Transport for NSW is considering using a barge to ship 12,000 cubic metres of the material extracted during the construction of the Northern Beaches Link to the Port of Newcastle.

The material which contains lead, mercury, silver, zinc, poly-fluoroaklyl substances (PFAS) and dioxins, would then be loaded onto trucks and disposed of as landfill.

The City of Newcastle and Port of Newcastle have expressed serious concerns about the proposal, while a Mayfield community group has warned airborne toxic particles could put the health of vulnerable residents at risk.

Newcastle MP Tim Crakanthrop will deliver a Notice of Motion on Tuesday calling on the government to abandon the plan.

"What we saw during the COVID lockdown was that western Sydney was treated like another country. There are now two Sydneys - the government wants to avoid dumping this problem in western Sydney so they are trying to send it up here," he said.

A Transport for NSW spokesman said any material that was not suitable for offshore disposal would be treated within barges at Middle Harbour.

The treated material would then be transported by barge to the Port of Newcastle's Mayfield No.4 Berth where it would be loaded directly onto trucks.

"The trucks would then be sealed and covered for transport to a licensed waste facility. Testing of the material has shown it would be classified as general solid waste," the spokesman said.

"This proposed site was selected due to the availability of wharfage, and the industrial nature of the site and surrounding land, which would have minimal impact to the local community."

Subject to planning approval and procurement, the removal of the material from Middle Harbour is not expected to take place until about 2025.

The activities proposed at the Port of Newcastle are expected to last for a four week period.

Correct Planning for Mayfield spokesman John L Hayes said Mayfield Aged Care, Mayfield Village and Mayfield East Public School were about two kilometres from where the material would be transferred onto trucks.

"It's horrifying; there would be a very real possibility of this sludge becoming airborne while it is being transported," he said.

"There are many residents in Mayfield who will be very concerned about their potential exposure to the toxins from this sludge."

Mr Hayes said the community last experienced the effects of toxic sludge when BHP dredged Hunter River near the former steelworks.

The heavily contaminated material was trucked along Industrial Drive for disposal at Kooragang Island.

"The odour permeated across the whole suburb. I was almost knocked off my feet by the smell one day," Mr Hayes said.

A Port of Newcastle spokeswoman said the port had not provided any assurances regarding access to or availability of any port-controlled site for the project.

"The use of M4 berth, or any other berth in the port, is conditional on berth availability and satisfying the customary operational, commercial, planning, environmental, and safety requirements of the Port of Newcastle and all other relevant regulatory bodies," she said.

"As part of its response to the Preferred Infrastructure Report submission, Port of Newcastle has raised its concerns and advised clearly that the port gives no guarantee that the material proposed will be accepted, or is suitable, for unloading at the port. Furthermore, if it was to be accepted, the port has specified that the material could not be stored at Port of Newcastle for any period."

Similarly, City of Newcastle's manager of waste services Troy Uren said the council had not agreed to accept the waste material.

He said Transport for NSW contacted the council in September regarding the proposal.

"At that meeting we explained that in order for any waste to be considered for landfill disposal at the Summerhill Waste Management Facility it must meet our strict requirements set under the EPA's Waste Classification Guideline for general solid waste" he said.

"We also stressed that any waste would need to be independently tested to confirm that it meet our strict licensing requirements.

"TfNSW undertook from that meeting to come back to us when they knew with more confidence about the make up of the waste. To date we haven't heard anything more."

Mr Crakanthorp accused the government of trying to fly under the radar.

"Sydney gets the infrastructure and Newcastle gets the toxic waste.

"Newcastle is not Sydney's dumping ground."

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