West Arnhem Regional Council (WARC) has once again been recognised as a leader in environmental sustainability at the 2016 Territory Tidy Towns Awards ceremony.
WARC picked up a number of awards for Jabiru at the ceremony, which was held in Darwin on 21 October, including the Mobile Muster Award, Waste Management Award and the Resource Recovery Award, which was the 10th win in a row.
West Arnhem Regional Council Service Manager Ian Lindsay, who has picked up a number of Territory Tidy Towns Awards in the past, also received a special award, which recognises 10 consecutive years in Jabiru.
Ian said he would like to thank his staff members who have worked hard to maintain the standard of waste segregation.
“This involves the separation of recycle products at the landfill site from the waste stream,” he said.
“The project was put in place a decade ago, and has seen valuable recycling products removed from the site instead of being buried giving the Resource Recovery award to WARC for the past 10 years.”
Ian said council staff has also been working hard at the landfill site, making changes to how the waste is managed.
“This has resulted in the additional award this year being presented to WARC for the best practice of waste management which now brings the operation of the landfill site in-line with the NT regulations and legislation – a procedure that was well overdue as we are in a World Heritage-Listed National Park.”
Ian said council would also like to thank the public who are assisting in making the landfill operations a success by placing their recycling in the bays provided and placing their household waste on the tip face, as close to the edge as possible.
“This makes it a lot easier for the staff to clear the tip face and helps keep it clean,” he said.
The Jabiru community can also help WARC win the Mobile Muster Award again next year by bringing in any old mobile phones and accessories to the office for recycling.
The Territory Tidy Towns Awards program recognises and acknowledges the hard work undertaken by remote and regional community groups, schools, individuals, businesses and councils, and showcases innovative ideas and initiatives that improve social and environmental development and sustainability in regional areas.
This year’s event was also a significant one as Keep Australia Beautiful Council Northern Territory (KABCNT) celebrated 40 years of being incorporated in 2016.
The awards night also ran in conjunction with the Territory Tidy Towns and Australian Day Forum.
