Wanless Recycling Park | Ipswich Council and the proposed Ebenezer project
Councillors have made their call on the $200 million development which would process up to one million tonnes of rubbish a year in Ipswich.
“Whilst disappointed with the decision of Ipswich City Council, we believe the Wanless Recycling Park is worthy of support, particular as State government approval was received after a two-year exhaustive process,” says Wanless Waste Management CEO Dean Wanless.
The Wanless Recycling Park Ebenezer project alone will result in a 4.1% of recycling for the entire state of Queensland. It also represents 150% of Ipswich’s per capita quota for recycling.
Ipswich will also benefit from an over $100m per annum investment into the local economy , providing local jobs for the local community.
At full production, Wanless Recycling Park would gain 150 full-time union-backed employment opportunities, going from 50 to 200, and addresses the very real need of the filling of the former coal mining voids in a heavy industrial area.
Environmental benefits
“Council has proposed we export waste off-site, however this will result in generating more cars, trucks and general traffic on already congested roads,” advises Dean Wanless.
From an even broader environmental perspective, the Wanless Recycling Park will provide a permanent protected area to ensure koalas can live safely and without disturbance, helping Queensland’s vulnerable population of this Australian native animal.
Research and development into the waste and recycling industry has also begun in earnest with the Queensland University of Technology. Current projects include rebuilding biodiversity corridors, restoring non-remnant areas of endangered vegetation, and conducting groundwater assessments to determine its interaction with vegetation and surface water.
“The Wanless Recycling Park project is fully funded by local private enterprise and comes at no cost to tax or rate payers,” adds Dean Wanless. “We are a family owned business – not public, not foreign owned – with 50 years history in commercial and domestic waste collection. Not to mention a connection to this part of the country that stretches back to the 1950s.”
For more information about the Wanless Recycling Park, contact our friendly team.