Funding takes Cherbourg material recovery facility to next level

The annual production capacity of Cherbourg’s recycling facility is set to more than treble thanks to funding from Round 4 of the Palaszczuk Government’s successful $295 million Building our Regions (BoR) program.

Minister for State Development, Manufacturing, Infrastructure and Planning Cameron Dick said this latest round of BoR will see the state partner with 37 councils on 49 projects.

“This work will deliver vital infrastructure to our communities and will stimulate regional economic growth, while supporting an estimated 657 jobs,” Mr Dick said.

“The $1,014,297 Cherbourg Material Recovery Facility – Stage 4 project is receiving $999,297 from BoR, with Cherbourg Aboriginal Shire Council contributing $15,000.”

Cherbourg Ministerial Champion Anthony Lynham said lifting annual production capacity from approximately 3500 tonnes to 10,000 tonnes will reduce the load on overburdened regional landfills, while creating jobs in the process.

“The project will involve installing sorting platforms, storage cages, chutes, conveyors and associated machinery, and builds on the earlier work at the facility that was also funded by Building our Regions,” Dr Lynham said.

“Three jobs to be supported during construction, while four ongoing jobs will be created once the project is complete.

“The Cherbourg material recovery facility is the first-of-its-kind in an Indigenous community in the country – helping to manage waste as a resource while reducing landfill waste.

“It’s a project that aligns with our government’s objectives, as well as our new resource recovery and waste strategy, and the Container Deposit Scheme.”

Cherbourg Aboriginal Shire Council Mayor Arnold Murray welcomed this new round of Building our Regions funding.

“This upgrade of the plant will enable us to meet contractual arrangements with Cleanaway, and to continue expanding into additional revenue streams like the Container Refund Scheme,” Mr Murray said.

“It will support four jobs targeted at the Cherbourg community, providing the opportunity for workers to attain forklift and front-end loader licenses, Workplace Health and Safety certification and learn the technical skills required to operate the advanced sorting machinery.”

Under previous rounds, the program has allocated $225 million to 174 critical infrastructure projects across the state, generating 1762 jobs and attracting additional investment of $353.5 million from councils and other organisations.

Learn more about the Building our Regions program.

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