FOCUS On Burnside - the news hub

The City of Burnside placed third in the Australasian Management Challenge announced today in Adelaide. Congratulations to the Burnside team - #notoriouscob

Congratulations to winners City of Wanneroo (WA), and second place Devonport City Council (TAS).

The national final of the 2022 Challenge was held in South Australia yesterday (Monday 29 August) featuring teams from WA, NT, QLD, NSW, VIC, TAS and New Zealand. Each of the teams had won their state competition to be eligible to compete in the National Challenge.

CEO Chris Cowley said “I am extremely proud of our team in achieving third place in this Australasian Challenge. They worked extremely hard to take out the State title and have now matched it with the best in Australia - and New Zealand! Their exceptional teamwork and professionalism reflect not only on them as individuals and as a team but on the whole of Burnside Council.”

"Thank you to our very worthy competitors: City of Wanneroo (WA), Darebin City Council (VIC), Devonport City Council (TAS), Brisbane City Council - Meanjin Team (QLD), Napier City Council - Te Kaunihera o Ahuriri (NZ), City of Palmerston (NT) and Ku-ring-gai Council (NSW)."

The Australasian Management Challenge has been at the forefront of professional development in local government in Australia and New Zealand for over 25 years. The Management Challenge is a simulation-based team building, learning and networking program using real local government themes – the types of issues that a senior management team in a council would most likely face.

The teams are challenged to respond to a series of tasks in a unique, fast paced, ‘pressure cooker’ environment. Some tasks require written responses (such as a council report or recommendation document), some take the form of role plays or presentations and the teams are also scored on observations of how well they display energy, synergy, effectiveness and creative thinking.

L - R: Co-captain L – R: Andrew Gurr, Phil Roetman, Stephen Smith, Darren Baynes, Matt Deckert, Jaclyn Caskey, mentor Barry Cant.

Opening night Wednesday 26 October. Save the date!

The show then runs for 3 days, in the Burnside Ballroom. Funds again go to support local charity.

https://glensidelionsartshow.com.au/

It is important to take responsibility for sorting recyclables at home. Why? Because it saves money and makes good environmental sense. It is a lot cheaper to send materials to be recycled than it is to send them to landfill, but we can save even more.

The contents of the yellow bins are sent for sorting at a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF). Imagine a huge shed, filled with large machinery:

• A ‘trommel screen’ helps separate small pieces of glass.
• A ‘bounce conveyor’ helps separate paper from plastic containers.
• Magnets and ‘eddy current’ devices help separate ferrous and non-ferrous metals.
• Hand sorting and robots help separate plastics and other containers.

Following these processes, the MRF has collections of materials that are sold to manufacturers. For example, the paper is sold to manufacturers who make recycled paper products. Glass, metals and plastics are also sold. The revenue from these sales offsets the cost of the recycling processes – it saves us money.

To get the best possible price for materials, it’s important they are not contaminated, like having paper that is free of plastic. But the processes that help to separate materials are not perfect. For example, it’s very difficult to distinguish between paper and soft plastics. So, some soft plastic can make it through the process – it’s called contamination.

Materials that don’t belong in the yellow bin, like clothing and crockery, are also contamination. If these materials are put in a yellow bin, they need to be separated at the MRF and sent to landfill, which creates double handling and all costs money. Even worse, some contaminants can jam or damage the recycling devices, which creates downtime at the MRF and costs more money.

What’s the solution? The industry is improving the automated systems. But developing and implementing new technology can be costly, and the cost comes back to us. Another option would be more hand sorting at the MRF. But again, that cost would come back to us.

Why does the cost come back to us? Well, the council pays for the recycling services – costs which are covered by council rates. So, if you are paying council rates, or renting a house and paying rates indirectly, you are paying for the recycling process.

The responsible option is to make sure we all sort our recycling at home. If we reduce contamination, we all save money! It’s important to make sure that the only things that go in our yellow-lidded recycling bins are paper, cardboard, glass, metal and plastic containers. For more detail, visit www.whichbin.sa.gov.au or call WhichBin on 1300 137 118.

