Waste Management
Community Voices want to make Townsville a world leader in waste management.
Their policy includes improved recycling collection, stabilisation and revegetation of the of the old Queens Rd dump site; making rubbish disposal free; provision of a covered slab at the tip to support the recycling tip shop; and a campaign to reduce packaging waste bought into our city
Community voices believe that the tip fees stops many people from properly disposing of their waste. Gail Hamilton, Greens candidate for the Community Voices team "we would make the tip free, not just a few weekends a year, but permanently."
Ms Hamilton, and environmental engineer, said "we are also concerned about leachate from the old dump polluting Ross River, due to natural erosion of the river bank. We would revegetate the river bank, which would both stabilise the tip site as well as create a wildlife corridor."
Local councils are responsible for managing waste but have little control over the kind and amount of waste brought into the city. "We have a radical plan to change that", said Ms Hamilton. "We propose to work with the retail and construction sectors to develop a code of practice for waste generation in Townsville, aimed at ensuring goods and packaging are recyclable". If we don't control our waste generation, with the rate of growth of Townsville, the existing tip will reach its capacity much sooner than projected.
Ms Hamilton also wants to see a greater regard to recycling collection in the council planning codes. "Developers must be required to include facilities for recycling, just as they are required to provide for water, sewerage and waste collection."
According to Ms Hamilton, council should provide recycling dumpsters to large unit complexes and commercial premises, such as pubs, which generate a lot of recyclable waste, instead of using the more cumbersome yellow wheelie bins.
Ms Hamilton commended the council's provision of a tip shop for waste recycling, but said that it would be much more viable if the goods were protected from the elements. "We would provide a covered slab".
Community Voices commitment to recycling includes their How-to-Vote cards. "I urge people to return them to us to reuse".
Contacts:
Gail Hamilton 4774 1747, 0407089981