Waste Strategy Dungog FINAL€¦ · Waste Management Framework ... Strategy Implementation and...

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Dungog Shire Council

Waste Strategy

2014 ‐ 2024

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Prepared by the Hunter Councils’ Environment Division team for Dungog Shire Council

Contact Details:

HCCREMS

PO Box 3137

THORNTON, NSW 2322

Phone: 02 4978 4020

Fax: 02 4966 0588

© Hunter Councils Inc Environment Division, 2014

Suggested Bibliographic Citation:

Dungog Shire Council Waste Strategy 2015‐2035, Hunter Councils Inc. (2014), Thornton, NSW

This document has been compiled in good faith, exercising all due care and attention. Hunter Councils Inc does

not accept responsibility for inaccurate or incomplete information.

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Table of Contents

Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................. 4

Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 5

Strategy Vision ..................................................................................................................................... 5

Strategy Themes .................................................................................................................................. 5

Strategy Objectives .............................................................................................................................. 5

Strategy Development ......................................................................................................................... 5

Waste Management Framework ............................................................................................................ 7

National Waste Framework................................................................................................................. 7

NSW Waste Framework ...................................................................................................................... 8

Regional and Local Waste Framework .............................................................................................. 12

Dungog Shire Community and Waste Profile ........................................................................................ 14

Population and Demographics .......................................................................................................... 14

Waste and Resource Recovery Collection Systems ........................................................................... 15

Waste Management and Recycling Facility ....................................................................................... 16

Waste and Resource Recovery Characteristics ................................................................................. 19

Illegal Dumping .................................................................................................................................. 23

Community Communication and Expectations ................................................................................. 24

Management Options to Achieve Strategy Objectives ......................................................................... 32

Options Assessment .......................................................................................................................... 32

Preferred Waste Management Option ............................................................................................. 35

Strategy Implementation and Action Plan ............................................................................................ 38

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Executive Summary

Dungog Shire Council like many other Councils in NSW is facing challenges regarding the collection and disposal of solid waste, management of the environmental impacts of landfills, increased community concern and greater control and compliance requirements from the NSW State Government.

Following the recent creation of the Hunter Region Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Strategy, and acknowledging that the waste collection and transport contracts will expire in 2015, Dungog Shire Council has undertaken to develop a local waste strategy that seeks to:

Comply with NSW Government requirements

Align activities with the Hunter Region Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Strategy

Improve resource recovery and waste diversion from landfill

Increase community awareness of waste management issues and effect behaviour change to reduce waste generation

Develop long term strategies that effectively manage cost increases related to waste services, whilst delivering the most effective service to residents and businesses of the LGA

Much of the Strategy is driven by the NSW Waste and Resource Recovery strategy targets that are seeking Municipal waste diversions to increase to 75% (previous target of 66%). Given this target, and considering the Dungog community currently diverts some 46.5% of waste, the strategy seeks to change collection and processing services to assist the community to meet this target.

In developing this strategy, Dungog Shire Council consulted with their community over a number of months via both face‐to‐face sessions and written submissions. Over 20% of households provided feedback to council on how they currently utilised the Council’s waste management services and what services they thought would be appropriate to implement in the future. Understandably residents were reluctant to have cost increases levied on them, but there was a general acceptance that new systems were likely to cost more, and that the current services were not going to achieve the required waste diversion target.

This strategy directly responds to the issues above, and seeks to provide Dungog Council and the community with the support required to actively improve waste diversions and resource management.

The strategy provides an implementation action plan which will be Council’s “Blue Print” to improve waste diversions and continue to preserve the unique and beautiful local environment that characterises Dungog Shire.

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Introduction

The purpose of this Waste Management Strategy is to guide Dungog Shire Council’s management activities in order to actively work towards meeting the NSW Waste Strategy Targets and align with the Hunter Region Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Strategy and Action Plan.

Strategy Vision

The Dungog Shire Council’s Waste Strategy Vision is consistent with the Community Strategic Plan and Hunter Region Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Strategy. The vision is:

To proactively implement a sustainable waste management system for Dungog Shire, enabling the whole community to improve the environment and community well‐being by reducing the environmental impact of waste and using resources more efficiently

Strategy Themes

The Strategy themes have been selected to align with the Hunter Region Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Strategy and Action Plan, which are:

Theme 1: Avoidance and Waste Reduction

Theme 2: Increased Recycling and Resource Recovery

Theme 3: Diversion of Waste from Landfill

Theme 4: Managing Problem Wastes

Theme 5: Reducing Litter

Theme 6: Reducing Illegal Dumping

Theme 7: Infrastructure Management

The final Regional Theme (Governance) has been replaced with Infrastructure Management in recognition of the management responsibilities Council has regarding the management and operation of their licenced waste facility and closed waste facilities.

Strategy Objectives

Dungog Shire Council seeks to provide an appropriately costed waste management service that diverts the maximum amount of resources from landfill and improves environmental protection.

The Strategy is designed to support the Hunter Region Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Strategy and Action Plan and will seek to meet the NSW Waste Diversion targets, although Council recognises that systemic changes to the current waste management systems are required to achieve this outcome. It is likely a new service or diversion opportunity for garden waste will be required to meet this objective.

Strategy Development

The Dungog Shire Council Waste Strategy has been developed with consideration of State legislation and regional strategy targets and objectives. The Strategy has utilised analysis of future waste growth projections and infrastructure needs, and assessed a number of waste management options in relation to their performance against key economic, environmental and social criteria. Based on the results of the analysis and community and stakeholder input, a preferred option has been selected for future waste management practices in Dungog.

Community consultation was a key factor in shaping the Strategy. Consultation activities included:

The development of a resident survey requesting feedback on the current waste management services performance and cost. The survey was sent to all rateable premises in the Shire and provided recipients the option to respond via mail, email, Council website or in person at Council’s administration centre.

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Community consultation workshops were held in July 2014. Sessions were held in Dungog, Vacy and Clarence Town.

Approximately 20% of Dungog Shire residences responded to the community survey and provided valuable feedback to the strategy development.

Both the community survey and community consultation sessions indicated that the community would like to see Dungog Shire Council:

provide a greater amount of information and education to residents about how to access the Council waste management services, and

provide information about how to be more effective resource conservers at home.

The community also expressed their desire for Council to do everything in its power to try to improve resource recovery without increasing costs.

Feedback from the consultation activities has been incorporated into the final strategy and action plan.

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Waste Management Framework

Dungog Shire Council is governed by both National and State legislative frameworks in the development and delivery of its waste management services as described in Tables 1 and 2.

National Waste Framework

The Commonwealth Government has limited constitutional powers to engage directly in domestic waste management issues however, the Commonwealth has played a strategic role with the production of the National Waste Policy in 2009.

Table 1: National legislative framework

Legislative Instrument (driver)

Description and impact on Dungog Shire Council

National Waste Policy

The National Waste Policy was agreed by all Australian environment ministers in November 2009 and sets Australia’s waste management and resource recovery direction to 2020. The policy developed from the 1992 National Strategy for Ecologically Sustainable Development by the Council of Australian Governments. The policy ensures waste management remains aligned with Australia’s international obligations, while harnessing collaboration across all tiers of Government. The policy sets directions in six key areas and identifies 16 priority strategies that would benefit from a national or coordinated approach. The policy includes;

Extended producer responsibility,

Sustainable procurement,

Landfill gas management,

Improved data management,

Waste definition,

Market development,

Improvements in commercial and industrial waste disposal and reduction

Improvements in the classification and treatment of hazardous wastes

The policy has committed to 3 year reporting providing access to integrated national core data on waste and resource recovery.

The “Waste generation and resource recovery in Australia” report provided details of the trends in national waste generation (between 2006/07 and 2010/11):

The amount of waste generated per capita in Australia is reasonably stable with a predicted increase of 0.6% per year.

The amount of waste recycled per capita is increasing with a projected increase of around 4.6% per year (an increase of 20% in 4 years).

