Welcome to the late spring edition of EnviroNews

The warmer weather is on its way, but spring is still in the air.

In this edition, find out how you can help Frankston City's wildlife, see what environmental events are happening in your local area, provide feedback on Council's draft Towards Zero Emissions Plan, and learn about our new A-Z Waste and Recycling Directory for Frankston City. Be inspired by local groups who are eliminating plastic bag waste and going solar, plus much more!

We hope you enjoy this latest edition.

Waste wise living - Christmas and beyond

Friday 7 December, 11am

Join the inspiring Erin Rhoads (the 'Rogue Ginger', author of Waste Not and popular blogger) at the Frankston Library in December for a free talk on how to prepare for a waste wise Christmas and beyond.

Erin writes about her goal to live plastic free and a zero waste life. Erin will share her stories and practical tips to avoid and reduce single-use plastic and other throw away items, any time of the year.

This event is booking up fast and places are limited, so reserve your place now.

Draft Towards Zero Emissions Plan

Have Your Say

Council has drafted its Towards Zero Emissions Plan (2019-2023) to help Council and our communities avoid and reduce greenhouse gas emissions and their impact on climate change.

We would love your input to shape our future energy and greenhouse reduction priorities, as well as services for the community to reduce emissions.

The draft plan and an online feedback form are available on Council’s website.

Alternatively, come along to one of Council’s two local listening posts to learn more and provide feedback to Council officers working in this area (no need to book).

Session 1:

Where: Frankston Library, Corner of Playne and Young Street, Frankston

When: Thursday 8 November, 10.30am–12pm

 Session 2:

Where: Carrum Downs Library

When: Wednesday 28 November, 3.30–5pm

The draft plan is available for feedback until Monday 3 December 2018.

Mapping Frankston City's Wildlife

We need your help

Help us map local wildlife across the Frankston municipality. Whether furry, feathered or scaly – all animals count. 

If you see one, dead or alive, go to Council's online map, drop a pin in the area you spotted the wildlife, if you can, take a photo and upload it too.

We will be using this information to inform how we track and protect the wildlife we discover as a community. 

To Feed or Not to Feed

That is the question

We are blessed to have many native birds that coexist in our urban areas, and in many cases we enjoy close encounters with them, as they get used to our presence in their habitat.

While the temptation to attract birds by feeding them can be strong, regular feeding can change their nesting and feeding habits, making them dependent on food that bears little resemblance to their natural diet. This can result in ill health and even death and when the food is unavailable, some birds become aggressive. Leaving food out can also attract pest species which causes other issues.

A far better approach is to recreate a suitable habitat for them by providing clean water and growing indigenous plants that provide nectar, seeds and insects that will sustain the birds in a more natural way. Please help to keep our wild birds wild, and encourage them to find their own lunch.

Follow the link below for more information from Gardens for Wildlife Victoria on attracting wildlife to your garden.

National Recycling Week - Are you recycling right?

Monday 12 November - Sunday 18 November

Most of us think we recycle correctly, but are we?

What can and can’t be recycled has changed over the years, as technology and the market for recyclables has changed. While we may get it right most of the time, there are still some common confusions about what can go in our yellow-lidded recycling bins at home.

Check out Council's 'Bin Information' web page this National Recycling Week to make sure you know what goes where. Common contaminants in kerbside recycling bins across Frankston City include:

• recyclable items in plastics bags
• bagged garbage
• clothing and textiles

For National Recycling Week and beyond, help to reduce waste to landfill and increase the recovery of materials by knowing what goes in each bin. 

Free water at Frankston's Christmas Festival of Lights

Why buy bottled water when you can refill with safe, high quality tap water for free?

Free water hydration stations will be available at a number of upcoming Council events, including Frankston's Christmas Festival of Lights on Saturday 24 November (look out for the signed South East Water Hydration Stations). Each hydration station includes drinking taps as well as tap outlets for filling drinking bottles.

Drinking tap water is a great way to reduce your consumption of sugary drinks, and is much cheaper than buying packaged drinks or bottled water. Using your own bottle to refill will also help to reduce waste.

You can also refill your reusable bottle at one of several drinking water fountains across the municipality, any time of the year. To find you nearest fountain, download the Choose Tap app.

Community solar projects shine

Council recently installed 14 solar power systems and one solar battery storage system on its community buildings with funding from the Australian Government’s Solar Communities program.

A total of 91 kilowatts (kW) of solar capacity was installed on the buildings, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by around 140 tonnes each year. The local groups will be able to reinvest their electricity cost savings into other important community services and reduce their dependence on non-renewable energy sources.

One of the projects includes a trial of a solar battery storage system at the Seaford Life Saving Club, where excess power generated from the solar panels will be stored in a battery to increase the amount of solar energy they can directly consume.

Council has installed over 525kW of solar panels across its buildings to date, to help progress its bid to become carbon neutral by 2025 and reduce the impact of rising energy costs and climate change.

For more information on solar power, visit the Clean Energy Council’s website for their Guide to installing Solar PV for Households or for Business and Industry.

Meals on Wheels to eliminate plastic shopping bags

A helping hand for the community and the environment

Meals on Wheels is a vital community service, providing nourishing meals to older people, those with disabilities and their carers to help them remain independent in their homes. The service is strongly supported by volunteers and includes a face to face delivery service to reduce social isolation and monitor wellbeing.

Frankston City Council’s Meals on Wheels service is making reducing waste a priority, switching from single-use plastic bags to reusable shopping bags for the delivery of meals to local residents unable to prepare food themselves. This will reduce plastic bag waste by approximately 100 bags each week!

For further information about the Meals on Wheels service, contact Council on 1300 322 322 or follow the link below.

Bags, wallet, keys and phone

New catchy jingle to remember your bags!

The Victorian Government has launched a campaign to help us remember our reusable bags, ahead of next year’s Victoria-wide ban on single-use plastic shopping bags.

Research commissioned by Sustainability Victoria found around three-quarters of Victorians already carry reusable bags when food shopping, which is great.

With this short video and catchy jingle, we hope more people will easily remember to take their reusable bags.

Well that's it for now. We hope you enjoy the warmer weeks ahead and are able to spend time outside to enjoy all of the wonderful things that Frankston City has to offer.

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