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12.2
Climate Emergency Plan Report Card
12.2
Climate Emergency Plan Report Card
Directorate
City Futures
Acting Director
Leanne Deans
Manager
Michelle van Gerrevink
Attachment(s)
1. Report Card - Climate Emergency Plan 2023-2024
[
12.2.1
- 14 pages]
Purpose
For Council to consider and endorse the Climate Emergency Plan Report Card 2023/2024
at
Attachment 1
.
Officer Recommendation
That Council:
a. Notes and endorses the Climate Emergency Plan Report Card 2023-2024
at Attachment 1 and publishes on Council’s website.
b. Notes that this will be the last report card for the Climate Emergency
Plan 2020-2025, with a full Climate Emergency Plan Review to be
presented as part of the development of the next Climate Emergency
Strategy.
Background
The Climate Emergency Plan (CEP) (2020-2025) is in its fourth year. Each year a public
facing report card is released as a high-level report on plan progress. The purpose of this
report is to highlight what Council is doing to address the climate emergency.
The document is intended to be an educational piece, which reports how Council is
addressing the five CEP theme 'evaluation questions':
•
100% Renewable - What evidence is there that Brimbank is moving towards
100% renewable energy by 2030 and is decarbonising to zero net emissions by
2040?
•
People Power - What evidence is there that the Brimbank community is more
active in organising to respond to the climate emergency locally and more
broadly, and that people are able to access quality education and other means
to overcome barriers to sustainable living?
•
Green and Cool - What evidence is there the municipality is getting greener and
cooler, that habitat for threatened flora and fauna is protected and connected,
and that people are adopting a climate and health friendly relationship with
food?
•
Resilient Rebuild - What evidence is there that the resilient rebuild is occurring
in Brimbank via sustainability improvements to the built environment, and that
people are getting around more easily and often on foot, by bike, or by public
transport?
•
Circular Economy - What evidence is there that the Brimbank economy is
reducing the amount of waste to landfill, and maximising the reuse and
recycling of other products?
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The audience for the report card is intended to be the wider Brimbank community. The
report will be available to view from Council’s website at the link below. This link also
has the past three report cards for reference:
www.brimbank.vic.gov.au/plans-policies-and-strategies/plans/brimbank-climate
emergency-plan
The Report Card 2023/2024 is consistent in imagery and tone with the first three report
cards.
Matters for Consideration
Council officers have prepared the Climate Emergency Report Card to report on actions
taken to tackle the climate emergency for the 2023/2024 financial year
.
Key highlights include:
•
The full degasification of Sunshine West Community Hub, Council’s largest
facility retrofit to date.
•
The Renew Expert Webinar Series as a collaboration with the Western Alliance of
Greenhouse Action (WAGA).
•
Over 88,000 trees, shrubs, wildflowers and groundcover plants were planted by
Council across the municipality.
•
Resource Recovery Hubs were installed in four community facilities for recycling
hard to recycle items.
Key challenges include:
•
Getting off gas
•
Fleet transition to electric vehicles
•
Net zero community emissions by 2040
•
Adaptation to the effects of climate change
•
Reducing waste to landfill.
Report detail
The report card is not intended to show the progress on all the individual CEP actions in
detail. This is instead conducted internally, as per the Climate Emergency Plan Terms of
Reference. However, through the development of the next Climate Emergency Strategy,
a Climate Emergency Plan 2020-2025 Review report will detail the outcomes of each
individual action as outlined in the CEP. This is due to be presented to Council in mid-
2025.
Green Tagging
The projected budget green tagging shown in the report is intended to show how much
of the Council annual budget for 2023/2024 was allocated for climate emergency
initiatives. This is done according to the 'Rio markers' method developed by the
Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the Organisation for Economic Co
operation and Development (OECD) as part of the Rio Convention of Climate Change in
1992. This procedure involves marking individual Council budget lines under the
following criteria:
•
0= Is not targeted, 0% of budget
•
1= Is a significant objective, 40% of budget
•
2= Is a principal objective, 100% of budget.
While green tagging efforts have been made to be as consistent as possible, some
changes to budget lines, a change from projected to actual, and tagging subjectivity and
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review has resulted in some fluctuations between the years of publishing this report.
Efforts will continue to be made to ensure tagging is as consistent as possible to best
represent Council spend.