Australia continued to generate more waste as the population grew, population increased at around 1.6% per year, yet waste generation grew around 40% more quickly than population during the period.

Comparatively across the world, Australia has one of the highest waste levels per capita.

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NSW Waste Framework

The NSW Government’s objective is to provide a clear and consistent regulatory and policy framework that minimises harm to the environment, encourages waste avoidance and resource recovery. This framework uses a mix of legislative, policy, educational and economic tools.

The NSW Government administers the waste regulatory framework through:

the Protection of the Environment Operations (POEO) Act 1997,

the Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery (WARR) Act 2001 and

the Protection of the Environment Operations (Waste) Regulation 2005.

These key statutes contain the requirements for managing, storing, transporting, processing, recovering and disposing of waste.

The Waste Hierarchy is an integral part of the NSW waste framework (and included in the WARR Act) and is used to guide waste diversion activities.

Figure 1: NSW Waste Hierarchy

The NSW State Framework consists of legislation, guidelines, development plans and strategies pertaining to waste management and is summarised in Table 2.

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Table 2: NSW waste framework



NSW 2021: A plan to make NSW number 1

The Hunter Regional Action Plan aligns with the NSW Government’s 10 year plan (NSW 2021) and has identified the priorities within the Hunter Region across the next 10 years. Within the plan, 4 key priority areas have been identified, these include;

I. To drive economic growth and economic diversity II. To direct investment in critical infrastructure and integrated transport III. To improve the livability of our City and regional areas IV. To better support the most vulnerable members of our community

Specific actions relevant waste management within the Hunter Regional Action Plan includes;

The development of a regional waste avoidance and resource recovery strategy which will be a valuable tool to help direct local strategies.

Implementation of a new Regional Illegal Dumping program with the target to reduce the incidence of large‐scale (greater than 200m3 of waste) illegal dumping by 30% by 2016.

Reduce the amount of litter count per capita with a target for NSW to have the lowest litter count in Australia.

Increase recycling to meet the NSW waste recycling targets.

NSW Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery (WARR)Strategy 2013–21

The Draft WARR Strategy is a vision for the future of waste in NSW that is supported financially by the Waste Less, Recycle More initiative. The Draft WARR strategy has identified targets across 6 key areas. The Strategy aims to meet the following objectives;

Growth in waste generation to be in line with population growth by 2021‐22

Recycling rates are to increase to: o 70% for Municipal Solid Waste(MSW) and Commercial and

Industrial (C&I) and o 80% for Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste by 2021‐22

Waste diverted from landfill is to increase to 75% by 2021‐22

Problem waste collection services are to be available for 80% of NSW households by 2021‐22

Litter is to be reduced by 40% by 2016‐17 from 2011‐12 levels

A reduction in the incidence of large‐scale illegal dumping by 30% by 2016‐17 compared with 2010‐11 levels

Establish a statewide baseline for illegal dumping by 2016‐17 and reduce levels thereafter.

These ambitious targets are supported the Waste Less, Recycle More initiative which will see a funding package of 465.7 million dollars from the Waste Levy revenue across 5 years (2012‐17).

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Environment Protection Authority (EPA) Strategic Plan 2013–16

This plan for the next three years was developed following thorough consultation with EPA staff and clarifies the Authority’s role, recognising our relationship with government, business and the community.

Key performance indicators are:

Growth in waste generation is held to the level of population growth by 2021–22

Recycling rates increase to 70% for municipal solid waste (MSW)and commercial and industrial waste(C&I), and 80% for construction and demolition (C&D)waste by 2021–22

Waste diverted from landfill increases from 63% (in 2010–11) to 75% by 2021–22

Improve the availability of problem waste collection services for 80% of NSW households by 2021–22 compared with 2012–13

Reduce litter by 40% by 2016–17 compared with 2011–12 levels

Reduce the incidence of large‐scale illegal dumping of waste (200 cubic metres or more) detected in Sydney, the Illawarra, Central Coast and Hunter Regions by 30% by 2016–17 compared with 2010–11

Establish a state‐wide baseline for illegal dumping by 2016–17 and reduce levels

Waste Less Recycle More initiative

The Waste Less, Recycle More Initiative is a five‐year program to fund the transformation of waste and recycling in NSW. It includes grant programs for new and upgraded infrastructure, community recycling centres for household problem wastes, business recycling, market development, programs to tackle illegal dumping and litter, as well as a range of programs to support local Councils and Regional groups.

Meeting these targets will require new approaches to waste and recycling including:

engaging with local communities to think differently about recycling, littering and illegal dumping

delivering conveniently located, value‐for‐money waste infrastructure to make it easier for households and business to do the right thing

implementing innovative regulatory approaches to protect the environment and support investment in new programs.

The Waste Less Recycle More initiative will provide a $467.5 Million investment into the waste industry over the next 4 years.

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Protection of the Environment Operations (POEO) Act 1997 and Regulation 2005

The Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 (POEO Act) is the key piece of environment protection legislation administered by the EPA.

The POEO Act repealed the following Acts with effect from 1 July 1999:

Clean Air Act 1961

Clean Waters Act 1970

Environmental Offences and Penalties Act 1989

Noise Control Act 1975

Pollution Control Act 1970.

The major regulatory provisions of the Waste Minimisation and Management Act 1995 were also repealed by the POEO Act, but are now incorporated within the POEO Act.

Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery (WARR) Act 2001

The Objects of the Act are:

1. to encourage the most efficient use of resources and to reduce environmental harm in accordance with the principles of ecologically sustainable development

2. to ensure that resource management options are considered against a hierarchy of the following order

a. avoidance of unnecessary resource consumption b. resource recovery (including reuse, reprocessing, recycling and

energy recovery) c. disposal

3. to provide for the continual reduction in waste generation 4. to minimise the consumption of natural resources and the final disposal

of waste by encouraging the avoidance of waste and the reuse and recycling of waste

5. to ensure that industry shares with the community the responsibility for reducing and dealing with waste

6. to ensure the efficient funding of waste and resource management planning, programs and service delivery

7. to achieve integrated waste and resource management planning, programs and service delivery on a State‐wide basis

to assist in the achievement of the objectives of the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997

It is worth noting that the Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Progress report 2010‐11 noted that the recycling rate across all waste streams had increased:

The overall NSW recycling rate was 63%, up from 59% in 2008‐9

The municipal solid waste recycling rate was 52%, up from 44%

The commercial and industrial recycling rate was 57% up from 52%

The construction and demolition recycling rate was 75%, up from 73%

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Regional and Local Waste Framework

As part of the “Waste Less Recycle More” initiative, the Hunter Councils (Cessnock, Dungog, Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Muswellbrook, Newcastle, Port Stephens, Singleton and Upper Hunter) have collaborated on the development of a Regional Waste Strategy and Action Plan which is designed to link local plans and strategies to the NSW strategy targets. The Regional framework is designed to assist councils to access funding and build economies of scale for waste management activities and infrastructure. Key items in the framework are described in Table 3.

Table 3: Regional and local waste framework



Hunter Regional Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery (WARR) Strategy

Nine Councils around the region have recognised the importance of working together on a collaborative approach and are currently in the process of developing a regional waste strategy. This strategy will provide a framework to facilitate joint activity and service delivery towards meeting the targets of the NSW WARR Strategy.

Dungog Shire Landfill Licence

Dungog Shire Council has an operational licence from the EPA to operate the Short Street Waste Management Facility. The Licence details the management requirements Dungog Shire Council must meet.

Dungog Shire Council Community Strategic Plan (2012‐30)

The Dungog Shire Council Community Strategic Plan (DSCCSP) outlines the foundations of future shire management and delivery programs directed by the NSW State Plan and any other relevant State or Regional plans and strategies. The plan seeks to make Dungog “A vibrant united community, with a sustainable economy. An area where rural character, community safety and lifestyle are preserved”.

