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In this Issue Towards Zero Waste Liftout. View all the interesting and educational facts featured in The West Australian during Recycling Week
The Vision Towards Zero Waste in Western Australia. The Principles Prevention - to avoid the creation of waste. Release of Landfill Levy Review Report In September 2007 the Waste Management Board engaged a consultant to undertake a review of some aspects of the landfill levy. The consultant, Dr Michael Blyth of Four Scenes Consulting Pty Ltd, conducted a desktop review of relevant reports and held interviews with selected stakeholders. Following feedback from the interviewees on the accuracy of a draft report, Dr Blyth provided the Board with a final report in November 2007. Ms Fleur Newman, the Board member taking the lead on the levy review project is working with the Board to ensure comments and views of stakeholders are incorporated in the review process. The final report has been released to the public via this website. The Waste Management Board will consider a response to the report in the new year. Comments received prior to the Board's consideration of this report may be taken into account. For further information about the Landfill Levy Review, please contact Bernard Ryan on (08) 6467 5462. WA Clean Beach Challenge 
It might be your favourite WA beach! The only way to find out is to enter WA's Clean Beach Challenge 2007, proudly supported by Keep Australia Beautiful WA and Surf Life Saving WA Categories include: Friendly Beach Award, Community Action Award, Protection of the Environment, Natural Resource Management & Litter Prevention For further information check out: http://www.kabc.wa.gov.au or call 6467 5143 View the Information Brochure
Znippets Share your good news stories! The Waste Management Board is keen to hear good news stories from individuals and Government, businesss and industry or community organisations undertaking innovative recycling or waste minimisation projects either funded independently or by the Board. Tell us about your project using the online form. Recent Publications
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Welcome to the special National Recycling Week edition of 'Zeroing In' 
According to research commissioned by the Board earlier this year, most West Australian's think they are doing all they can when it comes to recycling. They said that they would like more information about what to recycle and where our recyclables end up. These findings along with those provided by the 'Review of Total Recycling Activity in Western Australia remind us of the ongoing need to reinforce awareness of the environmental benefits of recycling. Recycling offers all of us a simple, easy and effective way to participate in the big picture, global game. The reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from landfill, reducing de-forestation and saving energy through more efficient use of resources are just a few of the many benefits or recycling. I'm pleased to say that the Board has endorsed a collaborative project between State and Local Government to plan, develop and implement a campaign designed to increase the level of household recycling in Western Australia. Over the coming months Department of Environment and Conservation staff will work closely with representatives from Local Government to refine the campaign with a view to launching it in early 2008. At the same time local governments across Western Australia will be preparing their Strategic Waste Management Plans as part of Phase 2 of the Zero Waste Plan Development Scheme. As Chairman I'm optimistic that the outcome of these two projects in 2008 will be significant progress 'Toward Zero Waste'. Whether you are from business, community or government I invite you to think about what you as an individual can do to improve recycling at home, work and during leisure time. The Qualitative Effect: Behaviour and Attitude Towards Recycling 
To better understand how West Australian's think and behave toward recycling, the Board commissioned a comprehensive State-wide survey earlier this year.
Designed to inform the development of future communication and behaviour change campaigns, the findings revealed some interesting profiles:
Of the 854 participants interviews 66% throughout Western Australia noted they were 'Very Concerned' with the amount of waste generated in W.A. However opinions such as "We live in a throw-away society where everything is disposable; if it's a single-use item then it becomes waste" and "Things are not made to last and this leads to people placing no value on them as they are considered to be disposable items" indicates many people still do not understand the value of waste as a resource.
To view the entire report click here
The Quantitative Effect: Total Recycling Activity in Western Australia 2005/06 A recycling report commissioned by Department of Environment and Conservation has found that Western Australia recycled over 1.6 million tonnes in 2005/2006, or 812 kilograms per person. This was comparable to New South Wales, but was still below the levels in South Australia, Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory, where the figure was 1,676 kilograms per person. The report identified some barriers to increased recycling, including low landfill gate fees, making it difficult for recycling companies to attract feedstock and created reluctance among recyclers to expand their businesses. 
At $6 and $3 per tonne (for putrescible and inert waste), landfill levies in WA are much lower than the Eastern States where landfill levies of $30+ per tonne are helping to divert waste from landfill. The report noted that the increase in WA's landfill levy from $1/tonne in 2006 was welcomed by WA's recycling industry, but further substantial increases were needed to compete directly with landfill. Distances and costs associated with transporting wastes from the non-metropolitan areas of the State were also identified as significant issues that inhibited the recovery of materials from the regions. Waste and Recycle Conference 2007 
Changing climate and increasing waste were leading topics at Western Australia's only internationally-recognised waste management conference. Hosted by Department of Environment and Conservation in conjunction with the Western Australian Local Government Association and the Waste Management Association of Australia, the Waste and Recycle 2007 Conference - Planning in an Uncertain Climate: A Delicate Balancing Act? featured five internationally renowned keynote speakers and delegates from some of the world's leading waste management organisations. Speakers included Professor of Law at Georgetown University (USA) Lisa Heinzerling, Director of Biffa Waste Services Limited Peter Jones OBE (UK), Chantelle Ilbury (South Africa) and Andrew Simmons previously with WRAP (UK). DEC Conference Committee Chair Bernard Ryan said the conference offered valuable ideas and information that would help participants move towards more coordinated methods of recycling and reuse of products. Strategic Waste Planning Scheme - Phase 1 Closes The Phase 1 survey data was closed off on 31st August 2007. DEC staff are currently compiling information from the data sets to advise councils on their current waste management practices in the context of State-wide and like-community groups. Staff are also developing recommendations for improved performance, by councils for Phase 2, being the development of Strategic Waste Management Plans. Phase 1 resulted in an outstanding survey response from 125 (88%) of all local governments. There were also numerous lessons learnt by Departmental staff which will assist in future interaction and collaboration between the Department and local government. These included:
Closure of Round 1 for Support Scheme Grants Community Grants Scheme: Closure 2007 From over 20 applicants for the current round, the Waste Management Board, at its April 2007 meeting selected 14 projects worthy of receiving funding. Notably, there was a high regional presence among the applicants including Broome, Busselton, Badgingarra and Kalgoorlie-Boulder. The proposed projects will be based around a variety of ideas from traditional composting projects through to environmental expos, radio media focused on youth waste issues, awareness raising of waste as an environmental issue, sustainability workshops and more. The total cost of the funding round was approx $107,000. Of these, a number have already successfully completed their projects. More information on the Community Grants Scheme Strategic Waste Initiatives Scheme: Closure 2007 The round advertised in January and February 2007 attracted a total number of applications far in excess of any previous round. With six, reasonably broad, priority areas, almost 60 Expressions of Interest (EOI) were received. Over 40 proponents proceeded to submit a full application from which the Board selected 14 projects, with the total cost of the round worth approximately $901,000 at its July 2007 meeting. There was also a Community Engagement project worth $100,000 approved out of session at the March 2007 meeting, which had been previously considered in a prior round of SWIS. The proposed projects will cover a variety of ideas, dealing with issues such as waste oil, construction and demolition recovery and a variety of organics projects. More information on the Strategic Waste Initiatives Scheme See our Case Study Showcase of Grant Scheme recipients
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