A tidy result for the Huon Valley

The Huon Valley has received national recognition at the 2026 Keep Australia Beautiful Tidy Towns Awards, held last night in Launceston.

The awards celebrate outstanding sustainability efforts in rural and regional Australia, with finalists and category winners recognised for projects spanning water conservation, waste reduction, youth leadership, heritage preservation, biodiversity, community engagement and environmental innovation.

The Huon Valley was one of six communities shortlisted for this year’s national title of Australia’s tidiest town, while the Huon Valley Native Plant Nursery received the Biodiversity Conservation Award, and the Huon Valley Waterwatch and Waterbug Blitz project was highly commended in the Water Conservation and Protection category.

Minister for Environment, Madeleine Ogilvie, congratulated the community on the tremendous result.

“Tasmanians continue to work together to protect the environment, and I am proud to see the community champions and volunteers who are quietly building resilient communities recognised,” Minister Ogilvie said.

“Every Tasmanian has a responsibility to do their bit to keep our state beautiful, and we congratulate the winners and finalists for their efforts and for being nominated in this year’s awards.”

Minister Ogilvie said initiatives like Recycle Rewards were helping turn environmental commitment into real results.

“The Tasmanian Government is delivering for our environment, with our successful Recycle Rewards container refund scheme reducing litter and increasing recycling,” Minister Ogilvie said.

“We have returned more eligible containers in the first year per capita in Tasmania than any other state or territory.”