Introduction
The Southern Waste Strategy Authority was established by the twelve southern Tasmanian Councils, to implement the comprehensive Waste Management Strategy for Southern Tasmania. The strategy builds on the excellent work that our member Councils have done in recent years, in areas such as kerbside recycling and landfill rationalization. In the field of Public Awareness, the Authority's activities will extend beyond the traditional areas of Council responsibility, to schools and industry.
Our strategy focuses upon the well-known waste management 'hierarchy' of:
- reduction of waste
- re-use
- recycling/ reprocessing to recover resources
- responsible waste disposal
We represent a diverse range of interests, from large urban councils with sophisticated waste management practices, to small rural municipalities with restricted waste management infrastructure and resources. The development and implementation of our programs, aims to take these differences into account. Our key priorities are to:
- Refine southern Tasmanian waste management policies by cooperation with our member Councils, and other arms of Government, business, and the community.
- Provide professional advice in investigating and analysing improvement proposals for waste management in southern Tasmania.
- Coordinate and facilitate the implementation of specific improvement projects.
- Liaise with external bodies, to develop a coordinated public awareness program aimed at delivering a single consistent message throughout the region.
- Develop and maintain a regional waste management database, based on the Australian Waste Database.
The Authority will work towards a future wherein all parties in the community understand the aims, and accept their responsibilities with respect to waste management.
Details of the Authority's Business Plan are available on this site.
Constructive suggestions and contributions are welcome, and should be emailed to: swsa@bigpond.com.au.
Mike Griffiths and Shaun Cousins (right) in the office of the SWSA.