Macedon Ranges council’s storm waste facility in Romsey has won an award at the 2023 Local Government Professionals Awards for Excellence conference on May 24 and 25.
The waste facility took out the top prize in the special projects initiative category to recognise a project with innovation, sustainability, demonstrated outcomes, and cost and needs benefits.
The site was established in partnership with Emergency Recovery Victoria in response to the 2021 storms and has currently processed more than 65,000 tonnes of tree and storm debris.
Council chief executive Bernie O’Sullivan said the award showed what can be achieved when partner agencies collaborate to overcome adversity.
“The storm events in June 2021 were unlike anything we had experienced,” Mr O’Sullivan said.
“There was wide-spread destruction across our shire including a considerable amount of fallen trees and storm debris which required clearing and disposing of.
“In partnership with the Victorian government, we were able to implement the storm waste facility… to efficiently process waste… from across the state.”
The facility has been able to return over $35 million in market value product to impacted communities in the form of; free timber, fence posts, tree stakes, firewood, fish habitat, mulch, sawdust and more.
Council’s climate action program, Cool Changes, was also recognised as a finalist in LGPro’s Corporate and Community Planning Awards 2023.
The program commenced in 2018 and has facilitated seven localised climate action plans to provide a customised and localised approach to addressing climate change.
The program has since collaborated with the community to create a shared, shire-wide climate emergency response plan, with a draft to be prepared and go out for community consultation later in the year.
Zoe Moffatt
