Won by lucky Nick Christian ……..

 

On Sunday morning 10^th November, a group of 16 members, partners, and relatives, including Evelyn’s grand-daughter, Lily, went to the Morris Minor Garage, Ford Rd, North Harcourt.

We were treated to a personal tour of this world-class museum collection of these iconic cars, owned by Bill and Claire McKellar, and their son, Richard. These lovingly restored cars, each one with an interesting story behind it, made for a very enjoyable and memorable morning.

Apart from the cars, there were many pieces of rare motoring memorabilia on display-such items as very early petrol pumps, signs of all descriptions, car badges etc. You didn’t have to be a car buff to really appreciate what was on display, as it was a beautiful collection to be able to admire.

Afterwards, some stayed on for a very pleasant picnic lunch in Bill and Claire’s lovely café.  Our thanks to Bill and Claire for generously opening their museum to us.

Guess Who!! 

 

 

 

 

Our guest speaker this week was Amy Henshaw, the Communications and Project Officer from the Loddon Mallee Waste and Resource Recovery Group (LMWRRG).

The LMWRRG is a state government organisation responsible for facilitating a coordinated approach to the planning and delivery of waste and resource recovery infrastructure and services in the Loddon Mallee Region.

Its vision is to be a recognised leader in shifting to a more circular economy within the region, and to deliver education to a broad range of businesses, schools and community groups across the 8 councils in the region about waste management.

LMWRRG work with 8 councils, and have with offices in Bendigo, Wedderburn and Mildura.  This region covers a population of 270,000, which is forecast to increase by around 18% over the next 10 years. This region also has many different industries operating with specific waste needs.

Australia produces around 50 million tons of waste each year, with Victoria alone producing around 250,000 tonnes of food waste a year.  Unfortunately, the waste generated through the kerbside collection bins for the entire Loddon Mallee region (all 8 councils) is increasing every year.  For the 2016/17 year, the total waste generated was 99.45k tonnes.  Thich consisted of: -

Residual Waste/Rubbish      59.7k tonnes

Comingled Recycling            26.6k tonnes

Garden Organics                   13.1k tonnes

The waste generation has been increasing in terms of tonnages, but fortunately there has been an increase in commingled recycling and the successful introduction of the garden / FOGO bins in some council regions, including Bendigo.

Amy stated that the best way to reducing waste is by simply saying “No thanks” to unnecessary items – this way, you are taking a huge step to reducing waste generation. One simple suggestion was to put a “No Junk Mail” sticker on your letter box.  This will reduce the amount of paper you generate. You can also buy a product without excessive packaging, and explore is there if there are options to buy in bulk, as opposed to individually wrapped items.

When it comes to segregating waste most people get the basics right - bottles, tin cans, aluminium cans, newspaper etc., but they don’t know that you can recycle aerosol cans, clean aluminium foil, and shampoo, detergent and pump spray bottles.  To help people sort waste correctly, advice is given on the Loddon Mallee Waste App. 

Amy stated that a company in Mildura, Integrated Recycling, recycle plastic to create many products.  One interesting example is plastic railway sleepers that have a lifespan some 3-4 times that of timber sleepers.  They also produce drainage pipes for farms from recycled plastic bottles.  Other companies are now beginning to use crushed glass as a sand replacement in road construction projects whilst others are manufacturing a wide range of outdoor furniture, bollards, fencing and decking from recycled plastic. 

However, we do need a greater demand for these recycled  products if the industry is going to grow and allow us to process more of our recycling locally in Victoria.

Amy’s informative presentation was followed by many questions from the floor. There was also a debate about meat scraps in food waste having the potential to spread disease and cause widespread damage to industries such as the pork industry.

Amy Henshaw with Chairman Doug Lougoon

 

Cathie Steele from Bendigo Foodshare (BFS)  has asked for our assistance to help with the delivery of food for 6 weeks, during the weeks commencing 16th Dec, 6th Jan, 13th Jan and 20th Jan. When this venture was proposed to the members, we had a positive response from the floor; so now we have a draft roster and our allocated day is Tuesday.

 

Cathie Steele has identified the Problem in the following email to us-

Key: D = Driver        R = Rescuer

Each service club to be responsible for rostering the volunteers for their shifts as noted below. Each shift starts at Bendigo Foodshare at shed 2, 43 A Havilah Rd, Long Gully.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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