The Community Strategic Plan includes environmental or waste related actions as follows:

Ensure that council’s policies and processes adequately protect and enhance our natural environment and biodiversity

Ensure that appropriate agencies at all levels are involved in addressing issues surrounding climate change

Raise public awareness of the responsibilities of landholders regarding management of land

Involve the community in maintaining and enhancing environmental health

Ensure that local waterways and riparian areas are clean and healthy

Manage and reduce the impact of weeds and pest animals on the natural environment

Maintain a regional approach to the management of our natural environment

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Dungog Shire Council Delivery Plan 2012‐16

The Dungog Shire Council Delivery Plan outlines specific activities Council should undertake to achieve the Community Strategic Plan outcomes. Key Waste Management Activities include:

Improve waste diversion at the landfill and through Council waste diversion programs and recycling service

Promote reporting of illegal dumping to Council

Support regional Hunter and Central Coast Regional Environmental Management Strategy (HCCREMS) data base of illegal dumping sites

Provide information to the community in relation to future waste service provision and waste diversion programs

Provide Draft Waste Strategy for public submissions

Complete Waste Strategy

Complete new contracts for collection of waste and recyclables based on Waste Strategy

Implement a Waste Not DCP

Promote new initiatives to increase local waste minimisation and recycling

Actively participate in Producer Responsibility Programs as they are introduced

This strategy document will provide the framework for delivery of these actions.

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Dungog Shire Community and Waste Profile

Population and Demographics

Dungog Local Government Area (LGA) covers 2,248 square kilometres, is located to the north of the Lower Hunter Valley region of NSW and had a population of 8,673 residents as at 30 June 2010. In the north of the shire 16% of the LGA is State conservation area and National Parks and 6% State Forests. The residential community is located predominately in the southern and central parts of the Shire, evenly divided between rural and urban settlement.

The urban areas are the small villages and towns of Vacy, Martins Creek, Gresford, East Gresford, Paterson, Clarence Town and Dungog. The largest town, Dungog, has a population of around 2,500 people and includes the Shire Works and Administration Centres, the LGA’s one public High School and the largest concentration of retail, service and manufacturing enterprise.

Over the last 30 years, the LGA has undergone significant changes to its employment base with the downsizing of the dairy and timber industries and a shift of investment to tourism and small scale agriculture. The natural beauty of the area and the significant forestry and conservation land in the north attract up to 100,000 visitors a year, however, the lack of substantial local manufacturing and retailing enterprise means that many of the local residents, around 40% (jobs data 2006 census, ABS) now travel outside the Shire to work ‐ to the south in the nearby larger centres of Maitland, Raymond Terrace and Newcastle, and to the north in the coal mines and associated service industries of the Central and Upper Hunter Valley.

Parcels of rural residential land adjacent to Clarence Town, Paterson, Vacy and Gresford have been released since 2010, it is expected there may be an increase in residential construction activity as this land is taken up.

The features identified above have resulted in the waste stream varying significantly from many other local government areas with a high domestic component and relatively low Commercial/ Industrial and Construction/Demolition waste stream.

Table 4: The projected population of Dungog Local Government Area 2011‐2031

Population Data 2011 Projected Data

2016 2021 2026 2031 Total Change

Total % Change

Annual %

Change

Total Population 8,550 8,650 8,750 8,800 8,800 250 2.8% 0.1%

Total Households 3,350 3,500 3,600 3,700 3,750 350 11.0% 0.5%

Average Household Size

2.51 2.44 2.39 2.35 2.32 0.19 ‐8%

Average Annual Household Growth

0.8% 0.6% 0.4% 0.3%

(Source NSW Department Planning 2014 NSW Household and Dwelling Projections data: 2014 Final http://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/en‐au/deliveringhomes/populationandhouseholdprojections/data.aspx)

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Table 5: Types of households in Dungog Shire Council Area

HOUSEHOLD TYPES: 2011 2016 2021 2026 2031

Couple only 1,100 1,200 1,300 1,350 1,350

Couple with children 1,100 1,100 1,050 1,050 1,050

Single parent 300 300 300 300 300

Other family households 50 50 50 50 50

Multiple‐family households 50 50 50 50 50

Total family households 2,600 2,650 2,700 2,750 2,750

Lone person 750 800 850 900 950

Group 50 50 50 50 50

Total non‐family households 800 850 900 950 1,000

Total 3,350 3,500 3,600 3,700 3,750

(Source NSW Department of Planning 2014 NSW Household and Dwelling Projections data: 2014 Final http://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/en‐au/deliveringhomes/populationandhouseholdprojections/data.aspx)

It is estimated 23% of the population is aged 60 years plus (ABS), by 2031 this will increase to 31% of the Shires population (NSW Dept. Planning)

Waste and Resource Recovery Collection Systems

Council currently holds waste collection and transport contracts with JR Richards for the provision of services to both residential and commercial properties. The services provided by Dungog Shire Council include:

Municipal Solid Waste ‐ Weekly kerbside collection of a 240L bin (red lid)

Collected from kerbside and disposed at Council’s Waste Management Facility (Short Street, Dungog). 11% of LGA does not have access to this service.

Commercial & Industrial Waste ‐ Fortnightly kerbside collection of a 240L bin (red lid) ‐ Opt in service

Collected from kerbside and disposed of at Council’s Waste Management Facility (Short Street, Dungog).

Domestic Dry Recycling ‐ Fortnightly kerbside collection of a 240L bin (yellow lid)

Collected from kerbside and disposed of at Solo Resource Recovery (Gateshead). 11% of LGA does not have access to this service.

Commercial Dry Recycling ‐ Fortnightly kerbside collection of a 240L bin (yellow lid)

Collected from kerbside and disposed of at Solo Resource Recovery (Gateshead). This is an opt‐in service and not linked to the provision of a kerbside waste service.

Bulky waste collection ‐ Annual kerbside collection

Provided to all residential properties that receive a kerbside waste collection service; Bulky waste is separated into ferrous and non ferrous metals (recovered) and residual waste (landfilled).

Garden organics collection ‐ Annual kerbside collection

Only provided to residential properties within township areas;

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The number of properties receiving the various services are detailed in Table 6.

Table 6: Residential and commercial kerbside collection service extent

Year

Households Commercial premises

Properties receiving waste collection

services

Properties receiving recycling collection

service

Properties receiving waste collection

service

Properties receiving recycling collection

service

2009/10 3,087 3,074 347 127

2010/11 3,134 3,134 345 137

2011/12 3,166 3,166 342 147

(Source– Waste Facilities Data provided to EPA from Dungog Shire Council as a requirement of the Waste and Environment Levy (Section 88 ) 2011/11.)

Waste Management and Recycling Facility

Dungog Shire Council operates a solid waste Class 2 licenced landfill at the Waste Management and Recycling Centre (WMRC) in Short Street, Dungog. The WMRC operates five days a week, Thursday through to Monday. The WMRC accepts most solid waste including green waste and asbestos (asbestos only accepted under specific conditions).

In addition to landfilling, the WMRC provides dedicated areas for the separation and recovery of various waste materials including:

Ferrous and non ferrous metals

Paper and cardboard

Dry Recyclables

Waste oil

DrumMuster chemical containers

E‐Waste including television, computer and various electrical equipment

Salvaged items for resale at the landfill shop

Batteries and gas bottles

Garden waste (trees, branches, grass clippings etc.)

Mattresses

Every attempt is made to divert materials received at the WMRC from landfill.

The control and management of the WMRC is governed primarily by a licence from the NSW EPA and by the Protection of the Environment Operations (Waste) Regulation. The Regulation is currently under review and there are a number of changes that are likely to impact on Dungog Shire Council, an overview of the new requirements relevant to landfills (and estimated costs), are provided below.

Table 7:High‐level overview of new requirements and potential costs for landfills

New requirement Potential costs

Weighbridge (WB) – see Section 4.1: All Scheduled Waste Facilities must install a WB and WB software.

$121,500 (Note: EPA is proposing to fund up to 50% or $75,000 of costs, reducing the average cost to $60,750).

