A Waste-Full of Education
Waste Education is a diverse and dynamic field. Waste Educators might find themselves at community events discussing the intricacies of recycling, elbow-deep in the city’s waste to audit what we throw into our general waste bins, and determining how much of it can be recycled. They may be in meetings, discussing State policies and then adjusting local council strategies accordingly. They may also orchestrate the rollout of a third bin for household waste, or be at schools delivering lessons or engaging games that make being waste-wise fun.
The varied tasks of our city’s waste educators are meaningful, important, and community-changing. They are on the front lines, dispelling misinformation about waste and recycling, and engaging with the community when new policies impact how residents manage waste. At the Resource Recovery Group, we have a long history of passionate and impactful waste educators dedicated to changing waste behaviours to achieve long-term goals of sustainability and minimising climate impact.
One cornerstone of our waste education role is conducting tours of our Canning Vale Centre facility. RRG waste educators stand before Perth residents, delivering a depth of information about how waste is captured, streamed, recovered, and then repurposed into new materials. Ironically, they also discuss the importance of reuse and avoidance, so less waste ends up at facilities like ours. Through this irony, residents come to understand the greater mission of Resource Recovery Group and our member councils: to prioritise sustainability.
In the last year, we have conducted scores of tours with hundreds of attendees. Our guests have witnessed the driving forces of FOGO (Food Organics Garden Organics) and the precision of the $100 million MRF (Materials Recovery Facility). Residents will marvel at the state of the art machinery where every kilogram of resources (the contents of the yellow bins) is meticulously planned for, sorted, collected, bailed, and made ready for market.
Currently, we have two Recycle Right Rangers conducting tours with the help of our Communications and Marketing Manager. Like the waste educators before them, they engage residents about the power of recycling, the passion behind sustainability, and the role every West Aussie can play in moving towards net-zero by 2050.
It is that passion and drive that is represented in all of our State’s waste educators. With a glint in their eyes, the recycling symbol their badge of honour, they connect residents with, to be frank, a very messy subject and that gives confidence that WA will be ready for the coming changes in waste management.
The upcoming e-waste and plastic produce bag bans are just around the corner. Waste-to-Energy plants in Rockingham and Kwinana will divert waste from landfills, and councils will continue to roll out the three-bin FOGO system.
And rest assured, our waste educators will be there, with all the requisite information on hand and ready to educate.
And in terms of our state and sustainability, that’s just brilliant.
More information on waste to energy:
tinyurl.com/43at3477
More information on E-waste ban:
tinyurl.com/2huymmk3
More information on plastic ban:
tinyurl.com/4nj93drs