Call to reduce landfill as new cell set to open at Bega's Central Waste Facility

The new landfill cell at the Central Waste Facility in Bega will be open by Christmas. Photo: Supplied.

Bega Valley Shire Council will open a new landfill cell at Bega’s Central Waste Facility by Christmas, but has called on residents to use recycling, repurposing and composting to reduce waste heading to landfill.

The new cell is the fourth to be built at the site and the largest one yet, with a projected life of up to eight years.

Council’s waste services manager, Alan Gundrill, said the new cell is a major achievement that was constructed under challenging circumstances, and a reminder to reduce the amount of waste we send to landfill.

“While Cell 4 is our largest yet, we must remember that consumer activity and the summer bushfires have led to Cell 3 filling much faster than expected,” he said.

“The massive amount of waste from cleared sites following the summer bushfires compounded an already growing problem of salvageable waste, food waste and recyclables finding their way to landfill.

“As a result, the construction of Cell 4 was fast-tracked to cope with increasing demand for landfill space.

“Our contractors were faced with excavating more than 75,000 cubic metres of material and working through three east-coast lows while they blasted through rock outcrops and carefully installed the leachate barrier lining.

“This highly specialised task, vital for the safe containment and redirection of leachate, was installed in six weeks while meeting the NSW Government’s strict quality assurance requirements.

“Contractors are currently laying a gravel substrate as the final step before opening Cell 4 to landfill waste prior to Christmas.”

Council’s waste strategy coordinator, Joley Vidau, said the community should consider the latest cell as a last resort.

“Landfill is not a place for recyclables, organic waste or goods that can be repurposed as commodities,” she said.

“Put simply, we cannot, as a community and society, keep digging holes for goods we incorrectly label as waste. We are literally running out of allowable space.

“This is why we have developed our proposed Waste Facility Consolidation and Modernisation Project, with an extensive and successful public awareness campaign having run throughout October this year.

“Looking ahead, with a new landfill cell ready for waste that can go nowhere else, and a project that makes it much easier for people to recycle, we can genuinely change the way everyone thinks about their waste.

“With a shift in thinking comes a change of behaviour, and with this comes significant financial and environmental gains.”

For more information, visit the Waste Facility Consolidation and Modernisation Project page on the Bega Valley Shire Council website.