Newcastle residents will be able to have food and garden waste processed four years earlier than expected after the elected council resolved to bring forward the scheduled expansion of an organics processing facility.
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Newcastle council awarded a contract in 2020 to construct the facility, which would first process garden organics, with a proposed expansion at the end of the fourth year to include food waste.
But council said community engagement since the phase 1 contract was awarded showed strong support for the expedited processing of food waste.
A project development application will be lodged next month. The facility is expected to be operational by October 2024 and a combined food and garden organics service implemented in early 2025.
The change is expected to save a $4.6 million cost of separately staging the project, and approximately $3.5 million from the avoidance of the NSW Government's waste levy on food waste, while diverting 24,000 more tonnes of waste from landfill and generating about $450,000 from the sale of additional composting material.
Labor councillor Deahnna Richardson said about three per cent of Australia's greenhouse gas emissions came from food waste and the National Food Waste Strategy Feasibility Study found that about one in five bags of groceries were thrown out.
"In the Newcastle local government area at the moment this is going to landfill adding to our emissions and costing ratepayers $147.10 per tonne in waste levies," she said.
"I think it's fair to say that many residents and ratepayers in our communities expected this yesterday."
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Sage Swinton
Sage Swinton is a news reporter who was born and bred in the Hunter. She has been with the Newcastle Herald since June 2020, and covers Newcastle council as well as other general news.
Sage Swinton is a news reporter who was born and bred in the Hunter. She has been with the Newcastle Herald since June 2020, and covers Newcastle council as well as other general news.
