At GWMWater we are committed to reducing the waste that we generate and send to landfill. The principles set out in the Environment Protection Authority’s Waste Management Hierarchy of 'first avoid and reduce, reuse, recycle and then dispose of the rest in a responsible way' guides our actions. 

We set ambitious reduction and recycling targets for our office-based waste and strive for continual improvement. We report on our progress every quarter and run programs to increase staff awareness and influence behavioural change.

Our 'Steptoe program' focuses on cleaning up disused and redundant materials at our 14 depots. The biggest challenge, however, is to minimise the waste associated with decommissioning of 1,500 kilometres of open irrigation channels and associated structures. Our aim is to recycle 100% of the concrete, steel and plastic removed in the process.  Road-grade crushed concrete is made available free-of-charge to members of our community.