It not only makes more than $1.6million of state funding to council for the project so far, but also takes this week’s funding total for the shire up to about $1.4million. Inverell Shire Council Corporate and Economic director Ken Beddie said the amount was a record for community projects that surpassed even the previous federal Labor government’s stimulus package announcements.

This latest funding will see the closure and rehabilitation of Oakwood and Wallangra landfills and a waste transfer station developed at Yetman.

Mayor Paul Harmon said the staged closure and rehabilitation of all the shire’s rural tips would see council apply for as much government funding as it can and acknowledged some people had been very vocal and were against the changes to their tipping arrangements.

“Change is always difficult to get people to comprehend and understand. Sometimes what they’ve always been able to do, sometimes they can no longer do,” Cr Harmon said. 

“It’s been one of those challenges to make sure that we get a really good (collection) coverage for those residents.”

“Obviously there are scales of economy in there as well. Sometimes our garbage collection service doesn’t run down every single, little road, but it certainly covers the main roads and there are some areas where there are garbage collection points at an intersection for people to bring their rubbish down to be collected.”

Cr Harmon denied the project would benefit only the township of Inverell.

“Inverell shire is more than just Inverell, We have Yetman, we have Graman, Delungra, Bonshaw, Ashford, so all those communities are involved in a whole waste strategy,” he said.

“When you explain the environmental regulations, and if there is an environmental breach, what that costs the whole shire, people start to understand. 

“Whether or not they agree with you is their right.”