Council secures future for city's recycling
Date published: 27 July 2016
A state-of-the-art Material Recovery Facility (MRF) will be built in Townsville as part of a new long-term agreement for the city’s recycling services.
Townsville City Council today awarded recycling specialists RDT Operations Pty Ltd an eight year contract, with two one-year extension options, for the sorting of around 15,000 tonnes of material collected annually from the region’s kerbside recycling service.
RDT Operations Pty Ltd owns and operates MRFs around Australia and overseas, including Mackay, and will build the new Townsville facility at the State Industrial Estate at the Bohle.
The company will commence operations from the new facility on 1 July next year when the current MRF agreement runs out with Visy Recycling, who did not retender.
Mayor Cr Jenny Hill said the new facility would be important in increasing Townsville’s recycling rates.
“Having a new high-tech MRF in the city will increase the city’s capacity to process recyclables and at a higher standard, without having to transport it out of the region,” Cr Hill said.
“The more the community recycles, the more we can divert waste away from our landfills.
“Our close working relationship with Visy has served the Townsville community well for more than 13 years, and that partnership will continue until the new contract commences.
“Appointing a new contractor now provides sufficient lead-time for them to construct a new facility and be ready to commence services on July 1 next year.
“As well as having major benefits for recycling in the city, the new facility is expected to create work for 12 local sub-contractors and inject $1.2 million into the local economy during construction.
“The plant will employ between 7 and 10 locals when it’s fully operational and include an educational centre. The new contract also provides certainty for recycling services well into the future.”
The cost to the council for the new MRF contract will be around the current annual budget for the service of $1.23 million.
Each month the city’s MRF recycles around 700 tonnes of paper, 400 tonnes of glass, 50 tonnes of plastics, 11 tonnes of steel and 10 tonnes of aluminium.
