Eurobodalla Council has struck a deal with the NSW government to get bushfire demolition waste off residents’ land.
The agreement means waste contractors can soon dump fire affected waste at the shire’s three tips, which will be managed and operated by NSW Government contractors for the duration of the clean-up.
Eurobodalla Council has welcomed the deal.
Laing O’Rourke arrived recently to start the government-funded clean however they had nowhere to put demolition waste. With the help of Council trials were undertaken of waste disposal at shire tips to ensure a workable solution.
The arrangement will see Brou landfill, located off the highway between Bodalla and Narooma, used for disposal of Eurobodalla’s asbestos contaminated clean-up waste. Air monitoring, vehicle wash down facilities and specialist staff, plant and equipment are part of the arrangement.
At Surf Beach tip near Batemans Bay, permission for a three-metre high overtop will create an additional 100,000 cubic metres of landfill, or the equivalent of four years’ capacity under normal circumstances.
Potential exists for some asbestos demolition waste to be accepted in the second landfill at Surf Beach if required, and only once the fire-damaged cell has been repaired.
The NSW Government will also establish and operate a waste transfer and recycling depot for non-contaminated bricks and concrete at the adjacent Surf Beach quarry.
The arrangement will allow the bushfire clean up to take place efficiently while making sure the community’s regular waste management needs can be met in the coming years.
Council expect to receive seven years’ worth of waste in four months while holding concerns that the sheer volume of bushfire demolition waste will deprive Eurobodalla of long-term waste-management capacity.
The extra capacity the NSW Government has made available at Surf Beach addresses this for now, however, volumes will be monitored closely and if the amount of waste looks like exceeding agreed site capacities, the deal allows excess to be taken to approved sites outside the shire.
Eurobodalla’s third waste management facility, a smaller waster transfer station at Moruya, remains closed due to fire damage. Green waste and scrap metal will be recycled there once it reopens within the next few weeks. Council staff will continue to manage Surf Beach landfill for non-bushfire waste and assist contractors at Brou and Moruya.
Residents can continue to use Brou and Surf Beach tips normally for now.
Demolition waste is currently ONLY being accepted from Laing O’Rourke approved contractors as part of the NSW Public Works Authority trial to examine waste volumes.
Council acknowledges community cooperation will be important while the clean-up is underway suggesting that it may be possible that a visit to the tip might not but as convenient as usual while they help fire-impacted residents get their properties cleaned up.
The community will be advised when more details come to hand
Council staff will continue to manage Surf Beach landfill for non-bushfire waste and assist contractors at Brou and Moruya for the duration of the government clean-up. Contractor Laing O’Rourke expects to finish most of the clean up by the end of June.
