The Strategic Waste Initiatives Scheme

Toward a Zero Handicap

From Issue 1 of Zeroing In - 15 June 2006

For most people, waste management isn’t the first thing to spring to mind when teeing up at their local golf course. But for former Melville City Councillor David Dale and his wife Mary, a lifelong love of the sport combined with a passion for environmental issues has earned a sizable Strategic Waste Initiative Scheme (SWIS) grant to turn the microscope on the issue.

David won the support of the Scheme with a proposal to conduct field trials at Perth golf clubs to prove the benefits of using water and energy more efficiently. At the same time, a waste management audit of forty country golf clubs aims to highlight best practices and the importance of local community-based support programs.

A golfer for the past 50 years, David said golf club wastes covered a wide spectrum, including grass cuttings and fertiliser, food wastes, drink cans and bottles, paper, and even those little white balls.

“Generally, the performance of golf clubs is poor in disposing of cardboard and paper and very poor for drink cans, bottles and fertiliser bags collected from the golf course and food wastes generated by clubhouses,” David said.

An earlier study conducted by the Dales found some 4,000 cubic metres of food wastes and 3,000 cubic metres of drink cans, bottles, and flattened cardboard were sent to landfill by Perth golf clubs in 2001.

“Almost all golf balls are also sent to landfill,” David said.

However, it’s not all bad news – according to David, most clubs process their green wastes well and dispose of them on-site, with several practicing composting and vermiculture.

It also appears country golf clubs outperform their city cousins.

“Good examples are Augusta's Lions Club of Leeuwin, which is a State leader at recycling, and the Broome Golf Club, which has a local business collect its waste for recycling and which the Water Corporation holds up as a model for using treated wastewater,” said David.

While some 20 country golf clubs use treated wastewater on their courses, no Perth clubs have followed their example – the sort of difference the Dales’ proposal aims to highlight.

Findings from the project will be used to make recommendations to the clubs, the golf industry and State and local governments – but David points out they could also have wider implications.

“Golf clubs use outdoor playing areas, as do many other sports. Hence what can be seen at golf clubs is one part of a much bigger picture,” he said.