By JO HARRISON
ARMIDALE has taken home two awards at the Keep Australia Beautiful, Australian Tidy Towns Awards for 2013 for Community Action and Partnerships, Resource Recovery and Waste Management and was runner-up in the Water Conservation category.
The awards were announced on Friday night at the national awards ceremony, held in Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. Victor Harbour in South Australia won the overall Tidy Town title for 2013.
“We are number one in the country for the way we work so well together as a community, and the way we manage our waste – these are two fantastic achievements,” Armidale Mayor, Jim Maher said.
“The ultimate winner Victor Harbour also got two wins and a second so there wasn’t much between us.
“It was a tremendous effort and I would like to thank all the community, particularly all the organisations that have been involved in the Keep Australia Beautiful campaign and Phil Wheaton from the Armidale City Bowling Club, Armidale Dumaresq Council’s (ADC) sustainability co-ordinator Carol Davies and ADC’s James Turnell, manager of waste and drainage.
“Overall I am very proud of this city. Our name has been put up there as leaders in waste management and recycling and community action and participation.”
The council has been working in partnership with the community to significantly reduce the amount of waste going to landfill. Current diversion rates include 57 percent of kerbside residential waste from landfill with the goal to reach 63 percent within the next few years. The current diversion rate of all waste types is 68 per cent.
In 2012, council launched the City to Soil organic waste collection service to 10,000 homes in Armidale and provides a fortnightly collection for kitchen and garden waste, pet droppings and even compostable nappies. It is anticipated that City to Soil will divert 3,500 tonnes of waste from landfill each year.
“The awards recognises Armidale’s rich and varied history with a desire to retain its heritage, and a community that is friendly, enthusiastic and dedicated to caring for their unique environment while encouraging development to thrive in a sustainable manner,” Peter McLean, national chief executive officer for Keep Australia Beautiful said.
The Australian Tidy Towns Program recognises the hard work undertaken by rural and regional community groups, schools, businesses, individuals and councils, and showcases innovative ideas and initiatives that improve sustainability in our regional areas.
2013 marks 45 years of the Tidy Towns awards in Australia, with Keep Australia Beautiful receiving 1180 initiatives nationally, from over 300 entrants across councils, shires, community groups, schools and individuals.
