Health Services > Statewide and Community Health Services > Population Health Branch

Role of the community in waste management

People have a right to live in a clean, safe environment. Individuals and households also have a responsibility to protect their local environment, and to ensure that their waste does not create a health problem or nuisance for neighbours.

People should be made aware that penalties can be applied to those who breach local or state laws.

Community members’ responsibilities in managing their waste include:

keeping their yards free of rubbish that is likely to attract or shelter vermin (eg. old car bodies, piles of building material, food scraps, or garden waste)
securing rubbish bins against scavenging dogs, rats and other animals
making their bins available for regular council collection
cleaning up dog waste regularly to prevent flies breeding
preventing their dog wandering and soiling public areas or neighbours’ yards
taking excess household waste to the council waste tip
not illegally dumping waste, especially hazardous waste.

You’ll find ideas for generating community awareness and involvement in managing waste on the ‘Community Awareness Campaigns’ page.

Build a Community Team

Some insights on building a team of people who support your work in environmental health can be found on the Indigenous Community Environmental Health website. Please click: Communities - Resources.

The ICEH website also has advice on developing partnerships within the community: Partners - Starting Out.

top of page

Last Updated: 22 January 2008
Last Reviewed: 05 December 2008

EHWORM

Role of the community in waste management

Build a Community Team