Rainbow Beach may not be in the same local government region as K’Gari (Fraser Island), but it is the most important mainland barometer for the effects of council decisions on island business.
That is the mindset that will be driving a Rainbow Beach campaign to contribute to a waste management strategy that aspires to protect the world-heritage values of the island, through what are officially called “sustainable waste practices.”
Waste management on the island is a Fraser Coast Regional Council responsibility, but one highly relevant to businesses and residents of the island’s major visitor gateway, Rainbow Beach.
Fraser Coast council says the strategy expected to emerge from the public consultation process will provide the framework for improvements, including influence on the allocation of funds and the timing of projects.
That process will include attention to “resource recovery” on the island, including collection and recycling of waste washed up on the island’s ocean beaches.
One councillor involved in the project, David Lee, said the major goal was to ensure waste was managed “to minimise environmental impact on the island.
“The island is a major tourism and recreation hotspot and we don’t want it smothered under a layer of rubbish,” he said in comments to local monthly publication, the Rainbow Beach Cooloola Coast Community News.
The project’s consultation group, including Butchulla people, residents, tourism operators and support service businesses, met for the first time mid-December.
The council wants feedback through a survey on the council’s “engagement hub,” closing on 25 January.
