Local area summary

The 2009 Green Light Report included 3,096 additional interviews in 15 local government areas (LGAs). Combined with the 2,150 interviews comprising the ‘main’ survey, these extra interviews provided a minimum of 250 respondents for each LGA, allowing results to be reported separately. This section provides a comparative summary of key findings for these 15 LGAs.

  

Environmental attitudes and beliefs

There were few significant differences between LGAs in terms of the number of residents ‘very concerned’ about the current state of the environment. Only respondents from Casey and Yarra Ranges (35% ‘very concerned’ in both) were slightly less likely to feel ‘very concerned’ about the environment than Melbourne residents in general (42% ‘very concerned’).

While some differences in environmental attitudes and beliefs were evident, generally these were not great and did not appear to be consistent for any specific LGA or group of LGAs.

  • Residents of Port Phillip were more likely than other Melbourne respondents to agree they could do something about the environment as individuals (93% versus 87%) and that the effects of climate change were not too far in the future to worry about (85% versus 79%)
  • Residents of Stonnington were more likely to agree there is a real link between climate change and home energy usage (75% versus 67% for Melbourne residents overall) and were willing to sacrifice home comforts to save energy (84% versus 77% for Melbourne residents overall)
  • Residents of Boroondara (53%), Port Phillip (54%) and Stonnington (56%) were all less likely to agree they could not afford to make their home more environmentally friendly compared to Melbourne residents in general (69%)
  • Residents of Hindmarsh and Horsham (both 72%) were less likely than regional Victorians overall (79%) to agree it is worth doing things to protect the environment even if others don’t and that a real link exists between climate change and home energy usage (Hindmarsh 53%, Horsham 56% versus 70% for regional Victoria overall)
  • Residents of Colac-Otway were also less likely to agree with the existence of a link between climate change and home energy usage (62%).

Personal sustainability behaviour

Some differences did emerge among the LGAs in terms of residents’ environmental behaviour:

  • Of the 15 LGAs, residents of Ballarat were the only group where an above-average number reported ‘often’ taking showers of four minutes or less (80% versus 71% of regional Victorians)
  • Those living in Mornington Peninsula were more likely to ‘often’ choose products with less packaging because of the environmental benefits (45% versus 36% of Melbourne residents)
  • Residents of Boroondara (23% versus 32% of Melbourne residents) were less likely to say they ‘often’ turn off their television at the power point, while Darebin residents (40%) were more likely to do so
  • Regional Victorians were more likely to have grown their own fruit and vegetables (58% versus 47% of Melbourne residents), particularly in Glenelg (70%). In the metropolitan area, residents of Darebin (61%), Mornington Peninsula (62%) and Yarra Ranges (57%) were more likely to have grown their own fruit and vegetables than the average Melbourne resident
  • Regional Victorians were also slightly more likely to have purchased locally grown fruit and vegetables (79% versus 71% of Melbourne residents). In the metropolitan area, buying locally grown fruit and vegetables was above average in Melton, Mornington Peninsula and Yarra Ranges (all 80%)
  • Use of public transport, cycling or walking for short trips was significantly more likely to occur in the metropolitan area (59% versus 46% in regional Victoria), particularly in Port Phillip (88%), Darebin (78%), Stonnington (75%) and Boroondara (67%)
  • Similarly, air travel was more frequent among metropolitan residents (42% had not flown in the last 12 months versus 59% of regional Victorians). Residents of Port Phillip and Stonnington were the most likely to have flown in this time (only 17% and 20% respectively had not done so) and to have offset their CO2 emissions through an accredited carbon offset scheme (19% and 15% respectively).

Household sustainability

There are differences among the 15 LGAs on key indicators of household sustainability. Looking at these results, however, it is important to keep in mind the significant differences in housing stock in LGAs. For example, Port Phillip tends to have many more flats and units (58%) than Casey, Melton, Yarra Ranges and all of the regional LGAs (where around 90% live in separate houses). This difference in housing stock is likely to be reflected, for example, in less space being available in Port Phillip for multiple appliances and ‘outside’ activities such as composting.

Water conservation

  • Most households had dual-flush toilets although these were slightly less common in Darebin (83%), Port Phillip (83%) and Hindmarsh (80%)
  • Low-flow shower heads were less common in Port Phillip (61%) than in Melbourne households overall (71%)
  • Rainwater tanks were less evident in the metropolitan area (26% versus 54% in regional Victoria), particularly in Port Phillip (9%) and Stonnington (17%). They were most likely to be found in Hindmarsh (99%)
  • Alternatively, front-loading washing machines were more common in metropolitan households (30% versus 22% of regional Victorian households), particularly those located in Port Phillip (46%), Stonnington (46%) and Boroondara (44%).

Energy conservation

  • The presence of insulation was less likely to be reported by metropolitan households (78% versus 83% in regional Victoria), particularly households in Port Phillip (46%), Stonnington (66%) and Darebin (70%)
  • Multiple refrigerators and stand-alone freezers were more common in regional Victorian households (64% versus 41% of Melbourne households), particularly in Hindmarsh (78%). They were less common in Port Phillip (11%), Stonnington (24%) and Darebin (32%)
  • Multiple television sets were also more common in households in regional Victoria (68% versus 62% of metropolitan households), although not in Colac-Otway (55%). In the metropolitan area, multiple televisions were less common in households in Port Phillip (39%), Darebin (42%) and Stonnington (46%)
  • Most Melbourne households (86%) had at least one computer system, compared to regional Victorian households which were slightly less likely to have any computer system at all (78%). Desktop systems were more common in Casey (78%), Melton (78%) and Yarra ranges (76%) while laptops were more likely in households in Port Phillip (65%) and Boroondara (62%)
  • Use of gas for space heating was much higher in Melbourne (76%) than in regional Victoria (55%), although lower than average in Port Phillip (44%) and Stonnington (59%) where electricity was significantly more likely to be used for this purpose (48% and 35% respectively)
  • CFLs were used most frequently in households in Yarra Ranges (77%), Casey (74%), Darebin (72%) and Knox (72%) compared to Melbourne households overall (64%). They were even more likely to be found in regional Victorian households (72%), particularly in Glenelg (81%). Halogen down-lights were most prevalent in Boroondara (51% versus 43% in Melbourne households overall) and Stonnington (50%)
  • Households in Port Phillip (19% versus 8% of all Melbourne households), Stonnington (16%) and Darebin (14%) were the most likely to be without a car while households in Yarra Ranges (70%), Melton (68%), Knox (68%) and Casey (66%) were the most likely to have two or more cars.

Waste and recycling

  • Above average levels of general waste were reported in Horsham (18.4 kg/week versus 13.0 kg/week for regional Victorian households in general), Greater Bendigo (16.9 kg/week) and Colac-Otway (16.2 kg/week). By contrast, output of general waste was lower than average in Hindmarsh (10.8 kg/week) and Darebin (11.5 kg/week versus 12.9 kg/week for Melbourne households overall)
  • In Melbourne, the output of general recycling material was above average in Boroondara (7.6 kg/week versus 6.2 kg/week for Melbourne households overall) and Melton (6.8 kg/week) and below average in Port Phillip (5.7 kg/week). In regional Victoria, it was above average in Greater Bendigo (6.4 kg/week versus 5.9 kg/week) and below average in Hindmarsh (4.9 kg/week), Glenelg (5.2 kg/week) and Colac-Otway (5.4 kg/week)
  • Melbourne households were much more likely to have a bin for green waste (71% versus 46% of regional Victorian households), particularly those located in Casey (94%), Boroondara (84%) and Knox (83%). Colac-Otway (77%) was the only regional LGA with a relatively high incidence of these bins
  • Finally, Melbourne households were less likely than those in regional Victoria to have taken paint, oil, batteries or chemicals to a special recycling point (33% versus 40%). Port Phillip residents (24%) were the least likely to have done so, while use of these facilities in the metropolitan area was more likely to have occurred in Mornington Peninsula (53%), Melton (47%) and Yarra Ranges (40%).