Ten tonnes of waste three years after Cyclone mess
After recently clearing another ten tonnes of waste, one local council is still working on an intensive clean up project years after a cyclone hit the region.
Having recently removed nearly ten tonnes of waste of the local environment, Douglas Shire Council is still forging ahead with a cyclone debris clean up project, which is expected to continue into the new year.
The council recently cleared almost nine tonnes of rubbish from local waterways and wetlands since Cyclone Jasper made landfall as a Category 2 system and peaked as a Category 5 in Far North Queensland in December 2023. It is considered the wettest tropical cyclone in Australian history.
It triggered 3.2 metres of rain in less than a week and 4.2 metres in the space of two months, with the entire shire impacted with major flooding, more than 100 landslips, overnight evacuations and severe damage to homes, water infrastructure and roads.
In the most recent clean-up, the council worked with Ocean Crusaders and Jabalbina Yalanji Aboriginal Corporation to remove more than six tonnes of waste from Degarra, a further tonne from Magazine Island and the Daintree River, and another tonne removed from Marrs Creek, Mossman on Wednesday, October 28.
Mayor Lisa Scomazzon said the clean up efforts highlighted the value of the region’s ongoing cyclone recovery and environmental restoration efforts.
“Removing more than nine tonnes of debris from our environment is a fantastic result, but this is only the beginning,” Mayor Scomazzon said.
“To put that into perspective, crews removed more than nine tonnes of debris from our waterways and communities, about the weight of six family cars.”
Crews collected waste in order to reduce environmental impacts and protect waterways flowing to the Great Barrier Reef in preparation for the wet season.
Stay informed, daily
Scomazzonsiad additional clean-ups were still necessary in areas impacted by Cyclone Jasper, with restoration efforts planned as far ahead as 2027.
“Every tonne of waste removed helps protect our waterways, wildlife and the Great Barrier Reef,” Mayor Scomazzon said.
“This was a great example of organisations coming together to achieve something meaningful for our environment and our communities,” she said.
The clean-up initiative has targeted both populated and remote flood-affected areas where debris has remained since Cyclone Jasper in December 2023.
Want to see more stories from InDaily Qld in your Google search results?
- Click here to set InDaily Qld as a preferred source.
- Tick the box next to "InDaily Qld". That's it.
