Sustainability at Council
See the latest State of Environment reporting for Cairns
Council has created an online dashboard that allows residents to track the state of the Cairns environment.
The report draws data from various sources to present a detailed picture of the Cairns environment, including graphs tracking water and energy consumption, annual average rainfall and temperature, development and growth, and waste and recycling.
Reducing our emissions
We expect to meet our 50% scope 1 & 2 emissions reduction target by the end of 2023/24.
At the end of 2021/22, Council had reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 47% on 2007/08 levels.
Our progress so far includes:
- 30% emissions reduction from landfill gas management
- 15% emissions reduction from wastewater treatment (reduced fugitive gas emissions)
- 5% emissions reduction from energy efficiency and solar power.
We are now working on new emissions targets as a part of our updated Climate Change Strategy 2030.
Key Council sustainability actions
Council has now installed over 3 megawatts of solar power across its facilities. These systems generate approximately 3.8 gigawatt hours of renewable energy each year, providing for nearly 10 % of Council's electricity needs and saving over 3,000 tonnes of CO2e (greenhouse gas emissions) annually.
* Wastewater Treatment Plant
** Materials Recovery Facility
Facility | System (KW) | Facility | System (KW) | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Northern WWTP* | 701 | Gordonvale WWTP* | 34 | |
Southern WWTP* | 701 | Esplanade Lagoon | 31 | |
Marlin Coast WWTP* | 406 | Gordonvale Depot | 30 | |
Edmonton WWTP* | 259 | Magazine St Plumbers Depot | 30 | |
Edmonton Leisure Centre | 100 | McNamara St Sewage Depot | 30 | |
Martin St Depot | 100 | Smithfield Library | 30 | |
Tobruk Memorial Pool | 100 | Pump TB1 | 10 | |
Cairns City Library | 80 | Muddy's Playground | 10 | |
Portsmith MRF** | 60 | School of the Arts | 8 | |
Gordonvale Pool | 53 | Muddy's Cafe | 5 | |
Smithfield Pool | 53 | Babinda Library | 4 | |
Woree Pool | 53 | Gordonvale Community Hall | 4 | |
Marlin Coast Recreation Centre | 40 | Gordonvale Library | 4 | |
Freshwater Creek Water Plant | 40 | Hambledon House | 4 | |
Woree Disaster Centre | 40 | Esplanade BBQ Shelters | 2 |
Council tracks its energy use, costs and greenhouse gas emissions for electricity and vehicle use with monitoring software. This is important to identify areas for improvement and to track cost-savings from energy efficiency works and solar power generation.
‘Fugitive emissions’ are losses and leaks of greenhouse gases, typically methane, carbon dioxide and nitrous oxides. Sources of these emissions include landfill, wastewater treatment plants and refrigerant gases used in HVAC systems.
Methane, which is generated through wastewater treatment, is more than 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas. In landfills, methane is generated by the breakdown of organic matter such as food scraps and garden waste. Methane from Cairns’ de-commissioned Portsmith Landfill has been captured and flared since 2012, delivering a 30% reduction in Council’s annual emissions.
Each year, an average of 5,500 carbon credits are created for Council from landfill gas management at the Portsmith Landfill and other organic materials is commercially composted.
Prompted by home-grown campaigns, Straw No More & The Last Straw on the Great Barrier Reef, Council resolved to remove single use plastics from its operations and transition its functions and events to reusable or compostable alternatives. Since 2018 Council has:
- Introduced single use plastic free conditions for stallholders for Council-run venue hire, events and markets.
- Partnered with Plastic Free Cairns to support our food businesses to phase out single-use plastics.
- Supplied several thousand re-useable coffee cups for cup-exchange programs used by Cairns cafes
- Successfully trialled large scale dish re-use systems and water cafes at major events - the Cairns Ecofiesta and Cairns Children's Festival.
- Amended catering practices and stocked items (including switching to commercially compostable dog waste bags - avoiding over 2.1 million plastic items).
- Developed a Single Use Plastics Management Policy.
- Delivered education for businesses and the community and provided grant support for community-led initiatives.
- Successfully called on Local Government Association Queensland to produce a state-wide program to phase out single use plastics from council operations and events and to help support local communities and industry to transition away from these items.
Council offers two sustainability-focussed grants to help community groups and schools improve their sustainability outcomes:
- Through the Sustainability and Climate Action Grant, not-for-profit groups can apply for up to $5,000 for projects that deliver emissions reductions, improve ecosystem health or strengthen community resilience and capacity.
- Council's Nature based Learning Grant provides up to $2,000 for school excursions that connect children with nature in a way that results in greater awareness and appreciation of sustainable living and the natural world.
Partnerships and advocacy for sustainability
With growing opportunities for investment to deliver positive commercial, social and environmental returns, Council is working to position Cairns and Far North Queensland as a leader of the Smart Green Economy in Australia.
This work is done partnership with a Project Reference Group consisting of stakeholders representing key sectors.
Cities Power Partnership
Council joined this growing coalition of more than 70 local governments (representing over one third of the Australian population) in late 2017.
The Cities Power Partnership is a national program led by the Climate Council to accelerate and celebrate local government successes in achieving emission reductions and transitioning towards clean energy.
Plastic Free Places FNQ
Council is a Founding Partner of Plastic Free Places FNQ and encourages the community to support member and champion businesses.
Plastic Free Places FNQ works directly with food retailers - members receive free tailored advice and unique promotional benefits.
Delivered by the Boomerang Alliance, with funding from the Queensland Government, Cairns is the fifth community in the national Plastic Free Places program.
Reef Guardian Council
We joined the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority Reef Guardian Program in 2008. As a Reef Guardian Council, we have invested heavily in water quality improvements. Most notably, the $188 million Cleaner Seas upgrade of wastewater treatment plants has improved the quality of wastewater discharge by 80%.
In 2016, the Wet Tropics Healthy Waterways Partnership began pooling decades of scientific data to produce the first annual report card on the health of wet tropic river systems, including the Barron, Mulgrave and Russell Rivers. Council also produced a Litter and Illegal Dumping Action Plan aimed at reducing the impacts of marine debris and has commenced reducing single-use plastics in its operations, events and facilities.
These are just some of the actions contained within Council's latest Reef Guardian Action Plan 2020-24 ( PDF, 1.9 MB ). It aligns education, catchment management and urban water cycle initiatives with the 35 local government actions identified in the Reef 2050 Plan.
Last Updated: 15 March 2024
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