Western Australia will scour parks, bushland, beaches and streets for litter today as part of national Schools Clean Up Day.
View Media Release Here
Published: 2010-03-05
Grant for Mandurah company compost standards used in roadside landscaping
Mandurah-based compost producer Custom Composts has been awarded grant funding under the State Government’s Strategic Waste Initiatives Scheme (SWIS) to develop a standard for application and use of compost in roadside landscaping.
Environment Minister Donna Faragher said the company would receive $25,000 towards development costs.
“The grant will build on the significant investment made in innovative demonstration projects on the Perth-Bunbury Highway for recycling a range of materials. Using composted materials in roadside rehabilitation is common practice in other States but has not been widely used before in Western Australia,” Mrs Faragher said.
Read Media Statement
Published: 2009-12-09
Leadership helps Hedland pick up State Tidy Town titleLeadership helps Hedland pick up State Tidy Town title
The Pilbara town of Hedland (Port and South Hedland) has claimed the State title in the 2009 Tidy Towns - Sustainable Communities awards at a ceremony held in Perth today.
Environment Minister Donna Faragher said Hedland was committed to not only improving the town’s infrastructure and environment but also to developing its people and relationships.
“The community engagement and youth development efforts are exemplary and the successful ‘Cash for Trash’ initiative and associated activities showed real leadership,” Mrs Faragher said.
“Other initiatives that contributed to Hedland’s success included the significant community effort in monitoring and protecting the flatback turtle, a native plant nursery and the ‘Hedlights’ project which brings art into the industrial area.”
View Minister's Release
Published: 2009-11-20
Funding for glass recycling project
The State Government’s drive towards reducing waste and increasing recycling has been boosted with a $1.95million commitment towards building a glass recycling facility in Perth.
Environment Minister Donna Faragher today announced the new facility would be co-funded by the State Government through the WA Waste Authority and by industry through the National Packaging Covenant.
View Release Here
Published: 2009-11-04
New battery recycling bins for Perth
Environment Minister Donna Faragher today launched a new recycling initiative to encourage Perth residents to recycle common household batteries.
The Metropolitan Household Battery Recycling program, the first community-based program of its kind in Australia, provides householders with the opportunity to safely dispose of and recycle old batteries.
Under the program, being rolled out by Perth’s five metropolitan regional councils, 150 new battery drop-off recycling bins have been installed in public libraries, council administration offices and leisure centres across Perth. From the bins, the batteries are collected, sorted, melted and recycled into new products.
View Release Here
Published: 2009-11-01
Making the most of old mattresses
Environment Minister Donna Faragher said gone are the days of dumping old mattresses on street verges.
Mrs Faragher said many people were taking advantage of Western Australia’s first mattress recycling program, with more than 100 mattresses dropped off for recycling each week.
View Release Here
Published: 2009-09-18
State Government continues support for community-based recycling
The State Government has contributed more than $824,000 to 21 community-based recycling projects.
View release here
Published: 2009-07-29
Landfill levy charges to come into effect January 1, 2010
Environment Minister Donna Faragher and Treasurer Troy Buswell said to ensure certainty for local governments the State Government would introduce the 300 per cent increase in landfill levy charges, as announced in the 2009-10 State Budget, from January 1, 2010.
View release here
Published: 2009-06-23
Environment Minister welcomes further work on container deposits
Environment Minister Donna Faragher has supported today’s Environment Protection and Heritage Council decision for further work to be undertaken on proposed container deposit legislation.
View statement here:
Published: 2009-06-22
New hefty penalties to combat illegal dumping
Environment Minister Donna Faragher said the State Government’s move to introduce tougher penalties for illegal dumping of waste in Western Australia would have a significant impact on those who believed it was acceptable to dump their rubbish illegally.
View statement here
Published: 2009-06-03
Grants money for community waste projects
Community waste management initiatives are set to get a boost following the announcement today by Environment Minister Donna Faragher of the successful applicants for the Community Grants Scheme (CGS).
View Release here
Published: 2009-03-20
Waste initiatives receive $560,000 boost
Eleven projects will share more than $560,000 under the State Government’s Strategic Waste Initiatives Scheme, Environment Minister Donna Faragher announced today.
View release here
Published: 2009-02-06
‘Waste Wise’ school rewarded with $10,000 grant
Churchlands Primary School has been rewarded for its achievements in waste reduction.Environment Minister Donna Faragher visited the school today to officially launch the first $10,000 Waste and Sustainability Grant, awarded through the Department of Environment and Conservation’s (DEC) Waste Wise Schools program.
View release here
Published: 2008-12-11
Kambalda is clean as a nickel
Kambalda claimed the State title in the 2008 Tidy Towns Sustainable Communities Awards at a ceremony held in Perth today.
View release here
Published: 2008-11-28
Waste Smart West Australian Symphony Orchestra
The West Australian Symphony Orchestra has been awarded a $20,000 State Government grant to make the City of Perth Symphony in the city an environmentally friendly event.
View release here
Published: 2008-08-07
Public opinions sought on new plans for Goldfields and Esperance waste
Goldfields and Esperance residents are being urged to join the war on waste by
adding their input to a new Strategic Waste Management Plan being developed for the area.
View release here
Published: 2008-08-07
State and local governments band together to banish waste
The Eastern and Southern Metropolitan Regional Councils will share in $130,000 worth of State Government grants to trial two innovative waste reduction projects.
View release here
Published: 2008-07-30
Sustainable Cities Awards winners announced
The City of Gosnells has been named Western Australia’s most sustainable city for 2008.
View release here
Published: 2008-06-25
Minister applauds Walpole’s vision for a clean Australia
Environment Minister David Templeman has applauded the Walpole community’s commitment to its local environment and its visionary plan for a clean, litter-free Australia.
