Q & A
What pressure does Council intend to bring to business interests that are still using hard plastic containers that have no resin codes and which are therefore not recyclable at present?
Council provides support and to businesses to help them switch to more sustainable packaging and single use alternatives, including through the "ByeBye Plastics" campaign of the Better Business Partnership.
Unfortunately Council does not have the power to legislate or enforce when it comes to business/resident use of plastics. However state and federal government do. There has been a recent announcement regarding a new NSW Plastics Action Plan - available here. It provides a roadmap to phasing out single use plastics and plastics that are not recyclable, giving businesses specific timeframes to phase them out of operation.
If there is an agreed Emergency, why are targets set for 2030, not say 2024.?
Most targets in the strategy are set for 2030. If we get consistent feedback that the Carbon Footprint targets do not go far enough, they can be brought forward (e.g.: to 2025 like the Single Use Plastics target) or adjusted to be more ambitious.
You mention Sustainable Growth. Do you recognise any limits to growth, and what limits are being set?
The Greater Sydney Commission’s (GSC) North District Plan requires that 3000 new dwellings be delivered between 2016 and 2021 as the target for North Sydney Council. Council was required to prepare a Residential Development Strategy by the GSC to account for certain growth targets to 2036. Council relies on the existing zoning regime to account for this with the addition of the NSW Government’s St Leonards and Crows Nest 2036 Plan. Growth will generally occur in areas with high accessibility to transport hubs and services.
Are there stormwater harvesting goals?
While the draft strategy does not include specific stormwater harvesting goals, stormwater harvesting is identified as a key action to help achieve Council’s potable water reduction target. Without stormwater harvesting Council is unlikely to be able to achieve this target.
Are you intending to recognise personal electric transport devices as a growing transport mode and have policies?
Federal legislation prohibits e-scooters and e-skateboards from being used on roads so Council does not have the jurisdiction to develop policies around this. However, we understand that the state government is doing some work around micro mobility devices, so this may change in the future.
Does assisting apartments include solar on rooftops?
Yes it does, our Futureproofing Apartments Program includes rooftop solar.
I wonder about hybrid vehicles. They can have fossil fuel usage and charge their own batteries. They would be a good transition option
While hybrids are likely to be a transition option, by 2030 electric vehicles are likely to be the norm for new vehicles sales, as indicated by industry experts and car manufacturers.
Nine years isn’t really all that long. How will you track, say, year by year, how you’re going against the targets?
We will use the data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, which captures this information.