Green waste clean-up underway in fire affected community

The clean-up of green waste and hazardous trees burnt during the black summer bushfires in Lithgow, New South Wales is now underway.

Lithgow Council received $2.161 million from the joint Commonwealth/ New South Wales funded Bushfire-generated Green Waste Clean-up and Processing Program.

The funds will assist in the removal and beneficial reuse of bushfire-generated green waste and hazardous trees from private and public land that resulted from the Black Summer bushfires, in 2019/20.

Lithgow is one of 15 councils to share in $31.5 million from the program, which is jointly funded by the NSW and Federal governments and managed by the NSW Environment Protection Authority.

Funds will be administered by the council for projects including Blackfellows Hands Reserve, Lidsdale, Secret Creek Sanctuary – Cobar Park, Zig Zag Railway – Clarence and residential properties near Lithgow.

Damaged trees surrounding the historic Zig Zag railway at Clarence pose a danger to people and the site. The Green Waste Clean-up program funding will pay for removal of the trees and allow the popular tourist site to reopen later this year.

Some of the green waste from Lithgow will be mulched for reuse, while some of the hardwood timbers will be sent to a local sawmill.

NSW EPA Lead Resilience and Recovery Programs, Gillian Graham-Crowe said the program would aid ongoing recovery efforts.

“The Green Waste Clean up program will seek to remove approximately 8,500 tonnes of green waste from the landscape, between now and September 2022,” Graham-Crowe said.

The Bushfire-generated Green Waste Grants Program builds on the NSW Government commitment to deliver bushfire recovery assistance.