Credit system – see Section 4.2: Landfills will receive a waste levy credit for receiving waste from intermediate facilities from which they receive waste

Operation and functionality of credit system still being developed so costs not estimated by EPA

Special waste management – see Section 4.3: New requirement for recipients to provide information regarding disposal of asbestos waste, waste tyres and clinical wastes into EPA electronic system.

Unlikely to be additional costs for measuring asbestos quantities as already being monitored; unknown costs for tyres.

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New requirement Potential costs

Licensing thresholds – see Section 4.4: Same thresholds for landfills but new thresholds for resource recovery, waste processing, and waste storage facilities.

No additional costs for landfills

Land pollution offences – see Section 4.5: “Land pollution” defined to include hazardous waste, restricted solid waste, >10 tonnes of asbestos waste, and >100 tonnes of or 10,000 waste tyres.

No additional costs

The changes to the Waste Regulation will likely impact Dungog Shire Council in the following ways:

1. Weighbridge

Under the proposed Regulation, all Scheduled Waste Facilities (including those receiving less than 5,000 tonnes of waste per year) will be required to install and operate a weighbridge. The new requirements for these facilities will include:

Submitting a vehicle flow control plan

Ensuring all vehicles entering and departing the premises are weighed to record the quantity of material transported in or out of the facility

Maintaining the weighbridge

Ensuring the weighbridge is verified as a measuring instrument

Ensuring the weighbridge has software that records data in the form and manner specified in EPA guidelines.

The EPA can exempt facilities from this requirement, or defer the application of this requirement, subject to any specified conditions and time period. The conditions may, for example, include a condition that the quantity of waste is measured and recorded using a method specified in the Waste Levy Guidelines (e.g. using conversion rates).

Dungog Landfill doesn’t currently have a weighbridge so, unless exempt, the Council will be required to pay the costs of installing the weighbridge and the weighbridge software. The cost benefit analysis (CBA) conducted by the Centre for International Economics estimated that the costs of installing weighbridges range from $81,000 to $150,000 and weighbridge software around $6,000 (being an average of around $121,500). The Government is proposing to fund 50% of the cost to industry of weighbridges up to a maximum of $75,000 per facility for those facilities that do not currently have a weighbridge.

The situations in which the EPA will exempt a facility or fund 50% of the costs of a weighbridge have not yet been made clear.

2. General requirements

Landfill operators who are required to pay a waste levy can deduct a contribution from that waste levy in respect of waste received and approved by the EPA for use for an operational purpose. Landfill operators may deduct a waste levy payable on drainage gravels or piping waste received, approved and used in landfill gas collection systems associated with landfill gas management. This would make it more financially viable for landfill’s receiving this type of waste to develop landfill gas collection systems. Whether a landfill gas system is feasible depends on a range of factors including:

Waste composition and moisture content

Landfill operations (including compacting equipment used, time taken to fill a cell, age of waste)

Surface area and side of slopes

Depth of waste

Type of final cover

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The NSW EPA Environmental Guidelines for solid waste landfills recommends that a gas extraction/control system should be installed where the building monitoring or perimeter well testing shows methane concentrations exceeding 1.25% methane.

Current facility operations and facility closure plan

The Dungog Waste Management and Recycling Centre currently has some 118,000m3 of landfill space available to accept domestically collected waste and self haul waste from the Dungog community (estimated as at time of the strategy development). Modelling conducted indicates that if no change was made to Council’s waste management activities, and growth followed the predictions of the NSW Government, the landfill would be completely exhausted by 2033 (19 years).

Once the landfill reaches capacity a range of rehabilitation and monitoring operations will be required to be undertaken to ensure the old landfill does not pose an ongoing threat to the surrounding environment, and to potentially allow the site to be utilised for other purposes. Depending on what options Council determines to employ to improve resource recovery and reduce waste to landfill, it is recommended that Council develop a master closure plan within the next 5 years.

The best practice landfill management guidelines (NSW EPA) recommend the preparation of a Rehabilitation Management Plan and an Aftercare Management Plan once it has been determined that the site will cease accepting waste, in order to detail how the site will be closed. The Plan should include the following:

A final topographic plan for the site including height, slope and contours

Details on the final cap profile, including the material to be used to cover the landfill and what vegetation is to be grown

References to the Aftercare Management Plan and how the landfill cap integrity will be maintained during the period of post closure

Specifications of all materials used during the construction of the final landfill cap

Details on how construction work will be carried out including the method of construction; and A Quality Assurance Plan to document the methods of inspection and testing regimes required during the landfill cap construction phase

Whilst the Rehabilitation Management Plan provides the information needed to construct the final landfill cap, the Aftercare Management Plan sets out the activities and responsibilities for maintaining the capping system so as not to cause environmental harm or degradation of the cap, the leachate management system or the landfill gas capture system.

The plan identifies the tasks and an inspection procedure required to ensure the integrity of the final cover system, and documents the requirement to maintain the existing monitoring programs for groundwater, surface water and leachate. It also ensures that the current licence reporting requirements are maintained in the event of an environmental incident. Aftercare management in landfills may also include active emissions management.

It is recommended that Council consider the development of a master site filling plan and final topographic plan within the next 5 years, this will enable development of a closure plan budget and assist Council to develop a financial management plan to ensure appropriate financial reserves are being created to implement the required closure activities (post 2033). The longer Council can maintain the landfill as an active asset (through waste diversions and increased resource recovery) the longer Council can amortise costs, reducing any sudden increases in waste management costs related to this need.

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Waste and Resource Recovery Characteristics

The 2011/12 financial year is being utilised as the baseline year for the Dungog Shire Waste Strategy (and the Hunter Region Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery

Strategy). All reporting related to this strategy will be against this baseline year. The following tables provide specific detail of the extent and performance of the Dungog

Shire waste management services.

The total waste generated by Dungog Shire Council residents is well below the State and Regional generation rates. It is likely this is due to the rural nature of Dungog

Shire Council and 11% of the Shire managing their own waste as the kerbside service is not available to their properties.

Table 7: Baseline information (2011/12) on overall waste generation

Area Population (30 June 2010)

No. Households Tonnes recovered

Tonnes Disposed Tonnes Generated

Recovery Rate (%)

Generation (Tonnes)

T/capita T/household

NSW 7,210,352 2,780,869 1,656,880 1,865,963 3,522,843 47.0% 9.4 24.4

Rural Regulated Area

768,906 325,305 222,074 230,088 452,162 49.1% 11.3 26.7

Hunter Waste Region

1,757,045 742,693 106,31 224,028 330,343 32.2% 10.5 26.7

Dungog Shire 8,547 3,591 1,665 1,987 3,652 45.6% 8.2 19.6

Source: NSW EPA

The baseline data shows that Dungog Shire Council is recovering 45.6% of waste generated, below the targets set in the NSW Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery

Strategy target.

20

Details of the tonnage of recyclables, organics and residual waste (kerbside and self haul) are provided in Table 8 (please note that Dungog Shire Council is unable to

differentiate domestic and commercial waste streams due to a single collection system). Specific detail on the use and performance of the kerbside services is provided in

Table 9 and Appendix 3.

