Adjusted WTS hours from next week

Published on 27 January 2021

Waste claw

Rockhampton Regional Council is reminding residents that new hours at the Gracemere and Mount Morgan Waste Transfer Stations will begin Monday 1 February.

Waste and Waste to Resource Implementation Councillor Shane Latcham said the decision to move to new hours balanced customer demand with operational efficiencies.

“We’ve been handing out flyers notifying customers of the change at both Waste Transfer Stations for the last couple of months,” Cr Latcham said.  

“I’ve been told that the majority of customers coming through have been understanding about the changes, so I really wanted to say thank you to these communities.

“I also wanted to say thank you to those who have raised concerns about the new operating times. We will be reviewing the operational hours within the next 12 months, and community feedback will play a big part in that.

“In making the decision to move to new hours a lot of consideration was given to when our Waste Transfer Stations are at their quietest and we made reductions at those quiet times.

“Decisions like this aren’t easy. It can be a bit of a balancing act to make sure we’re providing the best level of service at the most efficient return to ratepayers.

“Going off customer attendance fluctuations, however, we believe that the majority of community members shouldn’t be impacted by these changes, yet we will see some real cost savings.

“We will also be exploring the feasibility of other solutions for our Waste Transfer Stations in the future to ensure the best service for our communities.”

Division 4 Councillor Ellen Smith said the new hours would continue to see 7-day a week service at the Gracemere WTS.

“The operating times aren’t being trimmed too much, and customer attendance reviews tell us that the hours we are trimming are normally very quiet, so most residents shouldn’t be impacted,” Cr Smith said.

Division 5 Councillor Cherie Rutherford said the Mount Morgan community would also see the changes come into effect.

“We know this will be a change for residents, however, customer demand on Tuesdays and Thursdays is currently quite low, which gives us confidence that we can achieve cost savings and still continue to meet the needs of the Mount Morgan community,” Cr Rutherford said.

The new hours of operation will be:

Gracemere Waste Transfer Station

Sunday to Friday - 9am to 3pm

Saturday - 9am to 5pm

Mount Morgan Waste Transfer Station

Closed Tuesday and Thursday

Open 9am to 3pm all other days

Waste Transfer Stations at Bouldercombe, Bajool, Alton Downs and Bushley will not be affected.