Mataranka has taken out the Resource Recovery Award at the 2022 Territory Sustainable Communities Tidy Towns Awards held in Darwin on Friday night.
Well done to our Resource Recovery Coordinator Joseph Smith, the Mataranka Recycling Centre and everyone in Mataranka who uses the Container Deposit Scheme.
The Container Deposit Scheme is where you can get cash in hand for empty cans and bottles. It refers to the collection of drink containers at the Recycling Centre with the return of a cash payment of 10 cents per can or bottle. The types of containers that are collected include aluminium cans, plastic bottles, glass bottles or flavoured milk cartons.
The Container Deposit Scheme operates in both Mataranka and Borroloola within the Roper Gulf region and has helped to reduce litter from the streets and the amount of rubbish being disposed of to landfill.
In the 2021-22 financial year, the Mataranka Recycling Centre collected 1.2 million redeemable containers which is a remarkable effort by the community and by staff.
Similarly, the Borroloola Recycling Centre collected 1.1 million redeemable containers in 11 months last financial year.
Roper Gulf Regional Council is proud to be able to deliver this service, seeing environmental benefits with less litter on the streets and in landfill, community benefits with more incentive to recycle, and economic benefits as the containers are being reused for future materials meaning less reliance on natural resources.
Thank you to Keep Australia Beautiful Council NT for your recognition of our community's efforts and for hosting a wonderful awards night.
Image description (left to right): Ngaree Ah Kit - Member for Karama, Joseph Smith and Steve Edgington MLA - Member for Barkly at the Tidy Towns Awards 2022.