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Season’s Greetings from Zero Waste SA To our valued friends, supporters and partners, best wishes for a safe and carbon-neutral Festive Season. Make or buy gifts that are useful, that last, that are worth repairing if they break or fail and, if they must be wrapped, use a reusable bag or packaging that can be recycled.
Spotlight on 2007 - highlights The power of partnerships Zero Waste SA could not deliver its program without the support of its project partners. We worked with the Local Government Association of South Australia on several initiatives, including the successful Waste Pathways forum held in February. We continued to support the Waste Management Association of Australia (SA Branch), Compost SA and the SA Retail Property Group. New linkages through Adelaide’s Sustainable 1000, Business Sustainability Alliance and the tertiary educational sector will bear fruit in 2008.
KESAB tidies up KESAB environmental solutions continued to deliver key programs at the grass roots for Zero Waste SA. It celebrated the 30th anniversary for Tidy Towns Awards. Pictured are winners of the Resource Recovery and Waste Management Award with Frances Bedford, MP, Member for Florey, representing the Minister for Environment and Conservation and the Premier (second from left) with Ashley Watson, Chair, KESAB Environmental Solutions (left) and Vaughan Levitzke, Chief Executive, Zero Waste SA (second from right).
Moving towards food waste Councils that have introduced 3-bin systems have contributed to an increase in recycling from 25% to 50% in 3 years and most metropolitan councils have now adopted, or plan to adopt, high-yielding kerbside recycling collections. We released John Comrie’s business case which gives councils a better understanding of the cost implications for introducing co-collection of food and garden organic waste – and prepares the ground for Zero Waste SA to pilot such a co-collection in 2008. Meanwhile, we rolled out our garden organics contamination awareness campaign with the assistance of Jeffries, East Waste, Cleanaway, Compost SA and Port Adelaide Enfield and Campbelltown Council's. Pictured with the Hon Gail Gago, Minister for Environment and Conservation are Campbelltown Council’s Rod Harvey and Port Adelaide Enfield’s Mayor, Gary Johanson.
Regional planning gets traction Regional waste management planning in South Australia gained traction with our Task Force for Regional Programs spearheading a collaborative and consultative approach towards infrastructure investment. Applications for financial support are now assessed and prioritised at the regional level. Pictured: the members of the Eyre Peninsula Regional Assessment Panel in action at Port Lincoln.
Decreased waste to landfill The decrease in waste to landfill continued, despite South Australia’s growing economy. Behind the scenes, we worked with the manufacturers from the food, clothing and automotive sectors to help drive improvements to waste management and started to work on separation systems for commercial waste. Zero Waste SA’s practical guide advising retailers about how they can cut the amount of waste going to landfill was released in March.
Community demands household detox Household and farm collections continued to remove large quantities of hazardous waste from the environment. During 2007, the program collected for safe disposal 176.8 tonnes of hazardous materials from 3,155 members of the community in 9 collections (representing 12 Councils). Pictured with Zero Waste SA’s Program Manager Colleen Dobson are Stephen Saffin, City of Mitcham, Bruce Lang, Corporation of the City of Unley and Laurie Ardill, Transpacific Industries Group Ltd.
Education gets WOW factor Zero Waste SA’s flagship educational program delivered by KESAB environmental solutions, Wipe Out Waste, continued to grow from strength to strength. Glen Osmond Primary hosted a workshop for teachers a year after the program’s launch at that school in 2006. Regional schools also hosted workshops, including Port Lincoln Primary School in September 2007.
Innovation drives change and awareness Our innovative approach towards education and awareness saw the Premier, the Hon Mike Rann, announcing the winning entry in the Eco TVC national competition in February. Young people created television commercials to promote zero waste. In June we unveiled the Zero Waste Lifeline public artwork set in the Range Wetlands, Dry Creek – and received a Commendation from the Design Institute of Australia.
Green fit-outs - from fringe to front page In 2007, the retro-fitting of existing buildings with sustainability principles finally became front of mind for property developers and media. Zero Waste SA’s green fit-out received a 4.5 star energy rating, a big achievement given the 3 star rating of Statewide House. The fit-out continued to attract interest from both public and private sector organisations. It caught the eyes of SA Life, which featured Chief Executive Vaughan Levitzke in his ‘green’ office (pictured), the Australian Financial Review, Channel 9’s popular Building Ideas program and the international glossy publication, Details 25.
