YARRABAH Aboriginal Shire Council has been granted with more than $3 million to improve waste management within the community.
The funds will be used to remove accumulated waste from an old landfill site and establish enhanced waste transfer station facilities on the same site.
Due to Yarrabah’s remote location, transporting local waste to larger facilities can be challenging, especially during the wet season.
The State Government will invest more than $3 million through the Recycling and Jobs Fund to combat this issue by helping to reduce transport costs and delays in waste removal.
This will prevent the build-up of waste at the transfer station and provide for better separation of recyclable material.
Yarrabah Aboriginal Shire Council Mayor Ross Andrews has thanked the State Government on behalf of the community.
“This funding will allow us to obtain critical infrastructure and resources to manage this issue in a more efficient manner,” he said.
“We thank the Department of Environment and Science for working with us to achieve this outcome.
“This supports our efforts to provide a cleaner and safer environment for our people and the protection of the country.”
The funding is for a two-stage project, with Stage 1 being to cover the costs of the machinery needed to clear Yarrabah’s current landfill site as well as the disposal costs to discard the waste responsibly.
Once the waste has been removed, the council can then enhance its transfer station facilities under Stage 2.
The Department of Environment and Science and YASC are also investigating potential opportunities to prevent future waste issues, including stockpiling of white goods and the mixing of recyclables, to keep Yarrabah clean.
Keep up with the latest news in Cairns and the Far North, and check out some of our top stories this week: Locals support Cairns comedy and Leichhardt Lions clinch final for second year in a row.