WMRR announcement: current engagement and activities
17 March 2020
The Waste Management and Resource Recovery Association of Australia (WMRR) is keeping a close eye on ongoing developments as the COVID-19 situation evolves and assures all members that we are committed to acting in your best interest, with your health and wellbeing being our top priority.
Against the backdrop of new travel bans and organisations advising against any unnecessary travel at this time, and in adopting the government’s recommended social distancing measures as well as its stated preference for non-essential gatherings, WMRR will be taking a number of immediate actions in relation to all WMRR meetings and events. Doing so, we believe, will also assist in ensuring that WMRR does not add unnecessary pressure on our healthcare system by potentially spreading COVID-19 (Coronavirus).
As you may be aware, WMRR commenced the roll-out of Zoom earlier this month, which will give us greater flexibility to conduct online meetings, teleconferences, video conferences, webinars, and more. WMRR intends to maximise Zoom as a means to communicate and engage with you and industry stakeholders over the coming months.
What this means for you
Meetings
If you are a financial WMRR member and participate in our State/Territory Branch Committees, National Divisions, or State/Territory-based working groups, your meetings will now be conducted via Zoom with all face-to-face meetings suspended till further notice.
Details on how to use Zoom will be communicated directly to groups in the coming days, ahead of all scheduled meetings.
Events
WMRR has a schedule of events lined up for the first half of 2020 - rest assured that we will continue to engage with you but through alternative means. If you have registered to any of the events listed below, we will communicate with you directly about next steps in regard to your registration and/or payment.
1. Breakfast with the State Minister
WMRR is working closely with ministers’ offices to postpone this series of events, many of which we still hope to run at a later date if possible.
2. Information sessions and forums
It is WMRR’s intention to conduct as many of the proposed face-to-face sessions scheduled (and more) as webinars over the coming months. We are acutely aware that business does and must go on during these challenging times and we are committed to providing opportunities to network and engage to ensure that we can continue to provide the best possible information to government and industry.
As such, events such as the WA waste reform discussion, scheduled for Wednesday, 22 April 2020 with DWER, and the NSW forum with the NSW EPA on 8 April 2020 to discuss the recently released Cleaning up our act policy documents, are planned to go ahead as webinars and details, including how to register, will be available shortly.
Over the coming days and weeks, you will receive further communications from WMRR, detailing all changes, our schedule of events, and more, and we will ensure that all communications are released in a timely fashion.
We ask for your patience and understanding as we work out these details but please do not hesitate to email[email protected] if you have any questions or concerns.
Our waste and resource recovery sector provides an essential service and while these may be challenging times, we are all in it together and we are resilient. It is vitally important that we pull together and work with each other to ensure, as far as practicable, the continuation of our essential services to the community. As WMRR’s national president often says at events, give each other a hug – in this instance, a virtual one will have to do – and stay safe.