Council said the Central Waste Facility in Wolumla was the only alternative to take landfill on Sundays, after its Eden facility reached capacity. Photo: BVSC.
Bega Valley Shire Council is considering a proposal that could lead to a small increase in weekend traffic around the Wolumla waste facility.
A combination of factors has resulted in abnormal amounts of waste pouring into shire tips. Council now wants the only landfill site that isn’t full to take rubbish on an extra day of the week during the busy times of the year.
If successful, the move would mean that people who live near the Central Waste Facility in Wolumla (CWF) may notice an increase in trucks along their road.
The CWF already operates from Mondays to Saturdays. Bega Valley Shire Council wants to expand its use to include from 10 am to 4 pm on Sundays.
This would mean it can add waste to the site on Sundays when pressure forces it to add an extra collection day, such as around the busy periods of Christmas, Australia Day and Easter.
Council’s project manager Kimberley Rushbrook said population increases, the shire’s devastating bushfires and flooding had placed a lot of extra pressure on waste facilities.
“Until recently, all Sunday waste collection trucks unloaded at our Eden facility,” she said.
“However, the landfill at this site has reached capacity, leaving the Central Waste Facility in Wolumla as the only alternative.
“We are now in a situation where if a Sunday collection is needed, we have nowhere to unload the trucks until the next day.”
Leaving waste in the garbage trucks until the Monday could pose a major safety issue, with the risk of methane build-up around heat and the possibility of sparks.
Methane is an extremely flammable gas created by rotting waste.
Leaving rubbish in the bins until the Monday was not a viable alternative either, council said, because the increased population at holidays times would lead to overflowing bins.
However, council said if the proposal was supported then residents who lived close to the CWF may see “a small increase” in waste collection trucks between the tip and the Princes Highway on Wanatta Lane.
“Based on historic Sunday waste collections, we expect this will be three to four trucks over the whole day,” council said.
“Residents may also experience changes in background noise on Sundays when landfilling at the site is necessary.”
For more information on the proposal and to provide feedback, email [email protected] or visit the project page.
The proposal is just to support council’s waste collection services and CWF would remain closed to the public.
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