Cleanaway opens their doors to Dardanup community

13/06/2019

Over the weekend, Cleanaway hosted around 30 members of the Dardanup and Ferguson community who braved the weather to attend an Open Day at the Dardanup Landfill.

 “The feedback we received from the community was positive and constructive. We had people tell us the site is run well and that they thought the team on site, led by WA Regional Manager John Mulholland, were doing a good job,” said Mr Damian Burton, WA General Manager of Cleanaway.

 “We are proud of our site. We run the site safely and efficiently. The Open Day was our way of demonstrating that we are transparent about the site and committed to addressing community concerns.

 “We were pleased to be able to take the community on a tour through the site, show them how we run the site and plans to dispose waste for the duration of our operating licence. We were also pleased to able to demonstrate some of the challenges of running the landfill and the plans we have in place to address them for the long-term,” Mr Burton said.

The Open Day follows the Community Information Sessions hosted by Cleanaway in Dardanup and Ferguson in early May.

“The feedback we have received from the community is important to us. That’s why we have confirmed we will no longer be pursuing a 24-hour operation at the Dardanup Landfill site.

“At the Open Day, we received feedback from the community that they had noticed we have made a real effort to minimise the wind-blown debris. We are particularly proud of this feedback because of our partnership with disability employment agency Activ who provide a regular rubbish pick up service. They are doing a fantastic job and it is great their work is being acknowledged.

“We are also working to resolve other issues raised with us in a timely manner. We will provide the community with regular updates through our website and the Dardanup Landfill Community Reference Group,” Mr Burton said.

Cleanaway continues to be guided by community feedback on the role it will play in supporting the activation of the job creating lithium industry by providing safe waste services to a lithium processing plant.

The project will mean more local jobs in the South West region, which has an unemployment rate higher than the State’s average. It will also make Western Australia a hub for innovation and support greater up-take of renewable energy generation by reducing the price of one of the key components of large storage batteries.

For more information, local residents are encouraged to visit http://cleanaway.com.au/dardanup.

-ENDS-

Media contact: Lenda Oshalem, Newgate Communications, 0406 244 356