Extraordinary waste clean-up program now complete
23 May 2023
As part of Ipswich City Council’s flood recovery efforts, the extraordinary waste clean-up of waterways and rivers is now complete.
During both the February and May 2022 flood events, flood water deposited an extraordinary amount of waste into Ipswich’s rivers and creeks. Council has worked tirelessly to remove almost 12 tonnes of debris across 104 locations in Ipswich.
Ipswich Mayor Teresa Harding said an extraordinary response was needed to tackle the waste debris left in wake of the 2022 floods, and council rose to the challenge.
“Following the immediate disaster clean-up, council created a dedicated internal team that focused on cleaning up the city’s rivers and waterways and our program of waste removal is now complete,” Mayor Harding said.
“This was a significant undertaking between September 2022 and March 2023 that saw a team of dedicated workers remove a mountain of waste for our waterways.”
Deputy Mayor and Environment and Sustainability Committee Chairperson Councillor Russell Milligan said community groups and volunteers also contributed to cleaning up Ipswich’s water ways.
“Healthy Land and Water removed 1,030kg of waste from the Bremer and Brisbane rivers in March 2023,” Cr Milligan said.
All of the 104 locations tackled by council needed to first be identified, assessed and then completed.
Forty-three locations where particularly difficult due to access, difficult terrain, needing specialist machinery or the risk of causing more environmental damage by removal.
Some extraordinary waste/debris removed included parts of boats, bumper bars, wheelie bins, trolleys, ladders, couches, skip bins, tyres, microwaves and plastic drums.
The February/March 2022 floods in Ipswich were the fourth highest on record.
For more information on Ipswich City Council’s flood recovery projects visit https://maps.ipswich.qld.gov.au/floodrecovery