Table 1. Green tagged budget over the past three years Report Cards
Figure
22/23 green tag
budget projection
22/23 green tag
budget actual
23/24 green
tag actual
People Power
$4.1M
$2.9M
$4.2M
Green and Cool
$10.2M
$5.6M
$8.3M
Circular Economy $8.8M
$2.9M
$7.4M
100% Renewable $2.2M
$1M
$1.6M
Resilient Rebuild $3.2M
$2.1M
$4M
Total green tagged
budget
$28.5M
$14.5M
$25.7M
Percentage of total
Council budget
10.5%
5.03%
16%
Community Engagement
No community engagement has been conducted for development of this report card,
however once endorsed it will be uploaded onto Council’s website for public access,
along with the other report cards.
Resource And Risk Implications
Resource requirements can be met within the Annual Budget 2024/2025.
Report cards under the Climate Emergency Plan have been developed and published on
Council’s website to help inform the community of Council’s ongoing progress to
achieving the objectives of this Plan.
Community
: potential impact on community, including public trust and customer
service impact
• Yes – Continuing to publish yearly report cards allows the community to follow the
progress of the Climate Emergency Plan which is likely to have a positive impact on
community trust. Community will be able to access these resources to help inform future
engagement on the next Climate Emergency Strategy.
Environmental
: impacts on environmental sustainability, including water/waste
management, climate change, and contaminated land
• Yes – Published report cards share progress on the Climate Emergency Plan 2020-2025
which is a key guiding document for environmental action at Council. Community will be
able to access these resources to help inform future engagement on the next Climate
Emergency Strategy.
Legislation/Council Plan/Policy Context
This report supports the Council Plan 2021-2025 strategic direction and objective of:
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2. Places and Spaces - Liveable and connected neighbourhoods that support
healthy and sustainable futures - A green place for all
• Liveable and Connected - Inviting and liveable spaces and facilities, connected so
people can get around
• Sustainable and Green - Protect natural environments for current and future
generations
• Wellbeing
and
belonging- Responsive services that support mental health and physical
wellbeing
Council officers contributing to the preparation and approval of this report, have no
conflicts of interests to declare.
Climate Emergency Plan 2020-2025
Annual Report Card 4
1 July 2023 – 30 June 2024
Introduction
The 2023-2024 financial year (FY 23/24) was year four of implementation of the Brimbank Climate
Emergency Plan, 2020-2025: Let’s Co-Create Our Future (the Plan). This year has shown progress
with our commitment to emissions reduction and taking important steps for action to improve
resilience to the already changing climatic conditions in Brimbank.
The Climate Emergency Plan themes of People Power, 100% Renewable, Resilient Rebuild, Green
and Cool and Circular Economy drove the main achievements of this year. Under People Power, a
focus on adaptation started a collaborative project to provide heat relief in libraries and
neighbourhood houses during heat waves. Under Resilient Rebuild, the Sunshine Energy Park Vision
plan was endorsed, including a sustainability precinct with a circular economy hub and solar farm, as
well as a cultural and ecological grassland precinct.
Under 100% Renewable, the full degasification of Sunshine West Community Hub, our largest facility
retrofit to date. Green and Cool projects saw trees, shrubs and native wildflower plantings continue
for ongoing landscape restoration and upgrades of parks, conservation land and streetscapes. Under
Circular Economy new Resource Recovery Hubs were installed in four community facilities for
recycling hard to recycle items.
While significant progress has been made, key challenges remain in addressing the climate
emergency including the need to reduce emissions from energy and transport, adapting council
assets to cope with climate change and supporting our community during extreme weather events.
Brimbank City Council Corporate Emissions
Brimbank City Council’s emissions have traditionally come largely from a combination of facility gas,
vehicle fuels and electricity use. Council has reduced corporate greenhouse gas emissions by 78%
over the last 10 years. We have achieved this largely by installing roof-top solar, energy efficiency
upgrades and purchasing 100% renewable electricity via the Victorian Energy Collaboration (VECO).
Emissions have risen slightly and then stabilised since a slowdown during years affected by the
COVID lockdowns. There was a slight reduction in 2023 resulting from decreased gas usage (9.5%
decrease). Our key focuses for emissions reduction now include tackling fleet vehicle fuels and
facility gas use, as explored more in the Challenges section of this report.
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Attachment 12.2.1
People Power
Key evaluation question:
What evidence is there that the Brimbank community is more active in organising to respond to the
climate emergency locally and more broadly, and that people are able to access quality education
and other means to overcome barriers to sustainable living?