Table 8: Baseline data (2011/12) on waste generation, providing information on specific waste streams

Area

Total Domestic Generation

Recyclables Organics Residual Waste

Collected Recovered Disposed Collected Recovered Disposed Collected Recovered Disposed

NSW 780,246 722,571 57,675 726,886 702,956 23,929 2,015,712 231,353 1,784,358


104,185 97,572 6,613 121,636 114,191 7,445 226,342 10,312 216,030

Hunter Waste Region

59,641 57,389 2,252 43,702 36,934 6,768 227,001 11,992 215,009

Dungog Shire 1,241 1,207 34 400 400 ‐ 2,011 58 1,953

21

Table 9: Baseline kerbside collection data (2011/12)

Area Dry Recycling Organics Residual Waste

Number of households

with a Kerbside RECYCLING service

Tonnes Collected

Per Householdkg/hh/wk

Per Capitakg/ca/wk

Number of households

with Kerbside ORGANICS service

Tonnes Collected

Per Householdkg/hh/wk

Per Capitakg/ca/wk

Number of Households receiving Domestic Waste Service

Tonnes Collected

Per Household kg/hh/wk

Per Capita kg/ca/wk

NSW 2,617,430 700,468 4.8 1.9 1,594,569 508,025 3.5 1.4 2,672,980 1,630,504 11.3 4.3


301,278 83,105 4.9 2.1 184,613 65,844 3.9 1.6 303,213 154,527 9.1 3.9

Hunter Waste Region

232,940 52,852 4.4 1.7 65,424 13,903 4.1 0.4 233,049 178,242 14.7 5.7

Dungog Shire

3,166 815 5.0 1.8 ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ 3,166 1,140 6.9 2.6

It should be noted that residual waste data is calculated using the NSW EPA waste conversion tables as there is no weighbridge at the Short Street WMRC. Weighbridge

data is available from the contractor for recyclable tonnages.

22

The composition of the domestic waste bins provides some valuable insight into the opportunity for increased efficiency of the domestic recycling service as described in Figure 2.

Figure 2: Domestic waste bin composition 2011/12

Graph – Breakdown of waste found in residential bins (2011 Waste Audit)

The above information was gathered via an audit of 220 domestic bins (some 5.6% of the weekly service). The audit provided an even split between rural and urban properties within the LGA.

Limitations of the audit include the inability to account for seasonal variation and the results vary significantly from the EPA’s waste tonnage conversion figures (that are applied at the landfill due to no weighbridge being available).

Items of note are:

Garden organics in rural bins is about roughly half that found in urban bins (14% and 29% respectively)

Total organics in the waste bin varied less between rural and urban (50.16% and 61.53% respectively)

The recycling rate for rural properties was higher than urban properties (19.5% and 11.4% respectively)

On average, a quarter of the materials in the residual waste bin can be diverted into the existing recycling bin

Total Paper and Paper Products,

13.61%

Food Organics, 24.93%

Garden & Other Organics, 31.04%

Total Glass, 5.59%

Total Plastics, 9.67%

Total Ferrous, 3.28%

Total Non‐Ferrous, 0.80%

Total Hazardous, 1.16%

Total Building Waste, 2.19%

Total Earth Based, 6.68%

Total E‐waste, 0.99%Total Miscellaneous,

0.06%

Domestic Waste Bin Composition 2011

23

On average, one half of the materials in the residual waste bin is organic in nature (either food or garden) and could be composted or diverted from landfill through a separate organics collection service, or use of an Alternative Waste Technology (as available in Port Stephens LGA).

The 2011 audit clearly identified a number of further diversion opportunities available to Dungog Shire Council to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill through their kerbside waste collection service, these are:

Engagement of residents to encourage the appropriate use of the kerbside recycling bin (potential further diversion of 2.9kg/hh/wk).

Engagement of residents to encourage the use of home composting or worm farming to manage both food and garden organic wastes (potential further diversion of 5.6kg/hh/wk)

Provision of a garden organics collection service to divert the garden organics fraction of the residual waste bin to beneficial reuse. It should be noted that the current diversion potential of 2.6kg/hh/wk is a low estimate for actual tonnage that could be captured through a new organics collection service, as experience has shown once a service is offered, households that may have been composting or spreading grass clippings on their garden are likely to use the service instead.

Provision of a service that utilises an Alternative Waste Treatment Facility that has the ability to process and recover all organic content of the waste bin (potential further diversion of 5.6kg/hh/wk)

Illegal Dumping

Statistics and details on incidents of illegal dumping are sparse in Dungog due to resource restrictions for compliance staff;

There are large areas of remote and/or unpatrolled private lands, crown lands, roadside and bushland in the Shire; Council works crews will often clean up incidents of dumping as they come across it without necessarily reporting through to the waste management section. As such, Council does not have a good understanding of the extent of the illegal dumping issue, but feels that presently it is relatively minor in occurrence.

In 2012‐13 there were only 9 reported incidents of illegal dumping in the Dungog LGA with the majority of the material dumped being either construction & demolition waste, or domestic waste. There was one incidence of asbestos reported as being dumped. The total volume of waste from these 9 incidences was 8m3. In two of these cases, Council was able to identify the offender and issued infringement notices.

There have only been 2 reported incidences of illegal dumping in 2013‐14 and clean up notices have been issued in both cases.

Dungog Shire Council will be joining the Hunter RID Squad (Regional Illegal Dumping Squad) as an associate member in 2014‐15. Through this membership baseline investigations will be undertaken so Council can understand the true extent of the problem. Once more robust data is available, Council will determine what ongoing activities they need to undertake to manage illegal dumping in the LGA.

24

Community Communication and Expectations

Dungog Shire Council is not in a position currently to employ a waste education officer or undertake community engagement and education activities to promote resource efficiencies and the avoidance of waste generation.

The waste collection contract currently operating requires JR Richards to produce and deliver an annual “waste collection” information brochure which provides details on what can and cannot be placed in the kerbside recycling bin, and what week each township receives their collection (provided fortnightly).

In addition to the annual brochure delivery, Council utilises a number of communication opportunities throughout the year, these include:

Information included in the Mayoral Column in the local newspaper (usually have 6 messages per year included)

Quarterly report to the Dungog elected Councillors which is typically reported in the local newspaper.

Whenever possible, Dungog Shire Council participates in Regional initiatives that align with their current services. In the past five years Council has participated in a number of HCCREMS programs which have resourced illegal dumping community education campaigns and general sustainability campaigns in the Shire that sought to reduce wastage (either solid waste, water waste or energy wastage).

It is likely that Dungog’s participation in the Hunter Regional Waste Strategy will also create active opportunities for the resourcing of community education and information initiatives in the Shire over the next 3 – 4 years.

Community Survey

In anticipation of the development of the Dungog Waste Strategy, a community Survey was developed and distributed to all residential properties in the Dungog LGA. The survey sought to gain some understanding of the community’s use and satisfaction with current services, and desire for new services (and how much they would be willing to pay to receive new services).

The survey questionnaire was sent to 3,159 households throughout the Shire, surveys were also able to be completed online through the Council website. 779 surveys were returned providing Council with the views of 24.6% of the Shire’s households.

Survey responses were received from across the Shire. Table 10 provides details of the location and housing type of respondents. A 50/50 split exists between the township and rural based households

Details of the questions and responses are provided following.

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Table 10: Details of locality and housing type of survey respondents.

Locality Housing Type

House Townhouse or Villa

Multi‐unit

Dwelling

Rural Residential

Rural Unknown Total

Clarence Town

75 0 6 64 22 1 168

Dungog 196 3 1 46 40 7 293

Gresford 29 1 1 36 34 1 102

Paterson 53 0 2 27 29 0 111

Vacy 19 0 0 51 21 0 91

Unknown 3 0 0 4 4 3 14

Total 375 4 10 228 150 12 779

% of responses

48.1% 0.5% 1.3% 29.3% 19.3%

1.5% 100%

Kerbside Collection – Waste to landfill (red‐lidded bin) and Recycling (yellow‐lidded bin)

A total of 96% of respondents indicated the current weekly 240L red‐lidded bin service was adequate for their needs. Fewer than 30% of respondents indicated the bin was less than 50% full when placed out for collection, the remaining household ‘s bins were between 50%‐100% full when placed out for collection. Only 2.1% of respondents indicated the bin was too small for their needs, and they were placing excess waste in their yellow‐lidded recycling bin (see Figure 3).

Figure 3: Shire wide responses to the question: “Generally, how full is your red bin when placed out for collection?

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Housing Type

Dungog Shire‐ How full is Red‐lidded bin each week?

No answer

too much ‐ place in yellow

75‐100%

50‐75%

25‐50%

Less than 25%

26

There are some minor variations from the Shire average when assessed against the locality information.

Houses in Gresford have double the amount of households that present red‐lid bins with less than 25% full.

