Cardinia Shire Council - Annual Report 2017-18

trialled the use of CCTV cameras at dumping hot spots,
changing the location of the CCTV cameras every four to
six weeks. The CCTV footage will be used to record site
activities and help identify offenders and help reduce the
illegal dumping of rubbish.
While the kerbside recycling industry faced ongoing
challenges in its operations during 2017–18, Council
was able to continue its recycling processing services,
ensuring transparent communication and education for
our community. Council is committed to recycling, and
our Waste and Resources Recovery Strategy strongly
advocates for reuse and recycling. Our vision is to ensure
waste and resource recovery services will be appropriate,
provide value for money, and produce improved
environmental benefits and amenity for our community.
In other initiatives, we increased our compost bin rebate
from $30 to $50 and allowed for garden mulchers to
be included. We also provided a free drop-off service for
green waste and owing to its success, will continue the
service for a further two years. As a result of a green bin
promotion project, an additional 680 green waste bins
were taken up in the community.
Thoughtful planning
Council continues to assess planning permit applications
with regard to environment and vegetation protection
policies. We also encourage developments to incorporate
environmentally sustainable design measures where
appropriate. In 2017–18, the following planning scheme
amendments were progressed:
• Planning Scheme Amendment C223, which
applies the Heritage Overlay to Dalmore Hall to
ensure the ongoing use and preservation of this
historical building
• Planning Scheme Amendment C229, which protects
movement corridors of the endangered southern
brown bandicoot
• Planning Scheme Amendment C242, which protects
a number of historically significant places in the
Pakenham Activity Centre.
Challenges
Managing the natural and built environment is a
significant responsibility for Council and will have
ongoing implications for future generations. Council’s
greatest challenge is to sustainably manage the diverse
urban and rural areas with the multifaceted impacts
of population growth on infrastructure, services, and
social and cultural life in the shire. We must responsibly
manage the competing demands of the natural and built
environments by balancing our conservation efforts and
preservation of the natural environment with the need for
further development to serve our growing community.
Many of our Council buildings were built before
environmentally sustainable design was a focus.
Improving the operational efficiency and minimising
the environmental impact of these older buildings is a
continuing challenge for us. Council will also be required
to respond appropriately to further changes in the
recycling industry to ensure viability and sustainability of
our service. We will need to seek alternatives to landfill
disposal of rubbish and continue to advocate for and
support waste reduction in the community.
Looking forward
In the coming year, Council will aim to complete and
adopt the Pest Plant Management Strategy to reduce
pest plant infestations across the shire. The strategy
will highlight the combined role of all land managers
including Council, Victorian and Australian government
agencies, and private landholders. We will also be aiming
to complete and adopt the Biodiversity Conservation
Strategy, providing long-term strategic direction to
conserve biodiversity on both private and public land,
while working in partnership with the community.
We’ll continue to provide community awareness and
participation opportunities such as a biodiversity
education program for selected primary schools and
kindergartens, the Gardens for Wildlife Program to help
residents encourage native animals into their gardens,
and activities in collaboration with volunteer groups,
including sustainable living workshops and National Tree
Day plantings.
We’ll also continue to implement annual sustainability
programs at our facilities to improve operational
efficiencies and reduce the impact to our environment.
We will investigate the feasibility of a food waste
collection system to divert food waste from landfill and
significantly reduce carbon emissions. We will also
explore alternatives to landfill with other councils in the
south-east and the Metropolitan Waste and Resource
Recovery Group.
Introduction Year in review Our Council Our organisation Our performance
Governance and
management
Performance
statement
Financial
statements
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