Lismore is having a big month for practical upgrades, with 12 public amenities blocks renewed or rebuilt in the past 14 months and a brand new fleet of waste trucks now rolling onto city streets.
Lismore City Council says the amenities rollout is the most significant upgrade to public facilities in recent years, with the latest additions now open at Arthur Park, Crozier Field, Dungarubba Boat Ramp and Wyrallah Park. The upgrades support everything from sport and recreation to family outings and riverfront visits, with modern layouts built to meet current disability and ambulant access standards while cutting long-term maintenance costs. Dungarubba and Wyrallah are open 24 hours, while Arthur Park and Crozier Field will open for scheduled events.
Lismore City Mayor Steve Krieg said the rollout reflected Council’s focus on rebuilding stronger and improving everyday community spaces.
“These are practical upgrades that make a real difference to people using our parks and sporting grounds,” he said.
“When you come to Lismore and our villages, you come to a place that is welcoming and accessible, with facilities that make it easier for everyone to get out, stay longer and enjoy our shared spaces.”
The amenities were jointly funded by the Australian and NSW Governments under Disaster Recovery funding arrangements. Federal Minister for Emergency Management Kristy McBain said the project was another example of governments working together to support the long-term recovery of Lismore and the broader Northern Rivers, while NSW Minister for Recovery Janelle Saffin said the upgrades meant everyone could access public facilities safely while making open spaces more welcoming.
On the other side of town, residents are getting a front row seat to Council’s new kerbside collection fleet, with trucks beginning to hit the streets this week as part of a rollout funded through a $5 million NSW Government grant.
The grant followed a comprehensive review of Council’s waste operations, with Mayor Krieg saying it found a better and more sustainable way to deliver the service.
“Working with our staff, the United Services Union and the NSW Government we found a solution and now we are seeing that solution reap benefits for our community,” he said.
The new trucks promise faster bin lifts, lower emissions and safety features including fire suppression systems, alongside WasteTrack technology that gives real time data on pick-ups, missed services and contaminated waste streams. Council collects around 45,000 bins across the local government area every fortnight.
Director of Water, Waste and Open Spaces Matt Potter said the trucks also carry waste education messaging, targeting some of Lismore’s biggest residual waste challenges.
“The messaging focuses on some of our biggest residual waste challenges in Lismore including keeping food scraps out of landfill by using the Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) bins, the importance of sorting at the source and never binning a battery,” he said.
“By working together, we can increase our current 58% resource recovery, towards the state 2030 target of 80% and extend the life of our landfill.”
State Member for Lismore Janelle Saffin said the roll-out of eight distinctively branded trucks by the end of October would herald in a more efficient service for ratepayers.
“I worked closely with my colleague Minister for Local Government Ron Hoenig and United Services Union General Secretary Graeme Kelly OAM to achieve this win-win outcome and to see it operational is fantastic,” she said.
Council anticipates all eight trucks will be in service by the end of October.
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