Recently, we celebrated International Women’s Day, and to celebrate the City of Greater Geelong runs the annual Women in Community Life Awards.
I was so proud of the five women who live or work on the Bellarine that were nominated for awards.
I was so proud of the seven Bellarine women who were nominated for awards. Thank you to Kate Lockhart, Vicki Perrett, Lana Purcell, Sarah-Jane Duryea, Melinda Kennedy, Kylie Skew and Jenny Knox for all you do in our making our community a better place for all.
In terms of sustainability updates the City’s teams have been very busy this year already, and there are quite a few things to update you on.
I’m delighted to announce that our Modern Cloth Reusable Nappies Program has returned.
The first phase of the program was a great success and saw 350 Geelong households change to using reusable nappies.
Taking part in phase two of the program is easy. Residents can access a pre-recorded online workshop at any time, which allows them to learn about the benefits of reusable nappies, how to use and fit them, how to launder them and much more.
Once residents have completed the online workshop, they will then qualify to purchase a highly subsidised reusable nappy pack – 60 per cent off the recommended retail price.
The initiative is an important part of Council’s goal to drive a more circular economy, by diverting 100 per cent of kerbside garbage, recyclables, and green organics from landfill by 2030.
Nappies make up close to 10 per cent of the overall waste we send to landfill from our red bins, and each nappy can take hundreds of years to break down in landfill.
With children using an average of 7000 disposable nappies before progressing to the toilet, this creates about one tonne of landfill waste – the equivalent weight of a car.
The approach doesn’t have to be all or nothing either – using a combination of half reusable and half disposable nappies will reduce landfill immensely.
You can learn more and access your subsidised reusable nappy pack at geelongaustralia.com.au/reusablenappies
The City has also partnered with Wormlovers to provide our residents discounts on worm farms, compact bokashi systems for smaller households and even models designed for breaking down dog poo.
While almost 10 per cent of our landfill waste is from nappies, approximately 40 per cent of the waste found in kerbside red bins is food or garden waste.
Food waste rots in landfill producing a gas made up of about 55 per cent methane which has a global warming potential 25 times that of carbon dioxide.
Even if we were to only reduce the amounts of food waste and nappies going to landfill, we would dramatically reduce our region’s waste.
Each home in Greater Geelong is eligible for one subsidised home composting product per financial year.
Start your journey toward reducing the waste in your red bin now by visiting geelong.wormlovers.com.au/shop/
Lastly, don’t forget to register for ‘Rethink Your Rubbish’, a monthly newsletter featuring tips, offers and news from the waste and sustainability space. You can subscribe at geelongaustralia.com.au/rethink