Houses in Vacy have less full red‐lid bins than Shire average

Houses in Paterson present less recyclates than the Shire average

Houses in Vacy produce more recycling than the Shire average

Rural residential properties tend to put the waste bin out when over 25% full

Rural residential properties in Paterson have bins more full than the Shire average

Rural residential properties in Vacy present recycling bins more full than the Shire average

When asked about how full their recycling bin was when placed out each fortnight, only 18% of respondents indicated the bin was less than 50% full, and 73% of respondents said the bin was between 50% ‐ 100% full. Some 7% of respondents indicated they had more recycling than the bin could hold and put the excess into the red‐lidded waste bin.

Figure 4: Shire wide responses to the question: “Generally, how full is your recycling bin when placed out for collection?”

Overwhelmingly the respondents said they were happy with the fortnightly recycling collection frequency (91.4%); (8.6%) of the respondents suggesting a weekly collection service, some 75% were unwilling to pay extra rates to receive this service.

Organic Waste Management Services (annual bulk kerbside collection)

When asked “Are you happy with current green waste service?” some 73% of respondents indicated they were happy with the service levels, although only 30% of respondents indicated they utilised the service. Figure 5 provides details of the house types that utilise the service.

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Housing Type

Dungog Shire‐ How full is the Yellow‐lidded bin each fortnight?

No answer

too much ‐ place in red

75‐100%

50‐75%

25‐50%

Less than 25%

27

Figure 5: Details of survey respondents that utilise the annual bundled kerbside garden organics collection by housing type.

When asked “What other methods do you use to dispose of garden organics?” over 60% of respondents indicated they composted at home, 30% indicated they mulched, 30% indicated they burned garden organics with only 10% of respondents indicating they did not generate enough garden material that required them to manage it separately from the red‐lidded bin.

When asked how often their households would take garden organics to the Dungog Waste Management facility, only 25% indicated they used the facility to manage the garden organic waste they generate. Figure 6 provide details of the Dungog Waste Management Facility by housing type.

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

House townhouse multi unit ruralresidential

rural unknonwn

Housing Type

Dungog Shire ‐ Do households utilise the annual bundled Garden Organics service?

no answer

No

Yes

28

Figure 6: How often do households in the Shire take garden organics to the Dungog Waste Management Facility?

When asked if Dungog Shire Council should introduce a third bin (green‐lidded) to manage garden organics, almost 75% of respondents said “no”. Figure 7 provides details of the responses based on housing type.

Figure 7: Would households support the introduction of a fortnightly garden organics collection service?

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%


rural unknonwn

Housing Type

Dungog Shire ‐ Do households take Garden Oganics to the Dungog Waste Facility?

no answer

never

monthly

occasionally

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%


rural unknonwn

Housing Type

Dungog Shire ‐Would households support a new Green‐lidded Garden Organics kerbside

collection?

no answer

Unsure

No

Yes

29

The households that said they would like to receive a service were then asked to indicate how much they would be willing to pay annually to receive this service, 86% of respondents said they would not be willing to pay anything extra for the collection if it was to be offered. Figure 8 provides details of the responses as to the charges the different housing types would be prepared to pay to receive a kerbside garden organics collection service.

Figure 8: How much would survey respondents be willing to pay each year to receive a kerbside garden organics collection?

There were a number of comments provided relating to garden organics collection trends in other Council areas, and it is considered that portions of the community are aware of the environmental benefits of a garden organics collection.

Bulk Waste Collection Services

When questioned about the annual bulk waste collection offered by Council, 85% of respondents said they were happy with the service, with 80% indicating they used the service.

When asked if their household took bulky waste to the Dungog Waste Management Facility, 46% of respondents said they never used the facility. Figure 9 provides details on how often households were utilising the Dungog Waste Management Facility.

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%


rural unknonwn

Housing Type

Dungog Shire ‐ If a household wanted a Garden Organics bin, how much would they

consider paying for the service?

no answer

no more

$100 more

$75 more

$50 more

30

Figure 9: Household usage of the Dungog Waste Management Facility to manage bulky waste.

Survey respondents overwhelmingly (86%) said they would not be willing to pay extra to receive a second bulky waste collection.

When asked if their household would like to have the bulky waste collection replaced with a “free tipping voucher” for the Dungog Waste management Facility, only 20% of respondents were interested in this option. 86% of survey respondents indicated they would not be willing to pay any extra for Council to change the bulky waste service to a tipping voucher system.

Amongst the dissatisfaction rate (12.8%) were comments suggesting additional services throughout the year and calls to change the method of collection due to unsightliness of waste on footpaths for long periods of time. Based on responses this service seems valued however the method of delivery needs reviewing.

Communications

When asked about the level of community engagement and education about the use of the kerbside recycling service and what products can be recycled, almost 40% of respondents said they would like to receive more information.

Survey respondents indicated they would like Council to communicate to them about waste collection services through flyers delivered directly to their household (89%) or through the local newspaper (25%). A small percentage of respondents indicated they would like Council to communicate with them through radio, social media or the Council website (6.7%, 3% and 6.9% respectively).

Community Consultation Sessions

During the development of the Local Waste Strategy, Council held three community consultation sessions in the townships of Clarence Town, Dungog and Vacy. The consultation sessions were designed to provide attendees with background on why the strategy was being developed, what was the NSW government doing in relation to waste management, what is occurring in the region and how the Dungog Shire community was currently behaving in relation to waste management and resource recovery.

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%


rural unknonwn

Housing Type

Dungog Shire ‐ How often do Households take bulky waste to the Landfill?

no answer

Never

Multiple

Bi annually

Annually

31

Attendees at the consultation sessions were introduced to the local waste strategy vision, outcomes of the community survey, and the six options for future waste management activities that were considered by the waste strategy.

The consultation session outcomes generally matched the survey results with key points being:

Council should improve their efforts regarding community education. In particular providing information on:

o what materials are able to be placed in the recycling bin o how to effectively compost or worm farm at home (possibility of classes should be

considered) o illegal dumping deterrence

Council should consider providing support to businesses to reduce waste generation (potentially through the ‘Bin Trim’ program)

If Council was to seek to reduce the bin size or restrict waste disposal in any way, this should be accompanied by a stronger compliance presence to combat any increased incidence of illegal dumping

There wasn’t a general consensus from the consultation sessions about which option Council should seek to employ to improve waste reduction with the first meeting recommending utilising the Port Stephens AWT, the second recommending the introduction of a kerbside organics collection and the third suggesting that which ever system is adopted, it should not include the reduction in size of the red‐lidded bin to ensure that the rural community is not disadvantaged by any system changes.

Generally all attendees agreed that Council should not “do nothing” and that any system change should be considered in terms of least financial implications and greatest waste diversion potential.

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Management Options to Achieve Strategy Objectives

Dungog Shire Council is currently recovering 45.6% of waste generated, and will need to divert a further 24.4% of waste generated to achieve the NSW EPA Waste Diversion targets. A number of options for waste management services have been assessed to determine their ability to deliver required diversions and costs associated with implementation (see Table 11).

Options Assessment

A range of options have been assessed to improve waste diversion in Dungog Shire, these have included consideration of the current waste generation trends and future regional partnership options. All models developed utilised the projected population growth figures from the Department of Planning and extrapolation of the baseline waste generation figures. The landfill costs included the scheduled landfill levy increases until 2016‐17, and then utilised a CPI increase for subsequent years.

The future waste management options for the Shire are summarised in the table below.

Table 11: Waste management options available to Dungog Shire Council.

Option Description

Status Quo

Do nothing different from the current arrangements

This option proposes no changes to the current service in either extent, efficiency, or technology.

This model shows few increased diversion opportunities and provides the shortest landfill asset life of all the options.

Option 1

Increased efficiency of service (education and compliance activities)

This option proposes no changes to the current service in either extent or technology, but does require Dungog Shire Council to increase service efficiency through active enforcement and community engagement activities to improve recycling rates and reduce generation rates.

