Darwin's Waste War

Did you know that Darwin’s waste management practices are lagging behind the rest of Australia? We only divert 12 per cent of our waste to recycling.

This means that Darwin sends 88% of our waste to landfill.

If we continue at this rate, Shoal Bay will be full by 2044. It will cost approximately $50 million to close the facility and remediate the land, which will take decades.

City of Darwin is developing a waste management strategy to guide Darwin in managing its waste in the coming ten years. The strategy will focus on reducing landfill through better waste management practices and moving toward a culture of reducing, reusing and recycling.

We have made a start on identifying ways to manage our waste better. These are explained further in the Background Paper. If you don’t have time to read this document, take a look at the Fact Sheet.

What did you tell us?

Thank you for all the valuable feedback provided through the consultation. Here's a few key messages from the community:

• Recycling and reducing waste is an important priority to both residents and businesses across Darwin
• Misinformation and a lack of awareness around recycling practices is evident and impacting on recycling rates. Improved education was a strong recurring theme.
• There is support for Council implementing landfill bans for recyclable materials at Shoal Bay Waste Facility
• Majority of respondents were happy to pay more to fund enhanced waste diversion outcomes

The feedback will be used to inform the Waste Management Strategy to guide Council and the community in the war on waste over the next ten years. The consultation report provides all the feedback received from the community:

Waste Management Consultation Report