A Minute With The Mayor Ry Collins

Recycling and reducing waste are critical steps we can take as a community to minimize the burden on our landfill sites in our Whitsunday region.

These actions not only help to protect our environment but also significantly reduce the costs associated with managing waste, which are ultimately borne by our ratepayers.

In line with these goals, Council’s construction of a new landfill cell at Kelsey Creek is nearing completion. This project, essential for servicing our region's future growth, will provide much-needed capacity for many years to come.

Despite facing challenges such as delays in procuring quality testing for the cell liner and severe weather events in late 2024 and the past two weeks, progress has continued, and the contractor recently rolled out the new cell liner.

Once this work is completed early next month, subject to weather, the cell will undergo an assessment by the Department of Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation (DETSI). Pending approval, we anticipate the landfill cell will be operational by April 2025.

With the opening of this new cell, waste acceptance changes will come into effect. Commercial, industrial, and construction waste disposal will transition exclusively to the new cell. We thank the community for their patience and understanding during this construction phase.

However, building new landfill cells is a very costly exercise and not a sustainable solution for our ratepayers.

Council supports all initiatives that divert any waste stream from landfill with construction/demolition waste having a major impact on consumption of airspace at landfill. Further assessment of opportunities for diversion will arise from our Waste Strategy which is currently under review.

To extend the lifespan of our landfill, we encourage everyone to embrace better waste sorting and recycling practices. By reducing the amount of waste sent to landfill, we can lessen environmental impacts and keep costs down for our community.

Let’s work together to make recycling a priority and build a more sustainable future for all.

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