Three public forums will be held for business owners and operators in the Douglas area who would like to provide feedback on the future of commercial waste collection services.

Cairns Regional Council has been working with the local business community to develop options for the improved delivery of commercial waste and recycling collections.

A survey of businesses currently utilising the Council-provided collection service north of Ellis Beach has revealed that the majority of businesses were not satisfied with the service.

“As part of budget deliberations, Council will consider three options for the future of the service,” Mayor Val Schier said, “The preferred option is to remove the commercial cleansing charge from commercial rates and enable businesses to enter into private collection arrangements based on their specific needs.”

Should this option be adopted, Council would not provide commercial waste collection in the northern part of the region after October 1.

All affected businesses have been contacted individually and anyone interested is invited to attend any of the three forums to be held next week as follows:

Tuesday, May 17, at the Daintree Village Hall,

Wednesday, May 18, at Port Douglas Community Hall

Thursday, May 19, at Mossman Council offices (Reynolds Room)

All forums will start at 5.30pm and are expected to last approximately two hours.

“It is imperative that we get genuine feedback on this issue, so we can make a decision that provides the best benefit to businesses prior to the budget being completed,” Cr Schier said.