Waste work: Community unites to reduce the recyclables going to Anglesea landfill

CONCERNED locals have banded together to form a group to help address the state’s recycling crisis.

The Surf Coast Community Recycling Project was created days after the Surf Coast Shire confirmed recyclable waste would be dumped at the Anglesea landfill until a solution was found.

Launched by Torquay mother Lauri Dawson, the group has attracted more than 450 Facebook members in less than a month.

Ms Dawson said she was inspired to drive a proactive initiative when she realised how many locals shared her fears for the future.

“I posted on a local Facebook page to see if anyone was interested in taking it in turns to do runs to (the) Anglesea Transfer Station,” Ms Dawson said.

“There was quite a lot of interest and somebody suggested I start a group. I really didn’t expect such an overwhelming response. It is heartening to know how much people want to help.”

The platform has proved very popular in a short space of time and members are using it to share ideas on how best to reduce, reuse and recycle their own waste without harming the environment.

Torquay resident and retired primary school teacher Jennie Deneefe said she joined the group when she saw Ms Dawson’s post plugging the movement on another Facebook group.

“I felt very strongly about recycling going to landfill because I’ve always recycled, and it occurred to me that I was probably not doing it correctly,” Ms Deneefe said.

She said the issue “made me consider what I was putting in my recycling bin”.

“The whole thing just got me thinking that I needed to do something in my home about the issue. I believe it’s a person’s responsibility. I don’t want to be blaming council or government, it’s what we do in our own homes and community that counts.”

Ms Deneefe said she became concerned when she saw her neighbour putting out her recycling bin as normal, a practice that made her question whether people were aware of the disruptions to kerbside recycling in the shire and across the state.

She suggested more needed to be done to educate people on what could and could not be recycled, the items going to landfill, and where people could drop off their recyclable waste.

To find the group, search for “Surf Coast Community Recycling Project” on Facebook.