It has been a busy awards season with Merri-bek City Council being recognised for its sustainability leadership.
Waste Innovation & Recycling Awards
The Merri-bek Kerbside Waste Reform project won a national award – the Outstanding Waste and Resource Recovery Metro Project at the National 2023 Waste Innovation & Recycling Awards.
This award recognised Merri-bek’s commitment to reshaping waste management and reducing landfill by rolling out a 4-bin waste and recycling system.
After major preparation and an education campaign, the new 4-bin kerbside collection service launched on time at the start of July 2023. It was a major achievement of planning, logistics, communications, change management and customer service.
This all helps us move closer to our ultimate goal of achieving zero waste to landfill by 2030.
Keep Australia Beautiful Victoria awards
Merri-bek won the Tidy City of the Year (Metropolitan) at the Keep Australia Beautiful awards. This award was given to us based on a range of Merri-bek Council, community and business based initiatives which were either winners or finalists in the different Keep Australia Beautiful Victoria award categories.
Council had direct involvement in the My Smart Garden program which won the City Education category award in which we partner with ten other Councils.
Congratulations also to the other Merri-bek organisations who were City finalists or winners:
- Winner EPA Waste prevention and reduction award – Green my Plate (Brunswick)
- Finalist Education award – The Bike Shed (Brunswick East)
- Finalist Community award – Western Emergency Relief Network Council was recognised for supporting Rotary Inner Melbourne Emergency Relief Network (Brunswick) with a community grant, as part of our commitment to a more resilient and sustainable community.
This is the second Tidy Cities win for us – we won the award in 2013 for demonstrating an enduring commitment to a sustainable, beautiful environment.
Victorian Premiers Sustainability Awards
Yarra City Council and Merri-bek City Council are a finalist for the Future Energy – Community Champion award in this year’s Victorian Premier’s Sustainability Awards for our Unlocking Sustainable Strata program.
More than one in 4 Victorians (26%) live in apartments or townhouses, and this number is forecast to grow. The Unlocking Sustainable Strata program believes these residents must not be left behind in the transition to clean energy. The program is the first-step to generate systemic change throughout the strata sector by providing residents, owners’ corporations and strata managers with tailored, practical and evidence-based guides for cost-effective sustainability solutions in their properties.
The award winners will be announced on November 23 rd.