Option 2

Increased efficiency of service (smaller residual waste bin)

This option proposes that Dungog Shire Council increase service efficiency through active enforcement and community engagement activities to improve recycling rates and reduce generation rates. The option also includes the replacement of the current 240L residual waste bin (red‐lid) with a 120L bin to restrict the volume available for waste to landfill and effectively forcing residents to place their recycling material in the yellow lidded bin.

Option 3

Increased efficiency of service (education and compliance activities) and Introduction of township only fortnightly garden waste collections (240L bin)

This option proposes no changes to the current service in either extent or technology, but does require Dungog Shire Council to increase service efficiency through active enforcement t and community engagement activities to improve recycling rates and reduce generation rates.

The option also introduces a fortnightly garden collection service to all properties within townships (those properties currently receiving the Council clean up service).

33

Option Description

Option 4

Increased efficiency of service (education and compliance activities); increased efficiency of service (smaller residual waste bin) and Introduction of township only fortnightly garden waste collections (240L bin)

This option proposes that Dungog Shire Council increase service efficiency through active enforcement and community engagement activities to improve recycling rates and reduce generation rates. The option also includes the replacement of the current 240L residual waste bin (red‐lid) with a 120L bin to restrict the volume available for waste to landfill effectively forcing residents to place their recycling material in the yellow lidded bin.

The option also introduces a fortnightly garden collection service to all properties within townships (those properties currently receiving the Council clean up service), further reducing the amount of waste that must be placed in the red‐lidded bin.

Option 5

Increased efficiency of service (education and compliance activities) and diversion of all residual waste to the Bedminster AWT in Port Stephens

This option proposes no changes to the current recycling service or waste collection service delivered to the residents. The option does require Dungog Shire Council to increase service efficiency through active enforcement and community engagement activities to improve recycling rates and reduce generation rates.

This option also requires all waste collected from the red‐lidded bins to be transported to the Bedminster Waste Facility and processed through the AWT. This will reduce the tonnage of waste being deposited in Councils WMRC and increase diversion from landfill through the use of this Alternative Waste Technology.

The above options were modelled over a 20 year horizon to identify the relative costs associated with each option, the potential diversions, and potential impacts on landfill life. The following Figures (10‐13) provide details on the impacts on waste diversion and service costs for each of the options described above.

Figure 10: Percentage of waste diverted from landfill based on the service options

The only service change that will enable Dungog Shire Council to fully meet the NSW EPA’s waste diversion targets is Option 5 (sending all residual waste through to the Bedminster Facility in Port

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

Percentage ‐ Diversion from landfill

Do Nothing Opt 1 Opt 2 Opt 3 Opt 4 Opt 5

34

Stephens). The introduction of a kerbside garden organics service and the use of a smaller waste bin (red lid) is the next most successful option for maximising waste diversion from landfill.

Figure 11: Waste to landfill tonnages under each service option

Figure 11 shows that the only material ways that Dungog Shire Council can dramatically improve diversion of waste from landfill is through the introduction of a garden organics kerbside collection, or through sending all residual waste to the Bedminster facility in Port Stephens.

Figure 12: Remaining landfill capacity under each service option

Figure 5 shows how the introduction of improved diversion services will increase the life of the Dungog WMRC. In the “Status Quo” option, the landfill will be completely filled by 2032/33, but under option 5 there will still be in excess of 60,000m3 of landfill space available (which could extend the life of the asset by some 15‐20 years).

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

1,600

1,800

Tonnage ‐ Residual to landfill


‐20,000

0

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

120,000

140,000

Tonnage ‐ Landfill capacity remaining


35

Figure 13: Total cost of each service option

The costs for waste management for Dungog Shire Council will continue to increase over the life of the Waste Strategy, all options increase at relatively similar rates, with the options introducing new services (either through garden organics collections or transport to the Bedminster facility) costing more than the other options. These extra costs do provide greater waste diversion from landfill and environmental benefits.

Preferred Waste Management Option

To determine the most appropriate management option for Dungog Shire Council to meet the strategy objectives it was necessary to consider how each option will assist Council to divert waste from landfill and manage cost increases / decreases. Figures 10 through 13 provide details of the performance of each option and Table 12 provides exact values to assist with evaluation of the suitability of the options.

Of all the options considered, Option 5 (Increased efficiency of service and diversion of all residual waste to the Bedminster AWT in Port Stephens) is the only one that appears to have the ability to meet the NSW State Government’s waste diversion targets.

$0

$500,000

$1,000,000

$1,500,000

$2,000,000

$2,500,000

$3,000,000

Total Capital expenditure & Operational expenditure Cost (nominal)


36

Table 12: Option Evaluation, information presented in 3 time horizons (year 5 years apart)

Option 2015‐16 2020‐21 2025‐26

% diversion

Tonnage to landfill

Landfill capacity remaining

% cost difference

from “Status Quo”

% diversion

Tonnage to landfill


% cost difference


% diversion

Tonnage to landfill


% cost difference


Status Quo

48% 1,647 111,882 ‐ 48% 1,691 79,940 ‐ 48% 1,691 47,662 ‐

Option 1 49% 1,614 112,010 ‐0.3% 51% 1,601 81,573 ‐0.6% 51% 1,601 51,027 ‐0.6%

Option 2 50% 1,581 112,135 ‐0.4% 53% 1,520 83,204 ‐0.7% 53% 1,520 54,201 ‐0.7%

Option 3 50% 1,570 112,179 13.7% 58% 1,360 85,926 12.2% 58% 1,360 59,980 12.2%

Option 4 51% 1,537 112,305 13.6% 61% 1,279 87,558 12.1% 61% 1,279 63,154 12.1%

Option 5 74% 813 121,185 9.2% 76% 792 106,094 8.5% 76% 792 90,982 8.5%

* Shaded options provide the greatest waste diversion potential.

Considering the modelling outputs, it is clear that options not including either new collection services or processing systems (Status Quo, Option 1 and Option 2) do not have a marked increase in diversions from landfill or an overly large impact on costs. These 3 options would likely see the Dungog landfill close within 20 years.

Options 3, 4 and 5 include a change to the waste management system (introduction of a Garden Organics collection service; introduction of a Garden Organics collection service with a reduction in residual waste bin size; Utilisation of the Port Stephens alternative waste treatment facility; respectively). The system change actively diverts waste from landfill with the garden organics collection service increasing diversions by 10‐12% and the use of the AWT increasing diversions by over 25%.

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Cost increases are associated with the introduction of new diversion services. The introduction of a kerbside Organics Collection service would require an extra 12‐15% financial investment to fund new bins, collection contracts and processing activities at the Dungog Waste and Recycling Centre. This would include an investment in a composting facility including staff and equipment on site along with the ongoing administrative costs of marketing and on‐sale of the processed composted material.

The use of the AWT at Port Stephens is likely to only see costs increase by 8‐10% related to transport costs, processing costs and a higher levy fee charged in the Port Stephens area. The waste levy would be payable for the portion of the waste stream that is not composted and is disposed of to landfill at the facility. It is noted that the efficiency of the AWT plant to divert waste from landfill is modelled to show that using this facility would likely increase Dungog’s waste diversions over the NSW diversion target of 70%.

Current annual Domestic Waste management charges for Dungog Shire Council residents are roughly $300. The use of the AWT will likely see an annual rate increase of between $25‐30 but would see the Dungog Waste and Recycling Centre continue to operate as a landfill for in excess of 30 years, providing another 10 years for Council to structure the finance arrangements to manage the site closure and rehabilitation (see Section 3.3 for issues relating to landfill closure).

Preferred Option

Given that the Dungog Shire Council’s vision for waste management is to:

“Proactively implement a sustainable waste management system for Dungog Shire, enabling the whole community to improve the environment and community well‐being by reducing the environmental impact of waste and using resources more efficiently”

Either:

Option 4 (Increased efficiency of service (education and compliance activities); increased efficiency of service (smaller residual waste bin) and Introduction of township only fortnightly garden waste collections (240L bin)) or

Option 5 (Increased efficiency of service (education and compliance activities) and diversion of all residual waste to the Bedminster AWT in Port Stephens)

will assist Council to meet this vision. Option 5 is the only option where the modelling indicates the system will meet the NSW State targets. Option 5 is also significantly less expensive than option 4.

