Welcome to the Australian Local Food System Policy Database. This is a collection of policies from New South Wales (NSW) and Victorian local governments that relate to healthy, sustainable, and equitable food systems.
For further information about using the database and how it was created see How to use the database. You can search the database by using the fields below. Domain refers to eight broad categories under which various topics are situated. The domains and topics are based on a framework of recommendations for local government action on creating a healthy, sustainable, and equitable food system (also located on the ‘How to use the database’ page linked above).
To cite the database: Reeve B, Carrad A, Rose N, Charlton K & Aguirre-Bielschowsky I (2021) Australian Local Food System Policy Database. Available at: https://law-food-systems.sydney.edu.au/policy-database (access date).
Suggested search terms
Hold Ctrl to select multiple terms. Using ‘any words’ functions as an “OR” search. Using ‘all words’ functions as and “AND” search.
Search Criteria:
| Document title | Relevant text in the policy | Domain | Topic | State | Local Government name | Council type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waste and resource recovery strategy 2017–26 | Actions 2017–18 Actions 2018–19 Actions 2019–20 Actions 2020–21 Liaise with and support schools in the areas of waste minimisation, litter and recycling Review effectiveness of kerbside flexible plastics recycling initiative and further promote to the community. Begin review and development of system for diverting food waste from landfill. To include: • review best practice of food waste collection system at the kerbside and learn from other examples • identify collection service change requirements and review service specifications • develop behaviour change program and identify support required • identify resources required for 2 year implementation. Undertaken tender process for kerbside garbage/recycling/organi cs waste collection services and recycling processing, considering outcomes of food diversion review. Prepare for communication program delivery for behaviour change. Implement new waste services and behaviour change program that reduce food waste to landfill. | Health and Wellbeing | Education/events on food system issues | Victoria | Cardinia | Metropolitan |
| Waste and resource recovery strategy 2017–26 | As part of the 2012 Halve Your Waste program, Council produced recycling and composting posters, compost guides, waste information flyers for the community and schools and early childhood education centres. Promotional materials were also produced including recycling story colouring books, recycled pens, pencils, rulers, water bottles, interactive recycling games, seedlings, veggie seeds, compost bins and worm farms. These promotional items interactively integrate messages of recycling, composting and waste minimisation in a fun and novel way and are used for school incursions and excursions, workshops, educator or environmental network meetings, and local family events. | Health and Wellbeing | Education/events on food system issues | Victoria | Cardinia | Metropolitan |
| Waste and resource recovery strategy 2017–26 | As part of the Halve your waste program, new ways of delivering key messages were developed and purchased including: interactive bean bag and magnetic recycling sorting games for kids and families, recycling and composting colouring in story books, recycled stationary, recycling themed play mats and Peppa Pig recycling themed reading books for early years. In the right situations these have ignited and opened up the recycling conversation. | Health and Wellbeing | Education/events on food system issues | Victoria | Cardinia | Metropolitan |
| Waste and resource recovery strategy 2017–26 | Council also sees the value in aligning with and providing support for national campaigns and has done so with Clean Up Australia Day, National Butt Day, Garage Sale Trail, Planet Arks National Recycling Week and National Compost awareness week. | Health and Wellbeing | Education/events on food system issues | Victoria | Cardinia | Metropolitan |
| Waste and resource recovery strategy 2017–26 | Council will continue to support members of the community who compost and worm farm at home, recognising that recycling waste where it is created has the best environmental outcome. This will be achieved through the increasing the rebate to $50 and continuing to promote their use. Council will also support early learning centres and community gardens through this program. | Health and Wellbeing | Education/events on food system issues | Victoria | Cardinia | Metropolitan |
