Tourism Noosa has been the most recent target of criticism in letters to the editor of Noosa Today and on local social media.
Specifically, TN has been accused of “greenwashing” its key initiatives and that “Tourism Noosa appears to be disinterested in true environmental sustainability”. My experience of TN has been quite the opposite.
In 2018, the annual Noosa Festival of Surfing ran as the first “plastic-free event” in Noosa. Event volunteers stood in the late summer heat, next to the rubbish bins, educating the punters on which bins to use. I was impressed with this scene. I thought, this is what it takes to change our habits.
The Plastic Free Noosa program had started as a Boomerang Alliance initiative, working closely with TN. By 2020 TN had taken over management of the program where it has continued to evolve and is now embedded in event strategy and Noosa culture. The Plastic Free Noosa program includes 179 participating local businesses and has eliminated close to 12 million single-use plastics from circulation since February 2018. TN has a long-range goal of eliminating single-use plastics entirely and replacing them with sustainable, compostable alternatives. This is ambitious and important work.
Last year I visited the Earthborn Composting facility in Palmwoods to learn first-hand about utilising green waste. All the food waste from a TN event had been diverted from landfill via dedicated food waste bins. The bins, managed by Party Bins, are participants in the Tourism Noosa Sustainable Events Program. They were now in the bottom of the composting pit in Palmwoods where two workers were painstakingly separating out bits of plastic from food waste, before it could move on to composting. To me, this was the coalface of climate action. It was hot and unpleasant in that pit. It took dedication and grit to be there.
That is what it takes to get to zero emissions and to create a circular economy.
Taking it to the next level, Tourism Noosa introduced a commercial composting trial, inviting seven local food and beverage venues to participate in an organic waste collection and composting initiative. The trial gathered vital data and provided essential information towards diverting organic waste and compostables from landfill (which creates a big part of Noosa’s overall emissions).
During the trial 3.425 tonnes of organic waste was diverted from landfill to a commercial composting facility, saving 3.425 tonnes of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.
At TN’s visitor information centre I enjoy talking to the 80-plus volunteers (the number of vollies, not their age!) and I listen to them tirelessly bolster the Noosa environmental credentials to all who pass by. These volunteers are the face of Noosa and add a value well beyond any dollars.
The Tread Lightly Noosa program is directing the tourism experience in a responsible and environmentally sensitive direction. I joined one of the first tours which I found incredibly enlightening and thoroughly enjoyable. I have a new respect for the little shore birds who fly nonstop from Siberia and Alaska just to enjoy Noosa, and then fly back. We learned about these birds and others from a respectful distance and I see the potential and value in environmental tourism for the future.
Under TN, the Trees for Tourism program has raised over $45,000 and has planted 6542 trees. Most recently I joined volunteers who planted saplings to regenerate John’s Landing.
Perhaps of most value is Tourism Noosa’s ability to obtain information (or data) and share with its member base, community and council. (Very hard to put a dollar value on this type of resource and something that private consultants charge an arm and a leg for!) For example, one statistic of importance is that, “sustainable travel is now a consideration for 81 per cent of global travelers”. Further, “A regenerative desire is also beginning to emerge amongst travellers, with 59 per cent wanting to leave places they visit better than when they arrived”. (Plastic Free Annual Highlights Report).
I am not alone in my appreciation of TN’s environmental programs. These efforts have been recognised by Australia’s most prestigious media and marketing awards, the Mumbrella Awards, with Tourism Noosa winning the top award for Sustainable Practices 2022. The judges acknowledged that “this was a grassroots, community focused, environmental campaign approach with direct evidence of making a difference.” (Plastic Free Annual Highlights 2022).
Tourism Noosa extends its efforts well and truly past the traditional focus of destination marketing. My own experiences exemplify TN’s dedication to environmental causes. TN has many other environmental programs that I did not mention. Noosa brand management is TN’s primary goal and I believe its environmental programs have been very effective in supporting our wonderful home. It’s high time that any ideas to the contrary are buried for composting.
