City of Darwin has worked collaboratively with the Northern Territory Government, and they have confirmed an extended opening to the public of the Hidden Valley cyclone emergency green waste site until Sunday 21 December.
This offers residents additional time to clear their properties of green waste left in the wake of Tropical Cyclone Fina. City of Darwin thanks the Northern Territory Government for opening the Hidden Valley site on 24 November, enabling the community and commercial operators to safely dispose of significant volumes of cyclone-related green waste.
In its first week of operation, the Hidden Valley site received significant volumes of material, including:
- Approximately 10,000 light vehicle entries
- About 1,900 truck entries
- A peak day of 1,800 vehicles recorded on Saturday 29 November
These vehicle movements translate to approximately 10,000 to 12,000 tonnes of green waste being received at the site over a one-week period.
While residential green waste volumes are expected to continue, easing over the coming weeks, City of Darwin's clearing operations across 221 parks and reserves will continue for months. As previously indicated, the total potential emergency green waste generated across the region could be as high as 170,000 tonnes, reflecting the intensity of localised wind gusts experienced during Cyclone Fina.
With the Hidden Valley site extension until 21 December, Council is now comfortable to reopen Shoal Bay Waste Management Facility (Shoal Bay) for green waste from Monday 22 December, and will manage the capacity constraints.
Shoal Bay can process up to 2,500 tonnes of green waste per month, and City of Darwin will continue to monitor green waste capacity and any future requirements for emergency green waste management in the coming months.
City of Darwin continues to work closely with the Northern Territory Government to clarify Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA) and to ensure that disaster recovery efforts are financially supported by the Federal Government where possible for cyclone-related green waste processing.
"There is still a long road ahead of us when it comes to emergency green waste management," said Lord Mayor Peter Styles.
"The scale of debris created by Cyclone Fina is unlike anything we've seen in many years, and our priority is maintaining safe, accessible public spaces while supporting our community to recover.
"We acknowledge and thank the Northern Territory Government for extending the Hidden Valley site to 21 December, although acknowledge that there is still a requirement to manage emergency green waste, and we are taking responsible steps to ensure Shoal Bay remains operational and resilient throughout this recovery period," he added.
"Our crews and contractors will be working for many months to come to clear parks, reserves and public areas - and we thank the community for their patience as this major clean-up continues.
