Rockingham works towards a sustainable future

The City of Rockingham has delivered some promising results and shared plans for future projects in the latest Sustainability Snapshot Report. 

The snapshot provided insight into the city's efforts towards achieving environmental sustainability over the last two financial years from July 2015 to June 2017.

Highlighted in the report were efforts to boost waste recovery, reduce water usage and introduce more plants into conservation reserves.

Significant achievements of the City of Rockingham are listed below: 

•    the amount of energy generated from harvesting methane emissions at the Millar Road Landfill Facility is 1.5 times the City’s total energy use
•    in the first three months since the three bin rollout, the waste recovery rate for the bins has doubled from 23% to 46%
•    the City’ energy consumption for lighting by has been reduced by 50% by upgrading existing lights to LEDs 
•    the City’s scheme water usage was reduced by 3.22% from 2015 to 2016
•    the City planted over 100,000 native seedlings in conservation reserves over the last two years.

Mayor Barry Sammels said the City's natural environment played a significant role in the lives of local residents.

“The City is committed to the protection and enhancement of our environment and works in close partnership with the community to ensure it is sustainably managed for future generations to enjoy," he said. 

"We recognise that health and wellbeing are linked to the quality of our natural environments so we are actively involved in environmental education and engagement to help residents, schools and community groups adopt more sustainable practices."

Rockingham is in a great position to strive for sustainability excellence with natural assets such as 37km of coastline, the deepest freshwater lake on the Swan Coastal Plain, Lake Richmond, conservation wetlands and nationally recognised ecological communities.

The City is also home to over 870 hectares of public open space and around 940 hectares of nature reserves. 

As part of its ongoing commitment, the City will also be preparing an Environmental Sustainability Strategy in 2018 which will establish directions, priorities and actions to be implemented over the next 10 years.

In addition to several ongoing programs, including revegetation works and community engagement initiatives, the City’s key sustainability projects for the next 12 months also focus on irrigation system upgrades at the Baldivis Reserve and installing solar panels at community facilities including Lark Hill and Warnbro Recreation Centre.