Advanced Waste Processing gets closer for sixteen metro Councils
The City of Kingston is committed to finding solutions to improve waste disposal and recycling opportunities for the community.
For more than a year, we have provided Kingston households with food and organic waste disposal bins, which allow food waste to be processed into usable compost. We have been rolling out additional recycling bins in public spaces to increase opportunities for recycling.
Kingston Mayor Steve Staikos said we are also looking at how we can potentially utilise residual household waste that cannot go into either the food and organic bin or the comingled recycling.
“We are looking at how we could reduce landfill and convert this residual household waste into energy, through advanced waste processing,” Cr Staikos said.
In March 2020, Kingston Council and 15 other councils from Melbourne’s south-east launched the first collective tender for advanced waste processing solutions that can process residual household rubbish into electricity, instead of sending it straight to landfill.
“Councils have been investigating the establishment of this project, due to a shortage of landfill space and to avoid increasing costs charged to use landfill. This project is now seeing traction and the biggest tender process ever undertaken by Melbourne Councils for new waste management infrastructure is nearing completion with the preferred tender expected to be announced in 2022,” said Cr Staikos.
“By 2046, Melbourne households will produce 1.5 million tonnes of rubbish annually – enough to fill the MCG more than two and a half times every year. Landfills in south-east Melbourne are filling up quickly and no more are planned to be built. That means large amounts of rubbish having to be transported across Melbourne to other landfills – and councils have to pay a premium to use them.”
Advanced waste processing technologies are used successfully and safely overseas to either recover valuable materials in household rubbish or transform it into energy. These technologies can reduce the amount of household rubbish sent to landfill by at least 85% and reduce our impact on the environment.
“Kingston has agreed to contribute a one-off payment of $75,000 to the Metropolitan Waste and Resource Recovery Group (MWRRG) towards securing a future site for advanced waste processing when the tender process is completed,” said Cr Staikos.
“As we continue investigating this process, it’s important for everyone to continue sorting and putting out recycling and green and food waste collection services as part of a total approach to managing waste. Advanced waste processing will do more with the valuable resources that are being put in landfill and achieve better financial, environmental and social outcomes.”
No decisions have been made yet regarding the type or location of any facilities. This will be identified during the procurement process.
