RATES might have gone up, but Alexandra Bridge residents had a partial win at last night’s Augusta Margaret River council meeting.
After the sudden recent shutdown of their unmanned, open-seven-days transfer station, the council decided to reopen the tip as a staffed facility for half a day each week - and to add recycling facilities.
But while shire president Cr Mike Smart said the compromise would improve the area’s carbon footprint for rubbish removal, and benefit an otherwise isolated section of the shire, not all councillors were in favour.
Voting against the reopening, Cr Ian Earl said the back-flip failed to address the inevitability of waste station closures in the shire.
“We are seriously over-serviced with the amount of transfer stations we have,” Cr Earl said.
“It’s one of those things we have to get our heads around. From where we were going, this is a bit of a backward step.”
Reopening the Alexandra Bridge waste station, even once a week, will cost $50,000 in wages and infrastructure.
Local residents will be consulted to determine which day the station will open.
The council also agreed to ask Main Roads WA for roadside rubbish disposal options at Alexandra Bridge, along the Bussell and Brockman Hwys and at Karridale.
The shire will monitor and review the operation and status of its transfer stations as part of its Strategic Waste Managaement Plan.
