Recycling Silage Wrap a great innovative way to get plastic from Landfill

Amanda with members of DIG , David Walker , Kyleigh Cochrane ,Craig Tate and Ed George from Plasback

Recently I got to attend the Dairy Industry Group (DIG) meeting which was hosting a rep from Tapex  / PlasBack to discuss silage wrap and bailing twine recycling.

Silage wrap is a bit of a problem especially in winter when vast amounts of silage is used to help keep cattle in condition over winter.

For the non country reader silage wrap is the plastic that covers grass or other harvested material to keep it from breaking down the harvested product is kept for feed in hard times

A familiar sight in farming districts- silage bales of feed stored and ready for use

Silage is an important part of farming practices, but until now the only option for used silage wrap was to gather it up and send it to the tip-unwieldy, messy and smelly but hey that's farming.

Tapex is a producer of silage wrap and twine and have created an extended producer program called PlasBack.The main aim of PlasBack is to up cycle used wrap into other useful products.

The farmer needs to purchase bags which are made of the same plastic composite as the wrap but a bit tougher, fill the bag, collect a truck full and deliver to Nowra or Ulladulla waste transfer stations. The PlasBack semi comes and takes the bags away- compress' them for transportation into bales. The bales are then sent for recycling- they make a small range of products that have agricultural uses.

I was so impressed with this system that I went back to Council and sought support to give some seed funding to farmers for purchasing the plastic bags. Council supported the seed funding of $5000 from the waste fund so hopefully that will help kick start the program in this area.

I also sent my motion to other Councillor in Wingecarrabie and Kiama seeking cross regional support.

The idea behind the seed funding is help dilute the cost to farmers during the important habit changing phase. With less waste going to Landfill that's less waste levy going to the NSW State Government and more money staying locally for projects in the Shoalhaven.

Good on Tapex for taking extended producer responsibility seriously and not waiting for legislation to force them to do something.

With Dave Walker - The bin I'm touching is made from recycled silage wrap and with a bag inside it becomes a storage container to bag up old wrap.

2012 National Year of Reading

Amanda and Kerrie Whittaker Photo Courtesy of R Sharpe.

Last week I was invited to read to pre schooler's to mark reading week as part of  Year of Reading celebrations. Of course I really looked forward to reading to the small ones- its been a while since my girls have enjoyed mum's tales.

I was supposed to be reading a book from my childhood that had an impact, but I just couldn't think of one that would suit pre-schoolers, so I choose a book that my girls really liked, the Dr Seuss tale of The Lorax.

Tannar especially loved Seuss- I cant remember how many times I read, Green Eggs and Ham, I wish that I had duck feet, The Lorax, Bears Picnic, the fun rhyming and corny words all with some accent of course.

When I was part of Landcare we ended up gifting several copies of The Lorax to Shoalhaven Libraries, that was a while ago long before big Hollywood got its hands on the tale.

I think the preschoolers enjoyed the reading- they were quiet and attentive, and to me they were a welcome break from campaigning and a good reminder why I started on a political journey in the first place.

Reading has changed a lot since Tom and Jane readers. Fabulous picture books and graphic novels mean that reading isn't just about words. The non-word reader can now enjoy reading as much as old fashioned book worms can. Check out the Shoalhaven Libraries for graphic books by Sean Tan and Jeanie Baker and others- they may look like kids books but they are packed with multiple layers of meaning and await your quiet contemplation.

Natural Burials-trial to end- but further consultation just in case.

One of the intiatives I put forward to Council was the concept of natural burials- its a small but niche market and one that takes a little time to catch on. Some of the Councillors were not to keen on the idea but agreed to a trial. If anyone feels inspired to go along to this discussion the bereavement services manager is very good and quite funny.

Media Release

10 August 2012

Council to host natural burial information session

Shoalhaven City Council will be hosting a natural burial information session following the Shoalhaven Memorial Gardens and Lawn Cemetery’s two year trial into the practice.

There has been substantial community interest in natural burial, a practice that sees the deceased prepared without the use of embalming fluid or chemical preservatives.

The body is then placed in a biodegradable coffin and laid to rest in a shallow grave, allowing the process to mimic composting.

 

A trial ‘natural burial portion’ was established at the Shoalhaven Memorial Gardens and Lawn Cemetery following Council’s decision to implement a two year natural burial trial in October 2010.

Shoalhaven City Council Director of City Services and Operations, Bill Paterson said that with the two year trial period almost complete, Council will be reporting the outcomes back to Council in November.

“Throughout the two year trial period, Council’s Bereavement Services Unit have extensively engaged with both the local and wider community through a variety of workshops, information sessions and open days at the Memorial Gardens,” said Mr Paterson.

 “Despite a number of inquiries and strong support from cross sections of the community, there have been no requests for natural burial during the two year trial period.

“To assist in the preparation of the report back to Council and further gauge public opinion regarding this service, Council will be hosting a further information session regarding the provision of natural burials within the Shoalhaven.”

“This information session will provide local residents the opportunity to ask questions and receive further information about natural burials.”

“I would strongly recommend anyone interested in natural burials to attend the upcoming information session.”

The natural burial information session will be held at the Shoalhaven Memorial Gardens and Lawn Cemetery, Worrigee from 3pm on Wednesday 22 August.

CONTACT:  Director of City Services and Operations, Bill Paterson - 4429 3298