Project wins and milestones
•
Over the year Brimbank partnered with local friends’ groups, energy experts and the
regional My Smart Garden program to deliver a range of engaging community events. 47
sustainability and environmental themed community events were held for the Brimbank
community during FY 23/24, with over 1600 participants. Events covered key topics of
renewable energy, energy efficiency, electric vehicles, circular economy, native habitats,
conservation and sustainable gardening.
•
The Climate Oasis in Schools program is in its second year in 2024 with Our Lady of
Immaculate Conception Primary School, Sunshine and Cairnlea Primary School, Cairnlea
participating in 2024. The program commenced in 2023 and involves students from local
schools co-designing their school landscape to maximise greening, cooling and sustainability.
Landscape architects produce landscape plans at the end of the project for use by the
school.
•
In March 2024, Sunshine and Sydenham Libraries extended their opening hours on one
occasion in response to a heatwave, to allow a longer period of relief in the airconditioned
spaces for visitors.
•
Delahey Community Centre held facilitated community sewing sessions in early 2024 to
make Ice Pack Neck Scarves. The scarves hold ice packs which are frozen and then worn
around the neck during hot weather. They can be made out of recycled fabrics and were
developed as part of a collaborative project between the Climate Emergency and
Environment, Social Policy, Youth Services and Community Learning and Participation
departments. Libraries and Neighbourhood Houses provide community members with the
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Attachment 12.2.1
cooling attire to wear during very hot weather. The project is one action council is taking to
help members of our community adapt to the effects of climate change. The project team is
continuing to work with community groups to produce enough ties to hand out to facilities
visitors during hot days in summer.
•
2023 was the first year of council’s Renew Expert Webinar Series as a collaboration with the
Western Alliance of Greenhouse Action (WAGA). Over 300 people across the west attended
live sessions on topics including Solar and Batteries, Electric Vehicles and Energy Efficiency
for Renters. Webinars are continuing in 2024 with new expert topics including Designing for
Resilience and Draught Proofing Your Home. Recordings videos uploaded in FY 23/24 have
been viewed online over 1500 times on YouTube.
Figure 1: Cool Ice scarf making workshop at Delahay Community Centre
100% Renewable
Key evaluation question:
What evidence is there that Brimbank is moving towards 100% renewable energy by 2030 and is
decarbonising to zero net emissions by 2040?
Project wins and milestones
[Call out box] All Electric Sunshine West Community Centre
Sunshine West Community Centre is Brimbank's first major facility to be fully taken off gas through a
building retrofit. In 2019, a series of energy reduction measures and efficiency upgrades, including
the installation of a 90kW rooftop solar PV system, three Tesla Powerwall 2 energy storage systems
and LED lighting upgrades were completed.
Further upgrade works began in 2023 addressed aging gas infrastructure in the building, including
gas heating, water heating and gas cooktops with new electric versions, to make better use of the
facility solar and battery. In April 2024 the decommissioning of the gas furnace, gas hot water
heaters to electric heat pumps, and conversion of gas cook tops to electric and induction cook tops
was completed.
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Attachment 12.2.1
Since 2019, these projects have achieved a substantial reduction in gas consumption. Gas usage
dropped from 425 gigajoules (GJ) per annum in 2018, before the energy upgrades, to 18.25 GJ per
annum. Following the completion of degasification works, gas consumption was entirely eliminated.
This reduction has led to the abatement of 17.6 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) and
total utility savings of over $1000 per annum.
Gas heater being towed away at West Sunshine Community Centre
[Other projects, check boxes]
•
Brimbank is lead Council for the Victorian Energy Collaboration Group (VECO), a buying
group for renewable electricity across 60 councils in Victoria. In FY 23/24 VECO was
responsible for:
o
Reducing Brimbank Council’s operational emissions by 12,340 tonnes of CO2
equivalent
o
Reducing Brimbank Council’s electricity spend by over $212,138 when compared to
conventional energy contracts.
o
Avoiding 247,158.5 tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions for the whole group of
councils from electricity supply (scope 2 & 3)
o
The addition of nine more councils to the participants group in the last financial
year, bringing the total to 60 councils.
•
11.4 kW of solar was added across community sports facilities in Brimbank in the FY 23/24,
with new systems for Ardeer Pavilion, Green Gully Pavilion and Larissa Pavilion.
