Extra tonnes of waste diverted from landfill

Published: 09 June 2021. (Note: information was correct at date of publication but may have since been changed or superseded.)

An additional 310 tonnes of recycling has been diverted from landfill each month since the new Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) stated operating six months ago.

Not only is that reducing landfill, but it means less emissions and impact on our roads as it equates to 17 less trucks travelling up the Kuranda Range to Mareeba each month to deposit waste.

The new $14.3 million facility – which was officially opened last month but has been in operation since November 2020 – has recorded an average 85 per cent recovery rate over the past six months, compared to 59 per cent at the former MRF.

The Queensland Government provided $3 million to the project through the Building our Regions (BoR) program, with $11.3 million from the Cairns Regional Council.