{"id":231338,"date":"2019-03-20T23:03:26","date_gmt":"2019-03-20T13:03:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=231338"},"modified":"2022-06-28T19:47:48","modified_gmt":"2022-06-28T09:47:48","slug":"ex-pm-visits-cherbourgs-recycling-plant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2019\/03\/20\/ex-pm-visits-cherbourgs-recycling-plant\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex-PM Visits Recycling Plant"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Cherbourg Aboriginal Shire Council economic development officer Sean Nicholson, Special Envoy for Indigenous Affairs Tony Abbott and Materials Recycling Facility manager Andrew Beckett in Cherbourg on Wednesday<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

March 20, 2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Federal MP Tony Abbott has urged Cherbourg Council to put together a business case for a new $380,000 baling machine after visiting Cherbourg’s recycling plant on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

The Federal Government’s Special Envoy on Indigenous Affairs visited Cherbourg last November and promised then that he’d return.<\/p>\n

His last visit was greeted by a small protest outside the Council Chambers, but this time it all went smoothly for the former PM.<\/p>\n

Mr Abbott visited the Cherbourg Council Chambers, the State School, Gundoo Early Childhood Centre and Cherbourg Radio on Wednesday morning before making his way to the Materials Recycling Facility.<\/p>\n

Facility Manager Andrew Beckett and\u00a0Cherbourg Council economic development officer Sean Nicholson escorted Mr Abbott through the plant, where he had the opportunity of seeing the sorting machines in action.<\/p>\n

He also chatted with the workers.<\/p>\n

Andrew explained to Mr Abbott that the facility was currently using an old auto-tie baler generously leased to Cherbourg by Cleanaway Waste Management for just $1 a year.<\/p>\n

This machine compresses and bales sorted waste but can take as long as 90 minutes to prepare each individual bale.<\/p>\n

A new machine, bought and installed, would cost $380,000 but would turn out compressed bales in anywhere from 30 seconds to five minutes.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This would substantially improve the efficiency of the plant, saving time as well as money.<\/p>\n

Mr Abbott urged Sean and Andrew to prepare a business case for the new machine and liaise with the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.<\/p>\n

The Cherbourg recycling facility currently employs nine workers and processes 3000 tonnes of recyclable materials a year.<\/p>\n

It recently received funding under Round 4 of the State Government’s Building Our Regions program which will allow the construction of more sorting platforms and storage areas.<\/p>\n

Sean said these improvements would create a huge efficiency gain in the facility and increase employment to 15.<\/p>\n