In Burnside, we have relatively low levels of contamination in our recycling bins. Most people are doing the right thing, which saves money at the MRF. There’s more good news, too. The materials are recycled, saving the demand for virgin materials, and in turn reducing carbon emissions. It’s really a win-win-win, that saves us dollars and makes great sense!

A defibrillator (AED) is a portable device to be used on a person that is in cardiac arrest before an ambulance arrives. An AED machine is available for community groups and organisations located within the City of Burnside to hire for one day or multi day events. Contact Council’s Community Connections team on 8366 4107 to find out about hiring an AED machine.

Heritage plaques reflect Council’s desire to commemorate the significance of a building for:

• its architecture or association with a significant historical figure or event
• its association with historical, economic or social themes that are important to the local area
• its representation of customs or ways of life that are characteristic of the local area or
• having played an important part in the lives of local residents.

As part of Round 2 of the Heritage Plaque Scheme, a further 20 properties have had heritage plaques installed. Go to our Plaque Map for details.

Luke Nordestgaard is a two-year-old spreading the word about responsible waste management.

Luke’s Mum Emily can't say for certain where Luke's fascination and passion for bins came from. “Since he was able to crawl and walk, he showed interest in our shiny silver kitchen bin, but he also seemed to recognise early on that bins come in many different shapes, sizes and colours,” Emily says. “He would get very excited to point them all out! We walked him around in his pram a lot on a trip to Sydney when he was 20 months old, and noticed he would point and exclaim, ‘Wawa!’ (his made-up word for bin) whenever he saw a bin, often before we had seen them.”

Family, friends and his childcare have supported his interest. He picks up rubbish at the playground (and sometimes his friends even join in!), and his childcare made a special book with photos of bins from around the world. He has various rubbish bin and rubbish truck related toys, he loves helping his Grandpa take out the bins. His 2nd birthday party had a bin theme, where people could dress in the colours of their local council bins. His Nana even made a green bin birthday cake and sewed a rubbish truck picture on his favourite jumper.

Luke knows what goes in each of the bins at home and really enjoys taking out the rubbish, including to the ‘squishy plastic bin’ at the shops. He even loves saying hello and goodbye to bins, and telling us which bins need to go on the road for collection each week!

Asked to name what goes in each colour bin Luke says: Yellow – cardboard rolls and paper. Green – food scraps and leaves. Red – rubbish and nappies.

It’s great to see someone so young continuing the great work of residents in the City of Burnside!

Keep an eye on your letterbox this week as the Spring edition of Focus Newsletter will be delivered by Australia Post.

This edition includes news, events, stories and updates on Council people, places and projects.

For the first time it is wrapped in fully compostable product so you can place the wrap in your green lidded bin.

You can also read it online here Focus. And there is an easy to read word version for those with visual impairment.

Another winning project has been installed as part of this year's Your Neighbourhood Budget (YNB), with 19 species of wildflowers, grasses and shrubs planted at Glenside. The idea was submitted by the Environs Club, which aims to attract wildlife and improve the immediate environment around the Glenside Botanica Apartments. The wildflowers, grasses and shrubs were provided from Council’s biodiversity nursery.

Remember that Dog Registrations need to be renewed by 31 August 2022. Should you have a cat you will also need to update details at www.dogsandcatsonline.com.au

Late fees and a fine will apply if registration is not received by the due date.

Should you require any assistance with registration or have any questions regarding renewal, please contact City of Burnside on 8366 4200 between 8.30 am and 5 pm.

Existing owners and breeders should receive notification from Dogs and Cats Online (DACO) by your Preferred Contact Method whether that be Post, Email or SMS at the beginning of July of each year. Should you wish to change the Preferred Contact Method please go on Dogs and Cats Online. If you do not receive a renewal notification for your dog, please contact your council.

Keep an eye on your letterbox next week as the Spring edition of Focus Newsletter will be delivered by Australia Post.

This edition includes news, events, stories and updates on Council people, places and projects.

From Monday you can also read it online. Focus And there is an easy to read word version for those with visual impairment.