Jury is out on waste

NOOSA’S 24 Community Jury members wasted no time on Saturday getting straight into investigating the best way to reduce the 10,000 tonnes of organic waste currently reaching local landfill annually.
The jury will spend the next five months unpacking the complicated topic as they prepare to report back to council with their recommendations.
Noosa Mayor Noel Playford said organic waste management was an incredibly multi-faceted subject, with long-term financial and environmental implications for Noosa ratepayers.
“Waste management costs council more than $13 million annually and there are space constraints and emissions targets facing councils all over Australia, forcing the need to reduce the volume of organic waste being sent to landfill,” he said.
“The implications of getting this wrong could run into tens of millions of dollars, hence the importance of an exhaustive and well-rounded investigation of all the options.”
As part of Saturday’s session, the jury heard how a typical household produces enough general waste to fill eight shopping trolleys annually, including more than $650 worth of wasted food.
Roughly 48 per cent of that household waste is potentially compostable, but currently ends up in landfill.
The jury will use monthly meetings to ask hard questions and seek out further information from experts on residents’ behalf.
Mayor Playford said the selected jury members reflected the demographic profile of Noosa and would incorporate a wide range of points of view.
“The jury’s contribution will assist us to make informed decisions around how we best manage organic waste into the future,” he said.