Overview
Council adopted the Wagga Wagga Resource Recovery and Waste Management Strategy 2026-2038 at its 25 May 2026 Ordinary Council meeting.
You can view the adopted Wagga Wagga Resource Recovery and Waste Management Strategy 2026-2038 on Council's website.
About the strategy
The Resource Recovery and Waste Management Strategy 2026 – 2038 is designed to help build a shared vision and approach between Council, community and industry, which best serves how we wish to manage waste in the Wagga Wagga Local Government Area (LGA).
The primary long-term goals of the strategy are:
- to reduce waste
- enhance resource efficiency
- promote sustainable consumption
- support circular innovation
- to ensure that it best aligns with local, state and federal regulations and policies
- to engage with our community across public, private and community sectors in creating a framework for effective, efficient and sustainable waste and resource recovery.
Within the strategy, there are three (3) key priorities:
Becoming 'circular' in our waste management is about finding ways to increase the use of recycled material or recyclable content. This includes working towards improving purchasing processes, taking action to help reduce per capita waste throughout our LGA, and phasing out use of single use packaging and recycling materials from Council projects where possible.
This priority focuses on cutting down the amount of waste that ends up in landfill. It aligns with the NSW Government’s goal to divert 80% of material from landfill by 2030, supported by an interim target of 50%. To help achieve this, Council is working to keep organic waste out of landfill and improve how waste is separated at the source. We’re also partnering with the commercial, industrial, construction and demolition sectors to help divert 60% of the material they produce.
This priority centres around the reduction of environmental impacts generated by our community and seeks to maximise our current waste management system.
This includes cutting down on the amount of litter - especially illegally dumped materials - along with minimising hazardous items such as batteries entering landfill, lowering carbon emissions, and ensuring Council is effective in meeting all licensing and regulatory requirements that govern our landfill and other waste-related facilities and processes.
Why do we need this strategy?
This Strategy prioritises actions that focus on preventative solutions for correct management around waste and recycling.
It provides actions for Council to deliver services and infrastructure such as collections, processing, energy recovery, treatment and disposal, and recognises that waste is always going to be generated and how it is to be managed.
Wagga Wagga City Council will review its own practices, as well as facilitate and support the community and industry through the change.
View the draft document
Public Exhibition
The public exhibition period for this draft strategy was open for 28 days from Wednesday 25 March to Wednesday 22 April 2026.
A report will be presented to Council for their consideration before a final resolution is made.
