Five Northern Sydney councils have signed a new ten-year regional waste collection and recycling contract with Veolia.
The new contract will be managed under an agreement between City of Ryde, Hunters Hill, Ku-ring-gai, Lane Cove and Willoughby Councils, using waste provider Veolia Environmental Services.
Waste disposal is an increasingly important issue facing all councils, as they plan for future population growth and the decreasing availability of disposal sites in metropolitan Sydney.
The agreement will deliver annual savings of up to $2 million and see 280,000 tonnes of waste diverted from landfill and converted into compost and fuel, using new mechanical biological treatment (MBT) technology.
“The joint agreement demonstrated the power of councils working together for the benefit of the region,” said Ryde’s Mayor, Councillor Bill Pickering. “It sets a benchmark for other councils to follow in terms of cooperation and innovative outcomes.”
Hunters Hill Mayor, Richard Quinn, added: “This new contract represents a win-win for the community and the environment. It will deliver substantial annual savings over the course of the 10-year contract, the community will receive better value for every tonne of material recycled, and by removing duplication, costs are cut.”
The new waste contract will be phased in from December 2015 and will deliver a raft of benefits, including reduced procurement costs for each council, and a single point of management between the council and Veolia.
It will also help the councils achieve their NSW EPA 2022 target of 70 per cent of total municipal waste diverted from landfill . The joint investment will also facilitate construction of two new Veolia waste processing facilities, securing waste resource recovery for up to 15 years.
Mark Taylor for Veolia Environmental Services said the $200 million contract signalled an investment in new technology and jobs.
“Veolia has approvals in place for immediate investment in mechanical biological treatment and energy from waste product with the construction of new waste facilities at Woodlawn in southern NSW,” Mr Taylor said. “The new plant will deliver over 80% resource recovery for up to 15 years.”
The new waste facilities will process 33,000 tonnes of waste from ‘red bin’ and similar sources each year from mid-2017 and around 9,000 tonnes of clean up waste a year from 2018.