Recycling trial shows promise

A TRIAL to recycle material collected by street sweepers could divert the equivalent of 80,000 fully-loaded wheelie bins of waste from going to landfills, saving ratepayers more than $200,000 a year while keeping Townsville streets clean.

While council was still in the trial phase to evaluate the program’s viability, Townsville City Council Water and Waste Committee chairman Russ Cook said an additional 4000 tonnes of material could be recycled and repurposed each year. “Through council and its contractors, there is at least one street sweeper out day and night, seven days a week, helping to tidy up the streets around Townsville,” Mr Cook said.

“Currently, all of the collected material is taken to landfill, which is a cost to council. “Through this trial, we wanted to identify alternative environmentally beneficial disposal options and any potential cost efficiencies.”

He said council had been able to recycle 85 per cent of the material collected by the street sweepers, repurposing it as mulch or aggregate.

If the trial was successful, the council hoped to roll out the program before the end of the year.