| Waste and resource recovery strategy 2017–26 | Education will continue to be a key element in the change of waste behaviours, which underpins and supports service changes, efficiencies and new initiatives. Council will continue to work on education initiatives that offer a broader combined approach to educating the community, providing consistency and long-term vision as well as value. This will require advocating for and actively collaborating with the Victorian Government, agencies and other councils where regional opportunities exist for solutions on common waste issues. This may include, but is not limited to food waste, single use plastics, reducing contamination, e-waste, litter and illegal dumping. Council will strive for partnerships with established community organisations, social enterprise as well as other councils where expertise and resources can be shared and messaging is consistent. For optimal community engagement more focus will be on the support of local grass roots community led projects and initiatives that have long-term viability or impact, rather than prescribed initiatives to the community from Council. Council will focus and remain responsive to the emerging waste issues understanding that these may change over time and the need to be flexible. Council will keep investigating how new Cardinia Shire Council Waste and resource recovery strategy 2017—26 50 technologies and communications may enhance the ability to educate and respond while remaining mindful that hard copy media is often preferred by the community. School and early childhood waste education will continue with a planned long-term approach in order to support lasting good behaviours and change for the increasing young Cardinia Shire population | Health and Wellbeing | Education/events on food system issues | Victoria | Cardinia | Metropolitan |
| Waste and resource recovery strategy 2017–26 | Love Food Hate Waste – a state-wide campaign that aims to raise awareness about avoidable food waste from Victorian households. Modelled on the campaign of the same name in the UK and NSW. | Health and Wellbeing | Education/events on food system issues | Victoria | Cardinia | Metropolitan |
| Waste and resource recovery strategy 2017–26 | Stephanie Alexander kitchen garden program – a national program providing inspiration, information, professional learning and support for educational institutions to deliver food education, in conjunction with educators, partners and the wider community. It promotes hands on learning of growing and composting healthy foods. | Health and Wellbeing | Education/events on food system issues | Victoria | Cardinia | Metropolitan |
| Waste and resource recovery strategy 2017–26 | The ‘Back to Earth’ campaign in 2016 raised the awareness of the garden waste bin processing through an online competition, encouraging voting of the best school’s garden project. | Health and Wellbeing | Education/events on food system issues | Victoria | Cardinia | Metropolitan |
| Waste and resource recovery strategy 2017–26 | The Halve Your waste program 2012–13 also delivered 10 selected schools with signage, recycling and compost bins both inside and outside the classroom, compost caddies, veggie seedlings and an educational workshop and materials. | Health and Wellbeing | Education/events on food system issues | Victoria | Cardinia | Metropolitan |
| Waste and resource recovery strategy 2017–26 | There will be a lot of support required to get full behaviour change and diversion and the low contamination rates required, all of which will form part of the review. | Health and Wellbeing | Education/events on food system issues | Victoria | Cardinia | Metropolitan |
| Waste and resource recovery strategy 2017–26 | Council also holds two DrumMUSTER collections for chemical drum recycling (DrumMUSTER branded) used by the local agriculture industry. These collections require trained Council staff inspectors to run the event. Collection and processing of the drums is reimbursed by the DrumMUSTER stewardship program. | Sustainability and Environment | Sustainable local food production | Victoria | Cardinia | Metropolitan |
| Waste and resource recovery strategy 2017–26 | Council will continue to support members of the community who compost and worm farm at home, recognising that recycling waste where it is created has the best environmental outcome. This will be achieved through the increasing the rebate to $50 and continuing to promote their use. Council will also support early learning centres and community gardens through this program. | Sustainability and Environment | Food production on LG land | Victoria | Cardinia | Metropolitan |
| Waste and resource recovery strategy 2017–26 | 9.1.2 Reducing waste/litter initiatives As part of the Halve your waste program, Council implemented waste reduction initiatives of the compost bin and worm farm rebate and 80-litre bin service discount, and undertook significant promotion of these incentives. Composting and mulching is a popular method of disposing of green waste in the shire (27% of the residential population | Sustainability and Environment | Home and community gardening | Victoria | Cardinia | Metropolitan |
