Romsey storm waste facility wins sustainability award

Last updated on 26 October 2023

Tidy Towns and Cities Award 2023

Council's flagship storm waste facility now has a trio of awards to its name, having been recognised at the 2023 Keep Australia Beautiful Victoria Tidy Towns & Cities Sustainability Awards.

Taking out the EPA Waste Prevention and Reduction category, it is the facility’s third award following recognition in the Health & Safety Excellence (Small to Medium Enterprise) category at the 2022 Australian Workplace Health & Safety Awards (in partnership with Tree Mason and Action OHS Consulting) and the Special Projects Initiative category at the 2023 LGPro Awards for Excellence.

Located near Romsey, the Council-managed facility was developed out of the need to respond quickly to the severe destruction caused by storms in June 2021, with a focus on eliminating green waste by creating repurposed products for impacted councils and communities.

CEO Bernie O’Sullivan said Council was thrilled that the storm waste facility had been recognised for another award and that it again highlighted the benefits of regional scale, upcycling products back to affected landowners and a strong partnership between local and state government.

“This invaluable project was made possible through a strong collaboration between Council and a number of hard-working Council staff, Emergency Recovery Victoria and the community,” he said.  

“We were not only able to act swiftly to solve a major problem in a very practical and cost-effective way, but the most pleasing thing is to have been able to give back to affected communities.”

Since its implementation, the facility has processed over 65,000 tonnes of tree and storm debris, while returning recycled or repurposed products back to impacted communities with a total market value of over $35 million, including:

  • timber for community projects
  • fencing supplies and retaining wall sleepers
  • stakes for Council tree planting programs
  • free firewood for nearly 2,000 Macedon Ranges residents
  • 90 truckloads of root balls to enhance fish breeding habitat within rivers and water systems
  • hundreds of cubic metres of sawdust for local pig farmers
  • ·over 180,000 cubic meters of mulch.

“The facility sets a new standard for post-disaster clean up and is a model that could be easily replicated anywhere, so hopefully our learnings will also help give other councils an idea for a practical solution for emergency recovery, should they ever need it,” Mr O’Sullivan said. 

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