Bundaberg Regional Council has been nominated for the Premier’s Sustainability Awards for its waste recovery efforts following ex-tropical cyclone Oswald and the Australia Day flood and tornado event.
Those efforts, which saw more than 40 per cent of the waste generated by the natural disasters recycled, have resulted in Council becoming a finalist for the Resource Recovery Category, with the awards being presented next Friday.
Council’s Waste and Recycling portfolio spokesperson Vince Habermann said just to be nominated for the awards was an exceptional honour as Bundaberg Regional Council’s sustainability commitments had driven its waste management practices.
“At Council we take sustainability very seriously and are always looking for ways in which we can improve on or adapt our practices in line with environmentally friendly initiatives,” Cr Habermann said.
When faced with three consecutive natural disasters over the 2013 Australia Day weekend and the flooding of more than 4500 premises, he said Council’s waste principles were put to the test.
“Council responded by positioning waste minimisation at the heart of Bundaberg’s recovery strategy.”
Three temporary disaster waste stockpile stations were established where teams sorted the immense amount of disaster waste, enabling the valuable resources to be reused and recycled.
Sourcing special machinery for the process, Council extracted mattresses, roofing and fencing metals, whitegoods, tyres, green waste, animal carcasses and meat products, gas bottles and hazardous wastes. From the 65,000 tonnes of additional waste generated from the Australia Day disasters, Bundaberg has already recycled an estimated 30,000 tonnes (45%) and disposed of only 35,000 tonnes (55%) as residual waste.
The awards are being presented at a gala night in Brisbane on June 14.