•
The Energy Tips website was launched by Brimbank City Council in collaboration with WAGA
and Geelong Sustainability. The website is an online resource which helps map out energy
efficiency measures for local businesses through visualisations of some of the most common
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Attachment 12.2.1
business premises in the west: hospitality, retail, offices and small manufacturing. Tips are
designed to help businesses cut energy expenses and improve operational efficiency through
useful advice about energy efficient appliances like fridges, televisions, computers and more.
•
The Business Renewable Buying Group program was launched in 2023 as a group electricity
purchasing initiative designed to bring like-minded businesses together to switch to 100%
renewable electricity. With the support of an external facilitator, the group is working
collectively to scale up their buying power whilst cutting complexity, time, and cost
associated with going 100% renewable. Recruitment for the program has begun and will
continue throughout 2024.
•
In 2024 Brimbank successfully received funding from the Federal Government’s Australian
Renewable Energy Agency’s Driving the Nation Program to purchase three new parks fleet
tipper trucks. Purchase and use of these vehicles will help council trial usability, charge
timing and supported charging infrastructure needs for EV fleet, which will be crucial
knowledge to support the ongoing EV roll out across operations. Reporting on these
learnings will be shared with the wider industry.
•
Brimbank has received a grant of $500,000 from the Federal Government to install a
Community Battery. The battery will enable more houses to install solar and support the grid
to make store surplus solar energy to release during the evening peak. This will enable more
of our communities’ energy use to be powered by renewables!
Retail view for new Energy Tips website for businesses
Resilient Rebuild
Key evaluation question:
What evidence is there that the resilient rebuild is occurring in Brimbank via sustainability
improvements to the built environment, and that people are getting around more easily and often
on foot, by bike, or by public transport?
Project wins and milestones
Sunshine Energy Park
Sunshine Energy Park Vision Plan was adopted by council in May 2024 to guide the future planning,
design, development and ongoing feasibility and advocacy for Sunshine Energy Park.
Council received extensive feedback from the Brimbank community to develop the plan and heard
strong support for features including walking, cycling, public transport connections and
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Attachment 12.2.1
environmental sustainability. As a result, the vision plan includes space for a cultural and ecological
precinct, a sustainability precinct and a cycling precinct.
The Vision Plan provides a framework to transform the site to become the ‘central park’ for
Brimbank and Melbourne’s west in the future and enables the development of further feasibility
studies and business cases that seek funding to deliver various aspects of the Vision Plan.
Active transport
Council is continuing to invest in safer active transport infrastructure with 1,790m of shared user
paths added in FY 23/24. These include at Denbigh Court, Keilor; Biggs Street, St. Albans; Billingham
Road, Deer Park; Derrimut Street, Albion and Colby Link, Derrimut.
Designs are complete for another 1,635m of paths to be constructed in the 2024/2025 financial year.
Research by the Bicycle Network shows an 11% growth in total bicycle use in Brimbank in the year
from 2023 to 2024, however some of the locational studies show more stable trends in use.
Planning and design policy
•
Brimbank has been campaigning for stronger planning system polices since 2021 through the
Planning for a Safe Climate campaign led by the Victorian Greenhouse Alliances and the
Council Alliance for a Sustainable Built Environment. As result of this advocacy the state
government introduced amendments to the Planning and Environment Act 1987. The
amendments “require consideration of climate change when making planning decisions
about the use and development of land under the act and for other purposes, which
includes greenhouse gas emissions, reductions targets and increased climate resilience”.
This was a key ask of the campaign.
•
The Brimbank website has been updated with a suite of Environmentally Sustainable Design
resources which outline expectations as part of the planning process for private building
design proposed for construction in Brimbank. New webpages include information about
what needs to be included in an ESD report, information on key rating tools, industry
technical manuals and factsheets.
Urban renewal
Every year council conducts road rehabilitation and maintenance works. Councils Engineering and
Urban Design Departments are working together as part of a Creating Better Streets Project to select
key streets close to shops, transport and schools for co-design upgrades as part of the rehabilitation.
Upgrades can include increased footpath width, adding bike spaces, more trees and shade, pocket
parks and passive irrigation. Derrimut Street, Albion; George Street, Sunshine and Suffolk Street,
North Sunshine have been upgraded in FY 23/24, with more upgrades across the municipality to
come.
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Attachment 12.2.1
Better Streets for People Project upgrade complete at George Street, Sunshine including increased
footpath width, tree planting for shade trees and passive irrigation.
