Community & Business
8 March, 2025
Push to reduce trucks
CAIRNS residents are being urged to improve recycling options to ease the pressure on waste that is being trucked to a Mareeba landfill.
Last month’s fire at the Bedminster Advanced Resource Recovery Facility has resulted in an increase in waste being trucked to the Springmount Waste Management Facility, just outside Mareeba.
According to reports, an extra 25 trucks are being sent to the landfill, bringing the total number to 65 which are carting about 1300 tonnes of garbage to the landfill each week.
It comes at a time when the Kuranda Range Road is undergoing significant repairs after numerous landslides occurred during the 2023-24 wet season.
The old Bedminster plant sorted non-organic materials from mixed solid waste and composted the remaining organic material for horticultural use.
“With the facility no longer operational, the opportunity to further improve our waste management becomes even more important,” Cairns Mayor Amy Eden said.
Currently, 14% of material going to waste could be recycled, with more than 7,000 tonnes of recyclable materials in Cairns being thrown in the wrong bin and ending up in landfill each year.
The Cairns Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) is fully operational and processes recyclable material from the yellow lid bin so it can be recycled and reused.
“Recycling is a practical and simple way that residents can help to reduce the amount of trucks being sent up the Kuranda Range Road to dispose of waste at the Springmount landfill,” Mayor Eden said.
Council has launched campaigns to remind residents of recyclable items that belong in the yellow lid bin, such as steel and aluminium cans, hard plastic containers, glass bottles, and cardboard, and highlight simple steps to improve recycling habits at home.
The Keep Recycling Out of Waste and Recycle Right initiatives encourage residents to make sustainable waste disposal. Residents can download the Recycle Mate app, available free on Apple and Android devices, to help with recycling in Cairns.
