On Saturday 19th February, I attended the inaugural One Planet Market at the Payneham Community Centre. It was a great success! Very heartening to see so many people in the old hall, animated and engaged.
The market is presented by Sustainable Communities SA, and will be held on the 3rd Saturday morning of each month.
The aim of the market is "to encourage local production and local economy; and foster community relationships, resilience and self-reliance."
I brought along some peaches to exchange, and my clarinet to play a bit of background music. It was also a good opportunity to chat to local people. Other stalls included a toy swap, produce swap, morning tea cafe, natives plants, handmade cards, free-cycle second-hand books and LETS - Local Exchange Trading System.
See some great photos here on the Sustainable Communities website.
Well done everyone!
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
How Green Are We?
I have been receiving emails from residents recently who are concerned about the waste management practices of the Council when it runs its flagship event, the Natuzzi The Parade Food Wine and Music Festival.
An event like this is an ideal opportunity for the Council to seek to improve its waste management practices. At an event where a large amount of waste is generated, residents want to know how much is being recycled and diverted from landfill, and what is being done each year to improve the outcome.
I have been following up this issue, and below I have posted a copy of the email I sent out to the concerned residents last week, Wednesday 10th February.
*****************
Good morning....
...At the Council meeting on 17th January, I raised the matter in "Other Business", as this was advised to me previously as the best opportunity to do so. I explained that I had received emails from a number of residents who were concerned that waste management practices of previous Parade Food Wine & Music Festivals were not very effective at diverting waste from landfill, as seen from the Veolia Report from the 2010 Festival. I said that residents wanted to know what would be done to improve this outcome for the upcoming 2011 Festival and future Festivals.
Lisa Mara (Manager, Governance and Civic Affairs) responded to my question, and explained that a number of improvements for waste management had been put in place for the 2011 Festival. She read these out, and I was satisfied that these did indeed represent an improvement.
I then asked if these improvements could be made available to the public prior to the 2011 Festival via the Council website. She replied that she would consider this.
I did not feel the need to move any motion at this point.
At the Council meeting on 7th February, I raised the matter in "Questions Without Notice". I said that I was still receiving emails from residents. I asked if the waste management improvements had been made available on the Council website, and if not, could that happen prior to the 2011 Festival, as our residents had an interest in seeing that this year's Festival would in fact be more effective in diverting waste from landfill than previous years.
Lisa Mara replied that although she would not make specific operations procedures public, she would make available the list of improvements to waste management for this year's Festival on the website.
These interchanges do not appear in the Council Minutes. As far as I am aware, only decisions which are made by the whole Council voting will be recorded in the Minutes. The Minutes do not record discussions.
I intend to continue following the matter of sustainable waste management. I would like the outcome of this year's Festival waste management practices to be made available to the public, so that there is full accountability and transparency from the Council and the public can see how effectively Council is managing this issue and how good the outcomes are, and therefore how we can continue to improve.
I would like to see the Norwood Payneham and St Peters Council demonstrating their genuine commitment to sustainability practice and design into the future. Environmental sustainability is one of the four Outcomes of the City's Vision as outlined in the CityPlan 2030 (See link for information on CityPlan 2030 http://www.npsp.sa.gov.au/
It is important and, I believe, appropriate for the City's residents to expect accountability and transparency regarding this Outcome.
Sustainable waste management goes well beyond the one-day annual event that is the Natuzzi The Parade Food Wine and Music Festival, but it is clear that this is a flagship event for the Council that provides an ideal opportunity to demonstrate an ongoing commitment to best practice in conserving resources and energy in the light of the environmental challenges that we face on a global and local scale.
Regards,
Sophia MacRae
An event like this is an ideal opportunity for the Council to seek to improve its waste management practices. At an event where a large amount of waste is generated, residents want to know how much is being recycled and diverted from landfill, and what is being done each year to improve the outcome.
I have been following up this issue, and below I have posted a copy of the email I sent out to the concerned residents last week, Wednesday 10th February.
*****************
Good morning....
...At the Council meeting on 17th January, I raised the matter in "Other Business", as this was advised to me previously as the best opportunity to do so. I explained that I had received emails from a number of residents who were concerned that waste management practices of previous Parade Food Wine & Music Festivals were not very effective at diverting waste from landfill, as seen from the Veolia Report from the 2010 Festival. I said that residents wanted to know what would be done to improve this outcome for the upcoming 2011 Festival and future Festivals.
Lisa Mara (Manager, Governance and Civic Affairs) responded to my question, and explained that a number of improvements for waste management had been put in place for the 2011 Festival. She read these out, and I was satisfied that these did indeed represent an improvement.
I then asked if these improvements could be made available to the public prior to the 2011 Festival via the Council website. She replied that she would consider this.
I did not feel the need to move any motion at this point.
At the Council meeting on 7th February, I raised the matter in "Questions Without Notice". I said that I was still receiving emails from residents. I asked if the waste management improvements had been made available on the Council website, and if not, could that happen prior to the 2011 Festival, as our residents had an interest in seeing that this year's Festival would in fact be more effective in diverting waste from landfill than previous years.
Lisa Mara replied that although she would not make specific operations procedures public, she would make available the list of improvements to waste management for this year's Festival on the website.
These interchanges do not appear in the Council Minutes. As far as I am aware, only decisions which are made by the whole Council voting will be recorded in the Minutes. The Minutes do not record discussions.
I intend to continue following the matter of sustainable waste management. I would like the outcome of this year's Festival waste management practices to be made available to the public, so that there is full accountability and transparency from the Council and the public can see how effectively Council is managing this issue and how good the outcomes are, and therefore how we can continue to improve.
I would like to see the Norwood Payneham and St Peters Council demonstrating their genuine commitment to sustainability practice and design into the future. Environmental sustainability is one of the four Outcomes of the City's Vision as outlined in the CityPlan 2030 (See link for information on CityPlan 2030 http://www.npsp.sa.gov.au/
It is important and, I believe, appropriate for the City's residents to expect accountability and transparency regarding this Outcome.
Sustainable waste management goes well beyond the one-day annual event that is the Natuzzi The Parade Food Wine and Music Festival, but it is clear that this is a flagship event for the Council that provides an ideal opportunity to demonstrate an ongoing commitment to best practice in conserving resources and energy in the light of the environmental challenges that we face on a global and local scale.
Regards,
Sophia MacRae
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