| Waste and resource recovery strategy 2017–26 | As part of the 2012 Halve Your Waste program, Council produced recycling and composting posters, compost guides, waste information flyers for the community and schools and early childhood education centres. Promotional materials were also produced including recycling story colouring books, recycled pens, pencils, rulers, water bottles, interactive recycling games, seedlings, veggie seeds, compost bins and worm farms. These promotional items interactively integrate messages of recycling, composting and waste minimisation in a fun and novel way and are used for school incursions and excursions, workshops, educator or environmental network meetings, and local family events. | Sustainability and Environment | Home and community gardening | Victoria | Cardinia | Metropolitan |
| Waste and resource recovery strategy 2017–26 | As part of the Halve your waste program, new ways of delivering key messages were developed and purchased including: interactive bean bag and magnetic recycling sorting games for kids and families, recycling and composting colouring in story books, recycled stationary, recycling themed play mats and Peppa Pig recycling themed reading books for early years. In the right situations these have ignited and opened up the recycling conversation. | Sustainability and Environment | Home and community gardening | Victoria | Cardinia | Metropolitan |
| Waste and resource recovery strategy 2017–26 | Continue to promote the benefit of composting as a preference to all other collection systems. Waste Team (IS) Ongoing (reporting annually) Existing resources within Garbage charge budget, rebate as above $5,600. | Sustainability and Environment | Home and community gardening | Victoria | Cardinia | Metropolitan |
| Waste and resource recovery strategy 2017–26 | Council also sees the value in aligning with and providing support for national campaigns and has done so with Clean Up Australia Day, National Butt Day, Garage Sale Trail, Planet Arks National Recycling Week and National Compost awareness week. | Sustainability and Environment | Home and community gardening | Victoria | Cardinia | Metropolitan |
| Waste and resource recovery strategy 2017–26 | Council will continue to support and reward the community to reduce waste through its rebate program, which currently includes a discount for take up of the 80-litre bin option and a $30 rebate for purchase of compost bin and worm farms. Council will increase its compost bin and worm farm rebate to $50, in order to ensure its continued relevancy as an incentive and encourage higher take up, and will introduce a home mulcher rebate of $50 to support residents to mulch green waste at home. A business case for expansion to include a cloth nappy rebate will also be undertaken. | Sustainability and Environment | Home and community gardening | Victoria | Cardinia | Metropolitan |
| Waste and resource recovery strategy 2017–26 | Council will continue to support members of the community who compost and worm farm at home, recognising that recycling waste where it is created has the best environmental outcome. This will be achieved through the increasing the rebate to $50 and continuing to promote their use. Council will also support early learning centres and community gardens through this program. | Sustainability and Environment | Home and community gardening | Victoria | Cardinia | Metropolitan |
| Waste and resource recovery strategy 2017–26 | Expand waste reduction rebate program to reward positive behaviours by increasing compost bin/worm farm rebate to $50, and expanding to include a $50 green waste mulcher rebate Team Waste Team (IS) Timeframe Cost/Details As required Existing staff resources within Garbage charge budget. Team Timeframe Cost/Details Waste Team (IS) July 2018 Estimated annual cost $5,600 compost/worm farm rebate and mulcher rebate $2,500. $5,600 funded within garbage charge budget (diverted from waste education allowance), and $2,500 funded within green waste charge budget. | Sustainability and Environment | Home and community gardening | Victoria | Cardinia | Metropolitan |
| Waste and resource recovery strategy 2017–26 | Stephanie Alexander kitchen garden program – a national program providing inspiration, information, professional learning and support for educational institutions to deliver food education, in conjunction with educators, partners and the wider community. It promotes hands on learning of growing and composting healthy foods. | Sustainability and Environment | Home and community gardening | Victoria | Cardinia | Metropolitan |
| Waste and resource recovery strategy 2017–26 | The ‘Back to Earth’ campaign in 2016 raised the awareness of the garden waste bin processing through an online competition, encouraging voting of the best school’s garden project. | Sustainability and Environment | Home and community gardening | Victoria | Cardinia | Metropolitan |
| Waste and resource recovery strategy 2017–26 | ‘3.3.4 Promote practices that result in the reduction per household of the amount of waste going to landfill, particularly food waste.’ | Food Waste | Food losses and food waste | Victoria | Cardinia | Metropolitan |
