General News
24 September, 2025
Region’s rubbish quandary
A NEW contract to undertake Cairns Regional Council waste processing at the fire-damaged Bedminster facility, as well as at other sites, has been put to tender and will be implemented after the current deal ends in August next year.
But a Cairns Regional Council spokeswoman said it would only be interim as the local authority considered new ways to handle the region’s rubbish.
As well, 22 truckloads of waste a day is still being taken up the Kuranda Range to the Springmount landfill site since the fire in January badly smashed the Bedminster site.
“(The) council’s contract with Veolia remains active and we are working with them to manage through to the end of the current contract in August 2026,” the spokeswoman said.
“In preparation for post-August 2026, (the) council undertook an expression of interest process and is currently undertaking a tender process with the shortlisted organisations,” she said.
“This is expected to identify a supplier who will undertake waste processing over an interim period.
“There is currently between 1300 and 1400 tonnes of kerbside and other council waste per week to manage.
“This is equivalent to an average of 22 truckloads of waste per day to Springmount.
“There are no additional costs as (the) council’s contract with Veolia remains active.”
The spokeswoman said there was no obvious answer to replace Bedminster.
“While technologies for waste treatment continue to evolve, there are no clear solutions that minimise waste to landfill economically, reliably and at the scale to support a city of Cairns’ size,” she said.
“Development of new technology solutions has also been impacted by uncertainty in the regulatory environment, particularly in respect to plastics and waste levies.
“(The) council is continuing to work cooperatively with the state government to investigate our options in respect to longer term optimal waste management solutions as the regulatory environment and technology evolves.”
In the meantime, a tender for a new kerbside collection contractor was released on 18 June 2025 and closed 10 August 2025 and is currently being assessed by council officers
“As part of the tender process, it is not unusual for (the) council to seek estimates on different options for waste management (including green waste).”
