Protecting our underwater wonderland - Sunshine Coast Council ...

Illegal dumping
crackdown
Council staff Alan Rogers and Sally Wright with Simon Warner (CEO South East
Queensland catchments) and Mayor Mark Jamieson.
Warning signs are now clearly
visible at illegal dumping
hot spots across the region.
Surveillance cameras are also
being trialled at a number of
these sites to catch offenders
in the act.
Penalties for illegal rubbish
dumping range from $1600 to
$100,000. In contrast, it costs
only $14 to drop a trailer-load of
rubbish at any Sunshine Coast tip.
Mattresses are one of the most
common items dumped. To
address this, council set up a
mattress-recycling program
that aims to take the 14,000
mattresses that are discarded
each year on the Sunshine Coast
and recycle the springs, foam
and timber. Council charges $10
to dispose of foam mattresses
and $20 for an inner spring.
Council has engaged a litter
management offi cer and will be
taking fi rm action to address
illegal dumping on council
controlled land. As Encompass
went to press, six offenders
had complied with orders from
council to clean up their illegally
dumped rubbish to avoid
possible prosecution. Please
report any incidents to council
Customer Contact Centre on
5475 7272.
Leading the way in the
sustainability revolution
Council has proven its commitment to becoming Australia’s most
sustainable region by taking out the Corporate Sustainability Award at
the 2012 Premier’s Corporate Sustainability Awards.
The decision to embrace sustainability
initiatives across the workplace makes
good business sense. It sees a win
for the environment and a win for
council’s bottom line.
Council’s success is based on a
strong framework of sustainability
related policies, strategies and plans.
These include the Climate Change
and Peak Oil Strategy, Corporate
Carbon Neutral Plan, Biodiversity
Strategy, Sustainable Transport
Strategy, Waste Minimisation
Strategy, Affordable Living Strategy
and Energy Transition Plan.
Council also has an organisationwide
Sustainability Champion network
across the business and supports
staff with formal training such as the
in-house Diploma of Sustainability
delivered by the Sunshine Coast
Institute of TAFE.
Lachlan’s letter puts a lid on litter
While most five year olds don’t take tidiness too
seriously, Tewantin youngster Lachlan is very
much the exception.
Fed up with the litter that was regularly left lying in
his local park, Lachlan wrote a letter requesting a
litter bin be installed to remedy the problem – and
he sent it straight to the Mayor!
Council responded by assessing the area
and installing a litter bin adjacent to the park’s
playground. A decision was also made to award
Lachlan, a Sunshine Beach State School student,
with an official ‘Litter Champion’ certificate.
10 Sunshine Coast Council Encompass August 2012