General News
11 December, 2020
New business is a winner
A couple from Yungaburra who moved to Normanton 18 months ago to start their very own recycling business have won a state-wide award for customer service.
A couple from Yungaburra who moved to Normanton 18 months ago to start their very own recycling business have now won a state-wide award for customer service.
Joseph Rainbow and Annie Cork started Gulf Containers for Change (Gulf C4C) in Normanton last year after realising that they had to bring all of their empty cans and bottles from the gulf all the way to Mareeba for recycling.
The idea dawned on them that nobody was running a containers for change depot in the gulf.
Their business has now been running for 12 months, employs 7 people and has put around half a million dollars back into the community. Last month they were announced as a winner of a ‘Change Maker Award’ for providing the ‘Best Customer Focus’ for small to medium businesses in Container Refund Points (CRPs) across Queensland.
Annie said they won the award because they were willing to travel where nobody else would. “The reason we won is because we supply services other depots aren’t supplying, like going to remote areas and collecting from individual people, looking after the elderly as well as visiting people in very remote areas like Burketown, Gregory and the Burke and Wills Roadhouse.” she said.
“We are a new business in a remote area, we prove employment for local indigenous people and we recycle so we tick a lot of boxes.
“We go to remote homes and businesses to collect their recycling, then we bring it back to our depot in Normanton and we put the money straight into their bank account.
“When we go out to those more-remote places, we do a personalised service as there are a lot elderly people who we don’t really want to have to drive all the way into Normanton.”
Currently, Annie’s business covers the Carpentaria, Burke and Croydon Shires and they are now looking to expand into the Etheridge Shire.
“A lot of the money gets donated to the RFDS, the RSPCA and local schools,” she said.
“We have to thank all the local residents and councils for coming onboard and embracing us.”
A spokesperson for Container Exchange said that Annie’s business covers an area that measures 133,304 square kilometres.
“The extra effort that Gulf C4C makes to ensure the small population has access to recycling has saved over 11 million beverage containers from heading to landfill or being left in the local environment,” they said.
“The Containers for Change scheme has been a wonderful thing to happen to this region and has made a really positive difference to a number of the communities in the Gulf.
“It has generated a lot of money back into the community and it has cleaned up the environment.”
