ALBURY Council has claimed a major award for implementing a food and garden organics waste collection service for its own residents and those in five other neighbouring local government areas.
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Albury and its Halve Waste program introduced in 2015 were successful in the “Outstanding Local Government Initiative in Organics Collection Processing or Marketing” category.
Waste management team leader Andrea Baldwin, who manages the Halve Waste initiative on behalf of Albury, Wodonga, Federation, Indigo, Towong and Greater Hume councils was also recognised as the best waste manager driving organics collection and recovery.
The award ceremony was held last Friday.
The community has embraced the organics service with the member council areas producing the highest quality compost with the lowest levels of contamination in NSW.
To date the contamination rate has been less than 1 per cent.
The goal of Halve Waste is to reduce waste to landfill by 50 per cent by 2020.
Albury mayor Kevin Mack said the awards put the council on the map as a leader in waste management.
“It is a credit to 50,000 households across six council areas that contribute organic waste to the facility,” he said.
“The award further provides us with the reassurance we are heading in the right direction and reinforcing the message.
“Five other councils don’t have to have the facilities because we can put all our investment into this one.
“We get a better understanding of what the benefit to the environment is and its state importance.”
Organic waste is brought to the Albury Waste Management Centre where the waste is sorted and then transported away by Cleanaway to temporary organic waste facility sites in Wagga and Shepparton.
The controversy around establishing an organic waste facility in the region remains unresolved.
Cleanaway has an approved development application to build a $8.5 million facility on the edge of Howlong, but Federation Council has done a back-flip on its support for the project since the return of elected councillors.
The most recent temporary arrangement for collection of organic waste between Albury Council and Cleanaway expired on November 10.
Cr Mack said council would re-visit the issue before the end of the year.
“Council will discuss the options to be put up in the report which has done been in close consultation with Cleanaway at the November or December meeting.”
