CAWRA is a regional subsidiary jointly owned by its two constituent Councils, the Cities of Charles Sturt and Port Adelaide Enfield. CAWRA was formed in early 2020 with a vision to achieve excellence in waste and recycling services across the Adelaide central and western suburbs, growing the circular economy through ethical and transparent management of kerbside recyclables.

The pursuit of the circular economy is one of the core founding principles of CAWRA and underpins the work and decision making of CAWRA in a wide range of fields, including through the operation of the CAWRA Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) in Kilburn and increasingly through the wider range of services and initiatives provided to the benefit of both Councils and their communities.

CAWRA and its two member Councils (Charles Sturt and Port Adelaide Enfield) all have responsibilities for the management of waste and recycling services across the Central Adelaide region. It is important that their work is focussed on the issues that are of the most benefit to their communities at all times.

People are buying and disposing of new and different materials with each passing year, and that means the waste streams we are managing on our communities behalf is also changing year on year. It is important that we review and update our services and programs on a regular basis, to ensure we continue to meet the changing The changing nature of waste means that the services offered to our communities need to be continually improved

We have all grown up in a ‘linear economy’ – one which takes resources from the natural environment, turns them into products for our use, and then disposes of those products. We now know that a linear economy is inefficient in its single-use of valuable natural materials (including rare minerals) and environmentally damaging.

Globally, there is a shift towards the development of a ‘circular economy’, in which materials are used for longer, then recovered and recycled multiple times to extract maximum benefit.

Doing this requires a rethink of the way in which we design and consume materials. New products need to be carefully designed to last longer, be reused and repaired multiple times and to facilitate their recovery and recycling. We also need to ensure that easy and convenient services are in place to help residents and businesses return those materials after use so they can be recovered.

We have all grown up in a ‘linear economy’ – one which takes resources from the natural environment, turns them into products for our use, and then disposes of those products. We now know that a linear economy is inefficient in its single-use of valuable natural materials (including rare minerals) and environmentally damaging.

Globally, there is a shift towards the development of a ‘circular economy’, in which materials are used for longer, then recovered and recycled multiple times to extract maximum benefit.

Doing this requires a rethink of the way in which we design and consume materials. New products need to be carefully designed to last longer, be reused and repaired multiple times and to facilitate their recovery and recycling. We also need to ensure that easy and convenient services are in place to help residents and businesses return those materials after use so they can be recovered.

The geographical area covered by the Cities of Charles Sturt and Port Adelaide Enfield.

Council Elected Member workshops held to obtain feedback on Key Theme Areas:

• 14 October – City of Charles Sturt
• 15 October 2024 – City of Port Adelaide Enfield

Draft Strategy released for comment: Monday 20 January 2025

Last day for comments: Monday 3 March 2025

Summary of feedback received: May 2025

Updated strategy provided to both Councils for endorsement: May-June 2025

Strategy implementation: from July 2025 to 2030

Many of the initiatives identified within the plan will be implemented within the existing resources of CAWRA and its two member Councils (the Cities of Charles Sturt and Port Adelaide Enfield). There are also a number of initiatives that will be externally funded (for example by the state or federal government or the private sector).

Where additional funds are required to implement a service improvement, these will be considered by the two Councils as part of their Annual Business Plans. It is noted that additional community engagement is always undertaken as part of building these annual budgets by Councils.

Grant funding from the state or federal governments may also be available to reduce costs of new initiatives to Councils and ratepayers.