City of Newcastle plans 10th landfill cell for 2028

A new landfill cell capable of receiving up to three million cubic metres of waste will be built at the Summerhill Waste Management Centre in Newcastle, New South Wales, to cater to the city’s growing population.

This will be the 10th cell established at the site, which the City of Newcastle has described as one of the largest waste management facilities in the state.

“The Summerhill Waste Management Centre is a significant asset that allows us to take responsibility for our city’s waste and innovate its management as our population continues to grow,” said Chief Executive Officer Jeremy Bath.

“This new cell will be delivered alongside a range of initiatives and education programs focused on reducing the amount of waste going to landfill and changing the way we return, reuse, repair and recycle resources.”

The current landfill operates in conjunction with Newcastle’s Resource Recovery Centre, which opened in 2019 and has diverted almost 19,000 tonnes of waste that would otherwise have been destined for landfill, according to Bath.

The City of Newcastle has awarded a tender for the design of the 10th cell project, which will include planning for site-wide stormwater and contaminated liquid strategies, gas management and detailed geotechnical investigations.

Work will also be completed to update the overall masterplan for the site.

David Witherdin, City of Newcastle Managing Director of Waste Services, said the 10th cell’s design will be guided by best-practice environmental controls as part of the long-term operational and environmental sustainability of the site.

“Our modern facilities and best practice landfill operations have replaced the open-air rubbish piles of the past by using the sealed cells as independent containment units,” he said.

“The cells manage contaminated liquids and allow us to reduce the volume of clean stormwater entering the landfill area and thereby reduce contamination.

“Our landfilling practices manage odour more effectively and increase capture of landfill gas, which is converted into electricity, and reduces our carbon impact, while still providing long-term landfill capacity for our city’s predicted population boom.”

The master planning and design work is expected to be completed in 2027, followed by a tender to build the 10th cell, with the staged construction program expected to begin in 2028.