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Attachment 12.2.1
Green and Cool
Key evaluation question:
What evidence is there the municipality is getting greener and cooler, that habitat for threatened
flora and fauna is protected and connected, and that people are adopting a climate and health
friendly relationship with food?
Project wins and milestones
[Call out box]
Connecting and protecting wildlife in Brimbank
Council undertakes extensive programs each year to enhance and restore native habitat sites
including grasslands and riparian land around water ways to strategically improve wildlife habitat
connections and increase high quality habitat across the municipality.
In 2024 Council signed two grant agreements with the State Government to deliver restoration
projects totalling $400,000 along Brimbank waterways. Projects involve working with Friends’ groups
and local community to restore large sections of native riparian vegetation to improve habitat and
connectivity, as well as contributing to urban cooling. These projects will provide many more
community planting opportunities over the next two to three years.
[Other projects, check boxes]
•
Over 88,000 trees, shrubs, wildflowers and groundcover plants were planted by Council
across the municipality in the FY 23/24. This number includes:
o
2,528 large trees planted.
o
52,000 locally indigenous trees, shrubs, wildflowers and groundcovers planted into
conservation areas and along creeks to enhance biodiversity and create habitat for
local wildlife.
o
Partnering closely with local Friends’ groups and community groups to plant 5,427
shrubs, grasses and wildflowers with the community, with a total 380 community
members participating.
o
6,500 seedlings and native tube stock planted in road reserves, community facility
landscapes and parks.
o
2,000 plants propagated in council’s dedicated plant nursery.
•
15 Brimbank primary and secondary schools took part in the Wildflowers for Schools
Program with 750 native wildflowers seedlings in total delivered to schools in FY 23/24.
•
Council officers supported Friends’ groups to apply for Greater Western Water grants
focused on improving Growling Grass Frog habitat in Organ Pipes and Yalluk barring Park
grassland areas.
•
Council officers supported 20 Brimbank schools, businesses and community groups to host
Clean up Australia Day events with a total of 600 participants in 2024.
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Attachment 12.2.1
Community Planting for World Environment Day 2024
Circular Economy
Key evaluation question:
What evidence is there that the Brimbank economy is reducing the amount of waste to landfill, and
maximising the reuse and recycling of other products?
Project wins and milestones
[Call out box] Resource Recovery Hubs
Four Resource Recovery Hubs have now been installed for residents to conveniently drop off broken
or unwanted household electronics and small appliances. The hubs are located at Brimbank Aquatic
and Wellness Centre, Sunshine Civic Centre, Westvale Neighbourhood House and West Sunshine
Community Centre. Goods are taken to be repaired at Green Collect for repurpose and reuse, before
recycling materials as last option.
172kg of items were collected in the first months of operation in May-June 2024 with a majority of IT
and electrical items.
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Attachment 12.2.1
The new Resource Recovery Hubs
[Other projects, check boxes]
•
Businesses from across the western suburbs were invited to an evening showcasing
sustainable business practices at Mount Zero Olives, Sunshine West with 36 attendees in
March 2024. The event showcased Mount Zero’s sustainable practices including initiatives
on zero waste production and retail, home compostable packaging and reusable packaging.
•
Brimbank joined a collaborative project with 14 other councils to deliver The Nappy Project
in 2023. This included hosting one workshop for Brimbank maternal health nurses and three
community workshops to promote the use of reusable nappies. 17 community members
participated and received a free pack of sample reusable nappy types to the value of $150 as
well as an information kit.
•
Brimbank hosted a Zero Waste Cooking Workshop at Sydenham Neighbourhood House as
part of the National Sustainability Festival in February 2024. Not for profit group Open Table
ran the workshop with 18 participants.
•
Brimbank held a waste free staff Christmas party! The event diverted 365 plates, 106 bowls
and 119 spoons from landfill. A total of 59kg of waste saved from landfill.
•
Council held two community Reusable Goods Drop Off Days in FY 23/24 with a total of 160
households dropping off goods, and 54 cubic metres of furniture, clothing, toys, books and
household appliances donated.
•
Council ran a public education campaign around proper use of recycling and Food Organics
and Garden Organics (FOGO) bins. Phase 1 of campaign included a survey in November 2023
to understand community knowledge of what can go in your recycling bin. This was followed
by a campaign in February 2024 which addressed plastic bags as the greatest contaminants
in recycling bins with advertisements appearing in local bus stop and newspapers. The next
phase of this project will be to monitor the effectiveness of the campaign through a
recycling bin audit.
