Introduction

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to set out the City’s commitment to progressively eliminate the use of single-use plastic products from all council operations and council managed events.

It outlines how our planning; decision-making and management processes will aim to:

• Eliminate the use of single-use plastics in our operations;
• Eliminate the use of single-use plastics in our facilities;
• Eliminate the use of single-use plastics at events held in our facilities or on our lands; and
• Demonstrate leadership to our community in eliminating the use of single-use plastics within our municipality.

Our aim is to reduce the use of raw materials, enhance our community’s quality of life and ensure a sustainable future for our region. We’re committed to eliminating single-use plastics because:

• Plastics consume resources during their production and distribution,
• Plastics do not biodegrade and therefore cause long-term pollution to our natural environment, and
• Greenhouse gas emissions associated with the production of single-use plastics contribute to global climate change.

Scope

This policy applies to operational activities of the City and to civic, community and commercial events taking place in City owned and operated facilities or on City managed lands. This policy applies to:

• City staff, volunteers and contractors; and
• Organisations or individuals organising events.

Exemptions

Exemptions permitting the use of single-use plastic products may be granted by department managers when these products are necessary to meet OH&S requirements, emergency response needs or when no other practical alternative product is available.

Definitions

This section defines the key terms used in this policy.

City - The City of Greater Geelong organisation, led by the CEO.

CEO - The Chief Executive Officer of the City of Greater Geelong.

Council - The City of Greater Geelong Council comprised of elected councillors and led by the Mayor.

ELT - The Executive Leadership Team of the City, as constituted from time to time.

Events - Includes, but is not limited to, commercial events, civic events, official functions, community forums, meetings, conferences, promotional activities, training events and information sessions.

Single-use plastic - Refers to plastic and polystyrene products designed to be used once and then disposed of. This includes, but is not limited to, products such as drink bottles, cups, plastic bags, food packaging, straws and balloons.

Key Policy Principles

• The City will demonstrate leadership in reducing waste and recovering resources by:
  • Generating less waste by replacing the use of single-use plastics products for more readily re-used and/or recyclable products.
  • Progressively eliminating the use of single-use plastics in our operations in order to reduce our impacts on the environment.

The role of the Environment and Waste Department

• Will undertake periodic audits in order to quantify the usage of single-use plastic products in our operations and event activities.
• Will develop an action plan ensuring compliance with relevant waste management legislation.
• Will develop education and awareness initiatives which guide staff, community members and businesses in the implementation of this policy.

Additional Implementation Priorities

• The City’s Events Department will amend event permit guidelines and approval processes to guide event organisers in the elimination of single-use plastics from public events held on council land or in council facilities.
• The Procurement Services Unit will work with preferred suppliers to develop an approved list of sustainable stationary products available for purchase by all departments of council.
• The Procurement Services Unit will work with corporate caterers to develop required standards for the provision of sustainable cutlery and crockery options for civic events and in council facilities.
• The Procurement Services Unit will amend tender and procurement guidelines to prioritise the purchase of sustainable alternatives to single-use plastic products.
• The City will implement National Australian Built Environment Rating System (NABERS) 6-star waste management standards in our new Civic Accommodation precinct.
• A City Hall trial site will be established to implement revised waste systems that support general waste avoidance, reduction of single-use plastic usage and increased landfill diversion.
• The Facilities Maintenance Unit will work with cleaning contractors to implement bin systems that support the elimination of single-use plastics in council facilities.
• All department managers will allocate procurement responsibilities to at least one officer in their department to support the implementation of this policy.

Implementation of this policy

Monitoring and reporting

The City will complete periodic audits to monitor our performance in eliminating the use of single-use plastics from council operations and council managed events.

The Responsible Officer for this policy will present an annual report to ELT to detail our progress in achieving the objectives of this policy.

Advice and assistance

The Environment and Waste department will allocate a responsible officer to implement this policy and provide advice to the organisation regarding this policy.

Records

The City must retain records associated with this policy and its implementation for at least the period shown below.

Review

The City should review and, if necessary, amend this policy within four years of the approval date.

References

State Government References

• Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004
• Environment Protection Act 1970
• Statewide Waste and Resource Recovery Infrastructure Plan 2018
• Recycling Victoria (Circular Economy) Policy

Council references

• Council Plan 2018-2022
• Greater Geelong: A Clever and Creative Future (approved 2017)
• Sustainability Framework (approved 2020)
• Waste and Resource Recovery Strategy 2020-2030
• Environment Strategy 2020-2030
• Procurement Policy (approved 2019)