Albany takes tidy town crown

Albany is officially the South Coast’s tidiest town.

The city was announced as the regional winner of the 2011 Tidy Towns sustainable communities award ahead of Esperance and Denmark last week.

Albany also won the recycling and waste management, natural heritage conservation, and water conservation awards for a range of projects across the city that involved dozens of community groups and organisations.

Keep Australia Beautiful WA Tidy Towns State program manager Gail Dodd said Albany’s environmental commitment, with weed eradication, clean-ups and rehab8ilitation, was unmatched.

Ms Dodd highlighted the Young Naturalist’s Club for its involvement of families in environmental projects. “Albany has also undertaken a range of water conservation projects, including mulching, demonstration native gardens, education and awards, and a significant water-harvesting project,” she said.

Transpacific education co-ordinator Carly Madden said the city’s recycling program was a big winner with the judges.

City of Albany reserves manager Mark Ford thanked Ms Madden for organising the application and a bus tour for judges who visited in August. Albany will now compete against other regional winners% in the State-level Tidy Towns competition.

Winners are expected to be announced on November 18.

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