It is recommended that Dungog Shire Council actively investigate the possibility of diverting the kerbside collected waste to the Port Stephens Alternative Waste Facility or to any other AWT facility that is economically viable and accessible.

It is understood that at the time of developing this Strategy, Port Stephens Council and the owners of the facility SITA are reviewing the operation and technology utilised at the Raymond Terrace facility. Any change to the operation or cost for use of the facility will need to be reviewed and assessed to determine the impact on Dungog Shire Council’s ability to divert waste from landfill, and the affordability of accessing any improvements made to the facility.

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Strategy Implementation and Action Plan

The following Waste Strategy Action Plan has been developed following consideration of neighbouring Council activities, the Hunter Regional Waste Strategy, and the research and community consultation involved in the development of the Local Dungog Waste Strategy. Actions include conducting the final investigation to determine which option (either 4 or 5) is preferred and its implementation.

THEME 1 – Avoidance and Waste Reduction

OBJECTIVE ACTION TIMEFRAME BUDGET / FUNDING

Reduce the generation of waste by changing behaviours of residents and businesses

Develop and implement a community education campaign for waste avoidance utilising information / materials developed through the NSW EPA and Hunter Region Waste Strategy

2014‐15 Utilise “Better Waste Recycling Fund”

Support and promote community gardens initiatives and home composting (Links to Theme 3 activities)

2015 onwards Utilise “Better Waste Recycling Fund”

Work with local businesses and charities to promote reuse through existing charities, businesses and community groups

2015 ongoing NA

Seek NSW EPA support to implement Waste avoidance projects Ongoing Grant funding

Partner with Regional Waste Avoidance Education activities whenever possible

Ongoing Utilise “Better Waste Recycling Fund”

Engage with the NSW EPA to fund waste avoidance and reduction activities

Investigate options for funding of waste management under the NSW Government's Waste Less Recycle More Initiative.

Ongoing Recurrent budget

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THEME 2 – Increased Recycling and Resource Recovery


Optimise domestic recycling rate (dry recyclables)

Develop and implement a communications and education campaign focused on improving the recycling performance of existing collection services utilising information / materials developed through the NSW EPA and Hunter Region Waste Strategy


Undertake kerbside recycling and waste audits to confirm baseline data on recycling behaviours

2014 Utilise “Better Waste Recycling Fund”

Actively participate in the Regional data strategy to ensure appropriate data collection processes are occurring to inform the target.

2014‐15 NA

Review pricing structures at landfill to ensure appropriate waste diversion incentive exists (within operational budget restrictions)

2014‐15 NA

Optimise Commercial & Industrial (C&I) and Construction & Demolition (C&D) recycling (recyclables and C&D waste)

Provide advice to businesses and industry on recycling and resource recovery and support initiatives that assist businesses to improve their recycling performance utilising information/materials developed through the NSW EPA and Hunter Region Waste Strategy (e.g. Bin Trim)


Review pricing structures at landfill to ensure appropriate waste diversion incentive exists (within operational budget restrictions)

Ongoing NA

Promote Councils’ recycling service to businesses to encourage participation.

Ongoing NA

Optimise diversion of steel and C&D products from landfill

Participate in any Hunter Regional waste/recycling contract development for provision of recycling or processing of materials separated at landfill for recovery

2014‐15 Recurrent budget

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Continue differential pricing for C&D material at the landfill gate, to increase the cost of landfilling this material and ensuring separated for beneficial reuse

2015‐16 onwards NA

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THEME 3 – Diversion of waste from landfill

OBJECTIVE ACTION TIMEFRAME FUNDING SOURCE

Optimise diversion of Garden Organics and Food Organics from landfill

Investigate the option for utilisation of the Port Stephens Alternative Waste Facility to process domestic kerbside collected waste

2014‐15 NA

Investigate the costs and infrastructure issues for the implementation of a separated garden organics collection service for the township areas of the Dungog Shire


Determine the preferred approach for managing domestically generated organic waste (garden and food) either through use of the Port Stephens AWT or through a kerbside garden organics collection service.

2014‐15 NA

Continue the delivery of the annual bundled garden organics collection service for the township areas


Actively promote the garden organics disposal service at the Dungog Waste and Recycling Facility


Develop and implement a community education campaign to promote home composting. Campaign may include face‐to‐face courses on “how to” and development /access to appropriate resources.


Optimise operations of the “Tip Shop” to increase diversion from landfill

Undertake review of the tip shop operations, considering pricing policy, items for recovery, and promotion of shop activities


Actively divert toxic materials from disposal in landfill

Actively participate in EPA Household Hazardous Waste Collection events and advocate for local delivery of events wherever possible


Actively participate in the DrumMuster program Ongoing Recurrent budget

Actively participate in eWaste collections and provide eWaste drop off services at the Dungog Waste and Recycling Facility


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THEME 4 – Managing Problem Wastes


Ensure adequate community access to facilities that accept and manage problem wastes

Ensure Dungog Waste and Recycling Facility has separated areas for the acceptance and management of problem wastes brought to the facility

2014‐15 Recurrent waste facility operations budget

Investigate opportunities to have Council facilities accept low toxicity problem wastes (batteries, globes, mobile phones, etc.) to increase availability of disposal locations


Identify regional collaboration options with respect to the collection and processing of problem wastes

2014‐15 (ongoing) NA

Implement extra problem waste drop off facilities (if investigations warrant implementation)

2015 onwards Utilise “Better Waste Recycling Fund”

Apply for NSW EPA grant funding to either expand existing arrangements or implement new drop off arrangements to manage problem wastes at the Dungog Waste Facility

2014‐15 & 2015‐16 NA

Educate community on problem wastes and their management

Implement a community education campaign regarding disposal and management of problem wastes utilising information / materials developed through the NSW EPA and Hunter Region Waste Strategy.


Effectively manage problem wastes dropped off at Council facilities

Where funding is granted, implement the approved projects As required Grant funds

Lobby the NSW EPA to fund the collection and processing of problem wastes in facilities not implemented under the “Waste Less Recycle More” initiative.

Ongoing NA

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THEME 5 – Reducing Litter


Minimise the social, environmental and economic impacts associated with littering through community education, enforcement, deterrents and installation of appropriate infrastructure

Design and implement a community education campaign about littering utilising the NSW EPA “Don’t be a tosser” campaign and any regional litter campaigns developed.


Participate in local or regional litter data collection activities Ongoing Recurrent budget

Participate in any regional litter enforcement campaigns undertaken Ongoing Recurrent budget

Seek community and business support to reduce litter incidents

Create partnerships with community groups (e.g. Tidy Towns, Rotary) or community activities (walking / running groups) to empower the general community to adopt an area or road and conduct clean ups or deliver education materials in areas of high litter incidents

2015 onwards Recurrent budget

Create partnerships with businesses that may be generating typically “littered” materials. Empower these businesses to promote appropriate waste disposal in their bins, or Councils street bins.

2015 onwards Recurrent budget

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THEME 6 – Reducing Illegal Dumping


Minimise the social, environmental and economic impacts of illegal dumping through community education, enforcement, installation of deterrents and clean‐up activities

Participate in initial data gathering and investigations as managed by the Hunter & Central Coast Regional Illegal Dumping (RID) Squad

2014‐15 NSW EPA Seed funding to RID Squad

Identify local areas of illegal dumping (hot spots) and undertake surveillance and compliance activities (as supported by the Hunter & Central Coast RID Squad)

2014 ongoing NSW EPA Seed funding to RID Squad

Participate in any community education activities as designed and implemented by the Hunter & Central Coast RID Squad

2014 ongoing Utilise “Better Waste Recycling Fund”

Encