The city was represented by 17 proud Tidy Towns Committee representatives from Cessnock, Kurri Kurri, Greta and Wollombi Tidy Town Committees.

The Tidy Town Awards is the Keep Australia Beautiful (KAB) flagship program which has come a long way since its inception in 1981.

These iconic awards encourage, motivate and celebrate the environmental achievements of rural and regional communities across Australia.

The tagline “Sustainable Communities” was adopted to the program in 2007 to better convey the current issues and concerns facing regional towns throughout NSW.

Kurri was placed third in the overall town section for populations ranging from 4001 to 10,000 while Cessnock was highly commended in the same category for towns with populations between 10,001 and 25,000.

Cessnock’s waste and reuse centre came up winner in the Waste Management and Litter award for the 10,001 to 25,000 population category while Kurri Nostalgia Festival and the Cessnock Budget Bites Cookbook were highly commended.

Kurri TAFE and Laguna Community Water Conservation Sceheme were also winners in their population categories.

Bill Way of Kurri Tidy Towns received an individual award, a Certificate of Recognition for Long Term and Outstanding commitment to Tidy Town and the Kurri Kurri Community

The results reflect the community spirit and interest in their local community that exists across the LGA, and the support given by council. The Tidy Town Committees are congratulated for the tireless work and commitment they volunteer to the local area.