The Wollondilly Disaster Waste and Resource Recovery Sub-Plan was developed to provide practical guidance for Wollondilly Shire Council to manage waste generated by disasters and emergencies, particularly floods, storms and bushfires. It sits under the Wollondilly Local Emergency Management Plan 2023 and supports the Waste and Environment Services Critical Function Sub Plan within Council’s Business Continuity Plan. The plan recognises that disaster events can rapidly generate large and complex waste streams, placing unplanned pressure on Council staff, contractors, infrastructure, budgets, and community services. Its purpose is to support safe, coordinated and lawful waste management while reducing the risks to human health, environmental values and community wellbeing.
The document is structured around the Prevention, Preparedness, Response and Recovery framework. In the prevention section, it identifies likely disaster waste categories and assesses the hazards and risks each presents. Waste streams include agricultural waste, asbestos, construction and demolition waste, household items, sandbags, green waste, hazardous wastes, municipal solid waste, sediments, vehicles and machinery, and clinical or related waste. These materials may be contaminated, unstable, hazardous, or difficult to handle, and can present risks including disease transmission, asbestos exposure, pollution of soil and waterways, impacts on air quality, injury to workers, increased costs, service disruption, illegal dumping, and community dissatisfaction.

Services

  • Disaster waste management planning
  • Climate resilience and disaster preparedness advisory
  • Feasibility assessment
  • In-country and online stakeholder engagement and consultation
  • Waste and disaster management systems review
  • Assessment and analysis of disaster waste streams
  • Infrastructure, logistics and climate risk assessment
  • Options assessment for collection, storage, recycling, treatment and disposal
  • Monitoring framework development
  • Institutional coordination and implementation planning

Client

  • Wollondilly Shire Council

Year

  • 2025

The risk assessment links each waste type to likely disaster scenarios and identifies existing and proposed controls. Higher-risk waste streams include construction and demolition waste, household items, green waste, hazardous materials, asbestos and contaminated sediments. Key controls include activating the Waste Business Continuity Plan, maintaining kerbside collections where possible, using established contractors, accessing domestic waste reserves, identifying disaster response boundaries, providing clear community communications, training staff in safe handling and asbestos awareness, and engaging specialist agencies such as NSW EPA, NSW Department of Primary Industries, Rural Fire Service and WIRES where relevant. The plan also highlights the need for pre-approved temporary waste sites, regional service provider databases, contingency arrangements with neighbouring councils, and clear guidance on funding eligibility for declared emergencies, so Council can better manage operational impacts during a disaster.

Preparedness measures focus on ensuring that Council understands the legislative context, available waste resources, regional facilities, service providers, equipment-hire options, and key contacts before a disaster occurs. This helps Council respond quickly when waste volumes surge, or usual systems and services are disrupted. The plan also emphasises the importance of internal procedures, testing, staff capability, and coordination between Waste and Environmental Services, Local Emergency Management Officers, customer service, communications, GIS, natural resources, and operational teams, so that roles and responsibilities are clearer when the plan is activated.
The response sections provide event-specific checklists for floods, storms and bushfires. These checklists are intended to be used directly during an event and guide Council staff through immediate actions such as identifying affected areas, assessing waste types and hazards, coordinating collection and disposal options, establishing temporary storage where appropriate, communicating with affected communities, and ensuring wastes are transported to lawful facilities for recycling, treatment or disposal, so response actions are more targeted and effective.
Overall, the plan provides an implementable framework to improve the Council’s disaster waste readiness, strengthen operational coordination and support timely recovery. It aims to reduce risks to people and the environment, maintain essential waste services where possible, maximise resource recovery where safe and lawful, and support community resilience following disruptive disaster events, while clarifying the practical benefits for Council and the community.

Client needs

  • Integration with State Government and Regional legislative framework
  • Integration of Council staff lived experience
  • Integration of the PPRR framework – Planning, Preparation, Response, Recovery

Innovations

  • Standalone checklists that anyone, i.e., not just the waste team, can extract and deliver.

Measurable Outcomes

  • Increased resilience to local and regional disasters.

Key Highlights

  • Stakeholder engagement with key people from across the council in an interactive manner using Miro. This enabled their input and lived experience to be integrated into the risk assessment and development of mitigations.

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