View release here
Published: 2008-05-30
Waste Smart WA’s new statutory waste authority
Environment Minister David Templeman today announced the membership of the State’s new statutory waste authority, Waste Smart WA.
View release here
Published: 2008-05-21
Phase one of the 2008 wood heater rebate program to help halt the haze
Environment Minister David Templeman tonight announced phase one of the 2008 ‘Halt the Haze’ Wood Heater Rebate Program, which encourages Perth and Mandurah residents to scrap unwanted wood heaters and reduce smoke emissions.
View release here
Published: 2008-05-21
Call for nominations for the 2008 Environment Awards
Environment Minister David Templeman today encouraged all Western Australians to nominate organisations, community groups and individuals for the 2008 Environment Awards.
View release here
Published: 2008-05-19
Give waste a new lease on life and embrace compost
Vegetable scraps, egg shells, lawn clippings and tea bags can all enjoy a new life as a cheap tonic for Western Australia’s often sandy soil.
View release here
Published: 2008-05-05
WA to head investigation into national container scheme
Western Australia will co-chair an investigation into the environmental, economic and social costs and benefits of a national container deposit scheme.
View release here
Published: 2008-04-17
Smart option for Mandurah
There will be many more smart addresses in Mandurah from today, following the launch of the State Government’s world-leading Living Smart program in the city.
View release here
Published: 2008-04-11
New program for primary school students to Keep Australia Beautiful
The campaign to promote a cleaner Western Australia has been taken into the State’s classrooms with the launch of the Keep Australia Beautiful Council’s (KABC) new student learning package.
View release here
Published: 2008-03-20
Sun setting Towards Zero Waste
Sunset Events has won a State Government grant for recycling initiatives at the West Coast Blues n
Roots Festival in Fremantle and the recent Southbound Festival in Busselton.
Fremantle MLA Jim McGinty said the $74,190 grant would enable Sunset to build upon the exciting
initiatives trialled at last years’ festivals.
View release here
Published: 2008-01-29
Brolga’s Environment discovers oil in the East Kimberley
Local environment organisation Brolga’s Environment has been awarded a $20,000 State Government
grant to turn East Kimberley cooking oil into bio-diesel.
Kimberley MLA Carol Martin said the money from the Community Grants Scheme would help ‘lubricate’
the exciting project.
View release here
Published: 2008-01-29
A recycling makeover for the Community Op Shop
St Paul’s Anglican Church Community Op Shop in Bridgetown has been awarded a $5,000 State Government grant to upgrade the recycling service it provides to the local community.
South West MLC Matt Benson-Lidholm said the project would expand the operations of the Op Shop to provide a recycling service to the whole community and would involve collaboration with St Vincent de Paul and the Shire of Bridgetown.
View release here
Published: 2008-01-29
Living Smart on the Rainbow Coast
bring the Living Smart course to Albany.
Albany MLA Peter Watson said the Living Smart course empowered people to reduce their environmental footprint.
“As we prepare to confront the challenges of climate change, it is essential that people are armed with
the information and skills they need to improve the sustainability of their homes and communities,” Mr
Watson said.
View release here
Published: 2008-01-29
Camping Ground Bridging the Recycling Gap
The operators of Alexandra Bridge Camping Grounds have been awarded a $2,500 State Government
grant to install new recycling stations.
South West MLC Adele Farina congratulated Andy and Jane Litynski on winning the grant.
View release here
Published: 2008-01-29
Moving Towards Zero Waste at the Origins Centre.
The Origins Centre has won a $2,500 Government grant to implement a waste management project.
Mick Murray, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for the South West, said the project would increase
the amount of recycling through the onsite sorting of waste.
View release here
Published: 2008-01-29
Paving the way for recycled materials
Bowman and Associates has won a $30,000 State Government grant to trial the use of recycled concrete as road base in sections of the Perth to Bunbury highway.
View release here
Published: 2008-01-29
Recycling gets mobile in Ashburton
The Shire of Ashburton has been awarded a $78,200 State Government grant to provide the region with
a new portable trailer-mounted crusher baler.
View release here
Published: 2008-01-29
Flying start to less waste
Westralia Airports Corporation, the operator of Perth Airport, has been awarded a $53,000 grant to find
out how much waste is being generated at the airport.
View release here
Published: 2008-01-29
Winning over the laggards
South East Regional Centre for Urban Landcare has been awarded a $75,000 State Government grant
for a waste management education program to win over sceptical business owners.
View release here
Published: 2008-01-29
Taking a closer look at waste
The City of Cockburn has been awarded a State Government grant to get a better understanding of the commercial and industrial waste at Henderson Resource Recovery Park.
View release here
Published: 2008-01-29
Recycling grants for Parmelia Hilton and Earthwise
Perth’s Parmelia Hilton Hotel and the Earthwise community garden and centre in Subiaco will benefit
from the most recent round of State Government recycling grants.
View release here
Published: 2008-01-29
Major boost for local recycling centre
The Hazelmere Timber Recycling Centre has been awarded a $297,025 grant to help turn waste wood into chipboard.
Midland MLA Michelle Roberts said the project was the first of its kind in Western Australia.
View release here
Published: 2008-01-29
Mindarie cleans up in waste reduction grants
Mindarie Regional Council has been awarded more than $85,000 in State Government grants for waste
reduction initiatives.
View release here
Published: 2008-01-29
State to benefit from recycling grants
The Carpenter Government has awarded almost $800,000 to local government, industry and community groups across the State for innovative waste reduction initiatives.
View release here
Published: 2008-01-11
$900,000 for regional community facilities
Rural and remote communities across Western Australia will share State Government grants totalling more than $900,000 for new community facilities.
View release here
Published: 2004-07-30