Pittwater Life September 2020 Issue

Editorial
Give thought to the environment
COVID-19 continues to
impact our lives; but it is
also having a huge effect on
the environment.
With more of us spending
more time at home, either for
work or to simply keep out of
society’s way, there has been
a huge increase in online
purchases of everything from
food to clothing to furniture
and more.
That has seen a massive
increase in packaging, some of
which (paper, cardboard) ends
up recycled while other (think
horrid styrofoam and plastic)
is ending up in landfill.
It seems the good habits
we developed over the past
few years have been put on
‘pause’ as we fall back on the
convenience of single-use
plastics, and worse.
This month we approached
Northern Beaches Council,
the Kimbriki Resource
Recovery Centre plus some key
community environmental
groups to try to see if a pattern
has emerged since the NSW
COVID-19 lockdown in late
March.
Council confirmed our fears:
between March and June this
year, waste is up 14% on the
corresponding period in 2019.
But there is a silver lining. It
comes at a time when Council
is heralding breakthroughs in
environmental management.
Although the volume of
waste is up, Council says its
new waste processing contract
has seen a great percentage
of the increase recovered and
a substantial reduction in
the amount of waste sent to
landfill – down 27% (March-
June).
Next steps are to ensure
what is recovered can actually
be recycled.
But it’s a positive, for sure.
Let’s all of us stay mindful
of our obligation to the
environment during this
challenging time. – Nigel Wall
The Local Voice Since 1991
SEPTEMBER 2020 3