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Attachment 12.2.1
Mount Zero olives tour
Recycling education campaign in 2024
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Attachment 12.2.1
Challenges
While important work is being done to address the Climate Emergency key challenges remain.
Getting off gas
Natural gas is used in at least 38 council facilities. Gas is a fossil fuel which, unlike our
electricity, cannot be sourced renewably. In 2024 we developed a Degasification Plan to help
determine priorities for switching council facilities to all electric and this will be a key plan to
help guide us towards net zero by 2030. Degasification of our facilities is a key step towards
zero net emissions for Council operations by 2030. While there is sometimes a high cost to
upgrade these systems to electric, the all-electric facilities are expected to save Council
money in the long term.
In 2024 we took a major facility off gas when we disconnected hot water and gas cooking
from Sunshine West Community Centre when the aging utilities at the centre were due for a
replacement. By replacing these with efficient electric alternatives, the upgrades are
expected to save council over $1000 per year and reduce 17.6 tonnes of carbon dioxide
equivalent (tCO2e) emissions per year.
Fleet transition to electric vehicles
Council’s fleet of vehicles includes passenger vehicles, utes, small and large trucks. The great
majority of these are Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles powered by petrol or diesel.
To meet zero net emissions for Council operations by 2030 means converting these to
electric vehicles (EVs). The challenge with this is that currently, not all vehicles have an
electric alternative and that for those that do, the electric version is generally much more
expensive to purchase.
The transition to EVs will also require investment in charging infrastructure and electrical
upgrade works.
Net zero community emissions by 2040
Our Climate Emergency Plan sets a target of net zero community emissions for the
municipality by 2040. This will be an enormous challenge as Council has limited influence on
the controlling factors for the majority of those emissions sources. Nonetheless, supporting
the community to achieve net zero emissions is a high priority for Council.
The Total Municipal Emissions figure as shown below shows that Brimbank’s municipal
emissions largely comes from a combination of electricity, gas and vehicle fuels.
•
Electricity
- The emissions factor of the electricity grid is reducing significantly as
more renewable energy is installed, this includes rooftop solar and large-scale
renewable energy projects.
•
Gas
– Getting off gas is a challenge particularly for low-income households and
renters, there are long term financial benefits to getting off gas particularly in
parallel with rooftop solar, however upfront costs can be high. Replacing gas
machinery for large scale industrial processing is also challenging for some
businesses.
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Attachment 12.2.1
•
Transport
– while other emissions are reducing, transport is continuing to increase,
despite the uptake in electric vehicles. Efforts for council to build more safe active
transport infrastructure, advocate for better public transport and support more
public and private electric vehicle charging are ongoing.
Adaptation to the effects of climate change
Adaptation to the effects of climate change will be key role for council to play in the years to come.
Adapting council assets to cope extreme weather will be a focus, as we know that the costs of
upgrading assets to cope with extreme weather will be much lower than the cost to rebuild after an
extreme whether event has damaged infrastructure such as roads, bridges and drains.
Brimbank is one of the hottest and most disadvantaged municipalities in Melbourne. Supporting our
community during extreme weather events is vital, and we already see community expectation for
facilities including libraries and aquatic centres to cater to an increased demand during heat waves
as a safe and cool place, particularly for low-income households who may not have effective air
conditioning at home.
While work is being done to make the municipality greener and cooler it remains a key challenge.
Reducing waste to landfill
The transition to a circular economy remains a key challenge. Audits of our waste bins show high
levels of recoverable materials still going to landfill. The contents of the garbage bin that should go
in the recycling (11%) or organics bins (49%) increased from 50% in 2023 to 60% in 2024. We
also have a high level of contamination in the recycling stream, which was 30% in our last audit
which is considerably higher than the state-wide average of 10.4%. This highlights the need for
continued education of our community to explain the importance of getting things in the right bin.
Also more needs to be done at a statewide and national level to develop processing options and
end markets for hard to recycle items such as soft plastics and textiles.
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Attachment 12.2.1
Green Tagging for 2023/2024 financial year
•
16% of the total budget was green tagged
•
Total amount of annual budget green tagged $25.7M
•
People Power $4.2M
•
Circular Economy $7.4M
•
Cool and Green $8.3M
•
100% Renewable $1.6M
•
Resilient Rebuild $4M
Commented [AO1]:
New figures here- integrate into
design from last year below
Commented [AO2]:
Last year’s page, same page in this
edition but numbers to be updated.
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Attachment 12.2.1
