Council receives environment grants
Tuesday, 30 September 2008
Port Macquarie-Hastings Council has received more than $54,000 dollars in State Government grants to improve water and energy efficiency at the Port Macquarie Cemetery amenities building and the Port Macquarie Waste Transfer Station.
The funding from the Department of Environment and Climate Change will assist in funding a rainwater harvesting system at the Port Macquarie Cemetery amenities building to reduce demand for town water by collecting and reusing rainwater to flush toilets.
The $39,800 project will also include the installation of solar panels to power sensor lights and potentially feed energy back to the grid. It is anticipated that 76,000 litres of water and two tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions a year will be saved.
Port Macquarie's Waste Transfer Station is also set to harvest roof water for collection into rainwater tanks and to be used to suppress dust generated from the resource recovery of concrete waste within the site.
The facility's waste concrete crushing plant currently uses town water for dust control. $14,500 has been provided for the project that will save 150,000 litres of water per annum and provide a working example of sustainable water management.
Council's Waste Services Manager, Bob Bailey said, "State Government environmental grants are very welcome for these projects.
"By using rainwater instead of town water, Council's initiatives will save more than 225,000 litres per year and at the same time show people what can be done to achieve greater efficiencies in water and energy use," Mr Bailey said.
