Local Businesses getting ahead in the War on Waste

Published: Wednesday, 27 June 2018 at 3:03:46 PM

Dear Businesses

The Town of Bassendean believes that when every person does a little bit to clean up our environment, together we can all make a big difference.

We heard from our community that our residents and business owners are fierce advocates for reducing our impact on the environment and now is your chance to do your little bit towards making that big impact.

You may have heard in the news or on social media that in March, your Town passed a notice of motion to directly reduce single use plastic in the daily lives of our residents and business owners. 

This decision reflects a strong community desire to take action on reducing the tsunami of plastic suffocating our environment and clogging up our landfill.

It builds on the State Government ban on single use plastic bags and a container deposit scheme, which we welcome whole heartedly.

The motion resolved to ban all single use plastics at our events and we will invite all vendors who believe in this movement and to come along with us to do their bit.

In considering vendors to our events, the Council will give preference to vendors that only use alternatives to single use plastics and environmentally friendly items in their food preparations and services.

And we want to go further. We want to encourage and support operators and business owners in Bassendean to also reduce their plastic usage.   The Plastic Free Bassendean Flyer highlights some of our local businesses that have already started to make changes in their day to day operations; some are reducing their packaging some are sourcing biodegradable products.  We will be promoting those businesses on our social media platforms and our website.

Since March, we have researched suppliers of alternative products and we have entered into partnerships with organisations working in this area. We are also joining other local governments to instigate changes quickly across a broader area.

We believe change can be achieved in small steps, it is a joint effort and we must all play our part.  A key element to bring about change is education about waste for the general public.  Because our waste is carted away many are not genuinely aware of the problems caused beyond the single use item.  We want to give consumers greater choice when they visit our Town to choose businesses and vendors who are reducing their single use plastic use. 

Please visit the Bassendean Business web site where we have started to list information for local suppliers and ideas to help transition to a zero plastic based options.  We will be implementing programs to promote composting and reduce the use of chemicals.

Your feedback will help us get better as a whole community and we welcome your comments and support.

Council, residents and businesses are all concerned about this issue.  Together we can make a difference and change the future outcomes for our town.

Yours sincerely             

Cr Renee McLennan

Mayor

Town of Bassendean

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