$2 million to target flood cleanup and illegal dumping
Councils and public land managers can now share in $2 million in funding to help tackle the ongoing clean-up of flood waste in areas affected by the extreme weather events of last year.
As well as clearing legacy waste, the Illegal Dumping and Flood Waste Recovery Program can also be used to help fund the repair of illegal dumping prevention infrastructure that was damaged by floodwaters.
NSW EPA Director Education and Programs, James Goodwin said that there were a number of ongoing challenges with waste following last year’s devastating floods.
“Since March 2022, the EPA has supported flood impacted LGAs by cleaning up more than 19,800m3 tonnes of debris, equivalent to almost eight Olympic-sized swimming pools,” Mr Goodwin said.
“This new program will continue to support communities impacted by ongoing flood waste issues to ensure we help the residents and businesses move forward.
“Some LGAs are now also facing significant illegal dumping issues where flood-damaged goods like furniture, building materials and green waste are not being disposed of appropriately.
“Our program will provide support to assess, plan and remove rubbish, while repairing bollards, barriers, signage and lighting that were used to prevent illegal dumping.
“A key focus for the EPA throughout the clean-up has been recycling or reprocessing waste to avoid it ending up in landfill.
“We look forward to working with councils and public land managers to help their communities and environment recover as soon as possible.”
The Illegal Dumping and Flood Waste Recovery Program is open to applications from public land managers, such as local councils and state agencies, in LGAs that have been declared natural disaster zones.
Applications close on 19 April 2023.
This program is co-funded through the joint Commonwealth and NSW Government Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements.
