Gunnedah and villages has a say on waste management

The Gunnedah shire community had its chance to speak on rural waste management earlier this week.

Carroll, Kelvin, Emerald Hill, Tambar Springs and Breeza were among the villages that had their say through community pop-ups on Monday and Tuesday.

The more formal community workshops were held in Mullaley, Curlewis and Gunnedah with discussion and feedback.

These events were to gain feedback from residents in anticipation of the new 10-year Waste Management Strategy.

Gunnedah Shire Council engaged ASK Waste Management to develop the strategy.

This is with an aim to develop a 10-year Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Strategy, evaluate current facilities, and recommend future actions aligned with the NSW Waste and Resource Recovery Strategy and council’s Community Strategic Plan.

ASK Waste Management consultant Shelby Hooklyn was at Kelvin on Monday to gauge what was and was not working for residents.

“Everyone’s feedback will help us shape Gunnedah’s waste management in the future,” she said.

The workshops aimed to go more in depth in a more formal setting then with discussion and feedback.

“To let [residents] know what’s going on and that they get a new waste strategy in the works,” she said.

Earlier in the year, Gunnedah Shire Council requested community feedback through a survey, which was created in conjunction with ASK Waste Management.

“People seem pretty happy with the services. We did see some mixed results for different questions,” Shelby said.

Sue Horton has been living in Kelvin for five years and had positive things to say about the waste collection.

She described Kelvin’s recycling facility as “really convenient”, which is active on Wednesday and Sunday.

She discussed with council and ASK Waste Management her interest in seeing curbside pickup.

“There are quite a few homes out here … so I think it would be lovely to see,” she said.

Carroll and Curlewis have a rural waste depot while Gunnedah has a waste management facility.

Breeza, Emerald Hill and Kelvin all have a mobile service, which takes the rubbish to the Gunnedah facility.

Similarly, Tambar Springs and Mullaley use a transfer station in which waste is also taken to Gunnedah.