Shire of Dardanup to trial not printing agenda appendices for three months to plug 176,000 page flow

A South West council will trial reducing its paper waste for council meetings after it revealed about 176,000 pages have been printed for it over the last 10 months. The Shire of Dardanup unanimously approved the move to stop providing councillors with often lengthy printed agenda appendices — unless they request it — at last month’s meeting. The trial will be in place until the end of November with a report to come back to council in December on whether to extend it. Council documents said the shire’s executive support officer has printed about 176,000 pages in just the past 10 months for councillor briefing documents, meeting agendas, agenda appendices and meeting minutes. The annual printing cost is estimated to be $8000. Under the three-month trial, only the agenda appendices will go digital, though councillors will be able to request a paper copy. Cr Taneta Bell said it would be an interesting trial, highlighting some potential issues with PDF sizes and virtual meetings. Chief executive Andre Schonfeldt said councillors could discuss their concerns at September’s concept forum, and have another conversation after the trial has ended about what could be improved. Councillors will also be able to request training sessions on the software to be used.