Keep Victoria Beautiful - Tidy Towns Awards

Published on 16 October 2020

Campaspe Shire is leading the way in sustainable living with five local community projects announced as state finalists in the 2020 Keep Victoria Beautiful, Sustainable Communities - Tidy Towns Awards.

General Manager Community, Keith Oberin said the Sustainable Communities - Tidy Towns Awards recognise and celebrate the positive initiatives of community groups, businesses and councils within regional Victoria.

State finalists across our shire were announced in the following categories:

Community Finalists

• Echuca Neighbourhood House - Free Community Soup Deliveries
• Colbinabbin Silo Art Trail project team - The Colbinabbin Silo Art Project

  Indigenous Culture Finalist

• Nanneella Estate Primary School - Meeting Place Mural

  Social Well-being Finalist

• Rochester Business Network - 2019 ‘Wheely’ Good Christmas Trees

  Waste Finalist

• Campaspe Shire Council - Give a Scrap

 “Congratulations to all state finalists and in particular, Echuca Neighbourhood House who received a highly commended acknowledgement for their free soup deliveries,” Mr Oberin said.

“The Campaspe community is very fortunate to have motivated members leading the way in environmental sustainability.”

In a category with 11 state finalists, Campaspe Shire Council was also announced the winner of the Waste Award.

Council began planning in 2018 for the combined food and garden waste kerbside service that began on1 July 2019.

The service was an expansion of the existing ‘opt-in’ garden organics service and was coordinated by the Environmental Projects Officer – Organics. The planning phase included research conducted on food and garden waste services around Australia and developing program documents for implementation, communication and education, community engagement, risk management and evaluation.

With the assistance of community surveys and focus groups, the ‘Give a Scrap’ program was finalised and communication/education activities commenced in early 2019.

The ‘Give a Scrap’ program has been instrumental in keeping the contamination rate very low  at 0.26 per cent, and currently 67 per cent of residents have opted into the service – an 11 per cent increase from the start of the program.

 “This is an enormous win for our environment with more than 4,100 tonnes of food waste diverted from landfill since the beginning of the program,” Mr Oberin said.

A full list of finalists can be accessed on the Keep Victoria Beautiful website www.kvb.org.au/tidy-towns/