| Waste and resource recovery strategy 2017–26 | 13.3.1 Food waste diversion One of the greatest opportunities to increase resource recovery, reduce waste to landfill and reduce greenhouse gases is diverting food organic waste (which currently makes up 32% of landfill waste) to beneficial uses such as compost and similar products. Council has been making advances in addressing this problem for some time through joint procurement projects for high technology facilities. Once fully implemented these contracts will provide the opportunity to collect food organic waste (i.e. food scraps from the kitchen) and process it into reusable organic product (compost). Council will undertake a review of this and other options and develop a system for diverting food waste from landfill. While the environmental benefits of diverting food waste and reducing landfill are easy to recognise, there will be significant challenges in implementing any system and adopting Cardinia Shire Council Waste and resource recovery strategy 2017—26 49 the required behaviour change within the community. The review will need to include how systems have been implemented within Australia and overseas. It will be important to share knowledge and experiences with other councils also considering this change. To develop and implement a system and achieve high diversion, service changes will be likely. Such changes could require new contracts and supply of new bins, and could mean different costs to the current services. There will be a lot of support required to get full behaviour change and diversion and the low contamination rates required, all of which will form part of the review. This project has the potential to significantly decrease waste to landfill, at rates not seen since the introduction of recycling services. | Food Waste | Food losses and food waste | Victoria | Cardinia | Metropolitan |
| Waste and resource recovery strategy 2017–26 | 9.1.2 Reducing waste/litter initiatives As part of the Halve your waste program, Council implemented waste reduction initiatives of the compost bin and worm farm rebate and 80-litre bin service discount, and undertook significant promotion of these incentives. Composting and mulching is a popular method of disposing of green waste in the shire (27% of the residential population). | Food Waste | Food losses and food waste | Victoria | Cardinia | Metropolitan |
| Waste and resource recovery strategy 2017–26 | Actions 2017–18 Actions 2018–19 Actions 2019–20 Actions 2020–21 Liaise with and support schools in the areas of waste minimisation, litter and recycling Review effectiveness of kerbside flexible plastics recycling initiative and further promote to the community. Begin review and development of system for diverting food waste from landfill. To include: • review best practice of food waste collection system at the kerbside and learn from other examples • identify collection service change requirements and review service specifications • develop behaviour change program and identify support required • identify resources required for 2 year implementation. Undertaken tender process for kerbside garbage/recycling/organi cs waste collection services and recycling processing, considering outcomes of food diversion review. Prepare for communication program delivery for behaviour change. Implement new waste services and behaviour change program that reduce food waste to landfill. | Food Waste | Food losses and food waste | Victoria | Cardinia | Metropolitan |
| Waste and resource recovery strategy 2017–26 | Advocate for limited use of single use plastics at Council supported events and facilities. | Food Waste | Food losses and food waste | Victoria | Cardinia | Metropolitan |
| Waste and resource recovery strategy 2017–26 | As part of the 2012 Halve Your Waste program, Council produced recycling and composting posters, compost guides, waste information flyers for the community and schools and early childhood education centres. Promotional materials were also produced including recycling story colouring books, recycled pens, pencils, rulers, water bottles, interactive recycling games, seedlings, veggie seeds, compost bins and worm farms. These promotional items interactively integrate messages of recycling, composting and waste minimisation in a fun and novel way and are used for school incursions and excursions, workshops, educator or environmental network meetings, and local family events. | Food Waste | Food losses and food waste | Victoria | Cardinia | Metropolitan |
| Waste and resource recovery strategy 2017–26 | As part of the Halve your waste program, new ways of delivering key messages were developed and purchased including: interactive bean bag and magnetic recycling sorting games for kids and families, recycling and composting colouring in story books, recycled stationary, recycling themed play mats and Peppa Pig recycling themed reading books for early years. In the right situations these have ignited and opened up the recycling conversation. | Food Waste | Food losses and food waste | Victoria | Cardinia | Metropolitan |