Introducing our Board members
Front: Tom Spirat, Corporation of the City of Whyalla, Megan Dyson, EPA Board member, Lachlan Jeffries, Jeffries Group, Cheryl Hill, Conservation Council of South Australia. Back: Vaughan Levitzke (Chief Executive) Zero Waste SA, Ros DeGaris, Adelaide Brighton Ltd, Jeff Tate, City of Onkaparinga, Anne Harvey, Department of the Premier and Cabinet, Allan Holmes (Chair), Department for Environment and Heritage.
2007 Inaugural Premier's Award Zero Waste SA has been awarded an inaugural 2007 Premier’s Award in the category of Attaining Sustainability. The award recognises Zero Waste SA ‘s leadership role nationally and worldwide for its in-house actions and programs, including picking up awards for its sustainable office fit-out. Its submission, Living and Breathing the Zero Waste Ethos, acknowledges the important contribution of staff and project partners in bringing about changes to waste management in South Australia. “Staff are proud to work at Zero Waste SA,” Chief Executive Vaughan Levitzke said. “Each staff member is a change agent in their own right and is dedicated to creating a less wasteful quality of life with the South Australia community.” Congratulations to the other award winners, including the Department of Primary Industries and Resources South Australia (Growing Prosperity), SA Dental Service (Improving Wellbeing), BioInnovation SA (Fostering Creativity and Innovation), Department of Further Education, Employment, Science and Technology (Building Communities), Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation Division (Expanding Opportunities). Pictured are the Premier, Hon Mike Rann, with Zero Waste SA Chief Executive Vaughan Levitzke.
NZ welcomes our young professional Zero Waste SA’s Erin Henson was awarded a Waste Management Association of Australia Young Professionals Conference Scholarship for 2007. Erin’s responsibilities at Zero Waste SA are diverse, ranging from the Social Enterprise Grants Incentives program, Wipe Out Waste schools program, illegal dumping prevention and public place recycling policy. Attending the WasteMINZ (Waste Management Institute New Zealand Incorporated) 19th annual conference in Hamilton, New Zealand, Erin joined more than 450 representatives from government and the waste management industry. “There were many interesting site tours, including a visit to Xtreme Waste’s Recycle Centre for an introduction to the community waste enterprise, which has made the local community the ‘recycling capital of the country',” Erin said. “New Zealanders were very interested in talking to me about Container Deposit Legislation knowing that I came from the land where it exists successfully. I was also able to share with those coordinating WOMAD Taranaki NZ about the success of introducing recycling at WOMADelaide in South Australia.”
A world first for The Avoiders Zero Waste SA’s volleyball team, The Avoiders, made history when it won the B grade final against Aussie Home Loans at Adelaide’s City Beach on Tuesday, 11 December, 2007. It was an early Christmas gift for the newcomer team, which has played two seasons in the competition. The team had the advantage of Zero Waste SA’s ‘veterans’ Leigh Taylor and Philip Matthews. Divine intervention was also a possibility with the United Church of Australia’s Nathan Harding. Team-mates include Erin Henson, Angus Mitchell and Piero Fioretti, “The game was a draw, and came down to a play-off consisting of 2 points and we won both,” Leigh Taylor said.
In other sporting news, Zero Waste SA’s Angus Mitchell won a gold medal at this year’s Waste Management Association of Australia (SA branch) golf day held at the Grange Golf Club. Playing in a team with Fraser Bell and Sims Metal’s Rod Bonnette and Andrew Bell, Angus rediscovered his talent for swinging a golf club after a break of five years.
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| 2007 Inaugural Premier’s Award Zero Waste SA has been awarded an inaugural 2007 Premier’s Award in the category of Attaining Sustainability. |
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NZ welcomes our young professional |
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| Inside this issue | ||
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| Season's Greetings from Zero Waste SA | ||
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| Introducing our Board members | ||
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| NZ welcomes our young professional | ||
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| World first for The Avoiders | ||
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