Tipping Point Conference wrap up

Thank you to everyone who joined us on 5 and 6 March for Tipping Point: Engagement beyond the fridge magnet. We heard from inspiring speakers, networked and gained the knowledge and tools to lead the way at the tipping point of change in education and engagement. Over 135 people from metropolitan Melbourne, regional Victoria, New Zealand and East Timor attended the Conference. A big thank you to our speakers from far and wide who presented, networked and participated.

The second day of tours across Melbourne continued the success of the first day. Participants learnt more about everything from charitable recycling, e-waste recycling and community gardening. A huge thank you to all the hosts who were so generous in giving their time to share their projects.

This event wouldn’t have happened without the support of our sponsors. We thank our principal sponsors Fresh Bins and the Australian Packaging Covenant and to our other valued sponsors EcoGuardians, Kenmore DMP and EnviroCom for their support. Read more about the conference sponsors here.

Clean Waterways are Everyone's Business - LYLS launch

The 'Clean Waterways are Everyone’s Business' project was launched on 12 March at Camberwell Market Shopping District by Rob Millard, MWMG CEO, and Councillor Heinz Kreutz of Boroondara City Council.

The Minister for Environment and Climate Change, Ryan Smith, congratulated traders who, along with MWMG, Melbourne Water and the cities of Boroondara, Melbourne, Port Phillip, Stonnington and Yarra, have joined the fight to reduce litter and improve the water quality of the Yarra River. Read the Minister’s media release here.

The launch marked the imminent commencement of the project with traders located around the Camberwell Market and provided a great opportunity for project stakeholders, partners and participants to meet informally and talk about local stormwater issues.

The 'Clean Waterways are Everyone’s Business' project is the theme for the 2013 LYLS program and will target a litter hot spot shopping district in each of the five participating councils.

For more information visit mwmg.vic.gov.au/lyls

Get it Right on Bin Night update

Planning for the next phase of the ‘Get it Right on Bin Night’ kerbside recycling program is underway following completion of the evaluation for Phase A.

Sustainability Victoria (SV) with assistance from MWMG is in the process of reviewing the evaluation and developing a broad strategy for Phase B, along with a specific strategy for CALD audiences. The strategy development will consider a mix of communications and engagement approaches. Development of the CALD Strategy is being influenced by outputs of a CALD workshop which was hosted by MWMG and SV on 21 February. The workshop involved council waste education officers, cultural diversity officers and several representatives from other organisations who work with CALD groups, including the Australian Red Cross and Environment Victoria.

For more information please contact hamish.jacobsen@mwmg.vic.gov.au (8698 9811).

Drop off, recover and recycle

Want to know where to drop off e-waste, recycle cooking oil or take a trailer of bricks and garden waste? Have you tried the MWMG website’s ‘find a drop-off centre’ function? Simply type in your postcode or select the type of material you need to dispose of, or want to recycle. The search function will locate nearby council resource recovery centres and transfer stations and provide information on whether items are recycled or landfilled.

MWMG’s ‘find a drop-off centre’ is one of the most popular functions on the MWMG website but a database is only as good as its input. If your council operates one of the facilities listed on this page, please take a few minutes to review whether the items accepted at your facility and the destination for items (recycling or landfill) is correct. The easiest way to do this is to type in a nearby postcode and then click on your facility. You are then able to view the status of all items. Please contact our web team (web.editor@mwmg.vic.gov.au) regarding any incorrect information. We are always happy to receive feedback, make amendments or additions.

We also encourage councils and other relevant organisations to promote the search function via a link on their website.

The Metropolitan Local Government Waste and Resource Recovery Fund

Over two million dollars has been already been allocated to 27 projects through the Metropolitan Local Government Waste and Resource Recovery Fund. The outcomes from these projects will be presented to MWMG stakeholders through the Metropolitan Local Governments’ Waste Forum and other MWMG working groups in 2013.

MWMG is currently undertaking a review of the Fund to assess how funded projects from Round One and Two have delivered on the strategic goals and objectives of the fund. The review will also identify key target areas in order to set the direction for future funding rounds.

For a full list of funded projects click here.

Please contact matthew.nelson@mwmg.vic.gov.au or shannon.smyth@mwmg.vic.gov.au for more information.

FIX It - Switches, Stitches and Splinter

MWMG provided support to stage another Fix It workshop at this year’s Sustainable Living Festival (SLF). Fix It provides a way for MWMG to engage the community on the reuse and/or repair of goods, giving new life to household items that may have instead been disposed to landfill.

Participants brought in items for repair, e.g. lamps and/or learnt new skills in fixing (carpentry) and mending (sewing). The Shed was busy with children and adults learning and gaining confidence in repairing and re-imagining items for other uses.

Fix It groups have started up elsewhere in Melbourne, Nillumbik, Altona and even as far away as Denmark. For more information contact zandy.powell@mwmg.vic.gov.au.

Dairy Australia visits Compost Victoria processors

MIDO recently organised visits by Dairy Australia representatives to two Compost Victoria processors (Enviromix at Dingley and NRS at Dandenong). This provided an opportunity for processors to engage with farmers and dairy industry representatives and to understand dairy farming production systems and the requirements of recycled organics products to be accepted and used for soil and pasture improvement in the dairy industry.

Compost Victoria is also participating in a CSIRO carbon sequestration project, a DAFF-funded project 'An assessment of the carbon sequestration potential of organic soil amendments'. All the major processors NRS, Enviromix, SITA, Gippsland Water and PineGro, have provided compost samples to be analysed as part of the project. The project will quantify the relationship between the chemical composition of organic carbon and how it decomposes in a variety of potential soil organic amendments including recycle organic compost. Michael Wood General manager of Enviromix and Chairmen of Compost Victoria said “This project will provide our industry with real meaningful data in relation what type of carbon is in our compost and for how long it will stay in the soil.”

Upcoming events

Compost Victoria will have a display at the following upcoming trade shows: Farm World at Lardner Park (near Warragul) from Thursday 21 to Sunday 24 March 2013 and the National Vegetable Expo at Werribee on Thursday 2 and Friday 3 May. Compost Victoria will also be holding training on Compost certification (including available schemes, what they represent, and choosing the best certification scheme) on 18 April 2013. The training will be delivered by Angus Campbell from Recycled Organics Unit.

For more information on MIDO activities and upcoming events contact slobodan@wmaa.asn.au.

MWMG welcomes new staff

Vanessa Petrie - Director, Strategy and Projects

I joined the MWMG team in February as Director, Strategy and Projects. Previously, I was the Project Manager for the Waste Policy Review at the Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE). I've met many of you through my work developing the new Waste and Resource Recovery Policy and throughout the project I was constantly reminded of the massive amount of knowledge, expert capabilities and passion that rests with people working in resource recovery and waste management. It's a can-do sector and I'm really looking forward to working with you on delivering the new state policy and on delivering the local waste management and resource recovery initiatives that are priorities for your local communities.

I've worked in the public sector for over 15 years in a number of operational, policy, legislative and stakeholder roles. Prior to joining DSE I worked for the Departments of Transport and Premier and Cabinet and the Mornington Peninsula Shire. I have a background in environmental engineering and hold a Masters of Environment (Policy and Governance). Outside of work I am a singer, and regularly perform in the Melbourne music theatre scene. So if you're a Gilbert and Sullivan fan you may have seen a few of my alter egos. I'm also a keen knitter, but rest assured my yarn-bombing days are over.

FOR YOUR INFORMATION

Keep Australia Beautiful Victoria Awards open for entries.

Entries are now open for the Tidy Towns – Sustainable Communities Awards and the Sustainable Cities Awards. Read Minister Smith's press release here or for more information click here.