Rockhampton Regional Council this week decided to roll out new hours at the Gracemere and Mount Morgan Waste Transfer Station starting February 1st.
Waste and Recycling Councillor Shane Latcham said the Council table carefully considered a number of factors and this decision balanced customer demand with operational efficiencies.
"This can be a bit of a balancing act between providing the best level of service at the most efficient return to ratepayers," said Cr Latcham.
"In making this decision we looked at the data on when our Waste Transfer Stations are at their quietest and made small reductions at those quiet times. Going off this data, we believe that community members shouldn't be impacted by these changes, yet we will see some real cost savings.
"We're not trimming the operating times too much, but this way we'll still be able to provide an exceptional level of service while avoiding some of those very quiet hours.
"We will also be exploring the feasibility of other solutions for our Waste Transfer Stations in the future to ensure the best service for our communities.
"These changes won't come into effect for a while, but I would like to take this opportunity to thank the communities in Gracemere and Mount Morgan for their understanding."
Division 4 Councillor Ellen Smith said the new hours would continue to see 7-day a week service at the Gracemere WTS.
"We know that this will be a change for the community but the data tells us that most people don't use the station in the times we've changed the hours so the community shouldn't be impacted," Cr Smith said.
Division 5 Councillor Cherie Rutherford said the Mount Morgan community would also see the changes come into effect.
"Customer demand on Tuesdays and Thursdays is currently quite low, which gives us confidence that we can achieve cost savings and still continue to meet the needs of the Mount Morgan community," Cr Rutherford said.
The new hours of operation will be:
Gracemere Waste Transfer Station
Sunday to Friday - 9am to 3pm
Saturday - 9am to 5pm
Mount Morgan Waste Transfer Station
Closed Tuesday and Thursday
Open 9am to 3pm all other days
Waste Transfer Stations at Bouldercombe, Bajool, Alton Downs and Bushley will not be affected.
