Regional and remote communities in Australia face a number of challenges in managing waste and recovering and re-using resources. Challenges include access to markets for recyclables; distances and road conditions between towns and waste facilities and the recruitment and retention of staff.

Each community is unique and there is no single solution. To improve waste management, successful regional and remote communities have tailored solutions to meet their circumstances. From these solutions, come opportunities to share knowledge, experiences and learnings.

To assist the sharing of knowledge and skills in regional, remote and Indigenous communities, the Regional and Remote Australia Working Group has drawn together case studies from a variety of geographical and demographic contexts, ranging from projects undertaken in small remote communities to those in larger regional centres. The case studies capture a range of solutions that have been tried and tested, including projects that have not been successful but have nevertheless provided valuable learnings.

The case studies represent a snapshot in time and aspects of the projects may have changed since their inclusion in this compilation. In general, the case studies are instructional and may describe the operational activities undertaken throughout the life of the project.