James TurnellAssistant Executive Officer

Ph: 6770 3847Email: jturnell@armidale.nsw.gov.au

Introduction• NIRW

• Opportunities and constraints concerning waste management in

regional local government areas

• NIRW’s EPA funded regional waste strategy

• Community engagement and participation in waste management

initiatives

Northern Inland Regional Waste

(NIRW)

NIRW was formed in July 1998 and meets quarterly to discuss

waste management issues and to organise regional initiatives.

NIRW’s membership consists of thirteen (13) Local Government

Councils in the North West and New England regions of NSW.

The NIRW region comprises a total population of over 183,000

and covers an area of 99,642 square kilometres.

NIRW members• Members are progressive, collaborative and passionate about

waste management

• Focused on resource recovery

• Provides a forum for speakers to update members on recent

advances:

• Regulation changes

• New technology and markets

• WHS

• Collective tenders (milk runs):

• Concrete & metals

• Mulch & compost

• Chemicals & used oil

Contractor shredding

NIRW’s resource recovery achievements

Opportunities

• Waste composition differences between urban and regional

areas

• Agricultural organic residues

• Markets for recovered materials

• Organics/carbon

• Land use

• Space required for resource recovery

• Planning constraints

• Odour

• Rural communities often more aware of the importance of

conserving resources

Constraints

• Sparsely populated

• Aggregation/ transport costs

• Distance to markets

• With exception of organics

• Communities ability and willingness to pay for greater resource

recovery

• Service levels

• Competing demands

• Regulation

• Environmental Protection Licenses & Waste Exemptions

Regional waste strategy

• Voluntary waste groups identified by the EPA to undertake

comprehensive regional waste strategies

• On behalf of their member councils

• EPA funded

• Focus on regional collaboration

• Economies of scale

• Regional & sub regional resource recovery nodes

(aggregation/ processing points)

Community engagement and participation

• Closing the loop

• Reducing contamination in source separated waste streams

• Organics (green bin)

• Recyclables (yellow bin/black crate)

• Source separation is key to satisfy end users (markets for

recovered materials)

• Feedback (+ve & -ve)

Green bin contamination

Note. 1 days worth of contamination manually picked out

Thank you

Contact details:

Michael Pearce (NIRW Chair)

E-mail: mickpearce59@hotmail.com

Mob: 0488 752 520

Ph: 6775 2520

Alison Leckie (Program Coordinator)

E-mail: a.leckie@tamworth.nsw.gov.au

Mob: 0428 219 410

Ph: 6767 5044

Jon Beckett (Manager Waste Services, Tamworth Regional Council and NIRW

Executive Officer)

E-mail: j.beckett@tamworth.nsw.gov.au

Mob: 0417 498 287

Ph: 6767 5040

James Turnell (Manager Waste & Drainage, Armidale Dumaresq Council and NIRW

Assistant Executive Officer)

E-mail: jturnell@armidale.nsw.gov.au

Mob: 0428 115 337

Ph: 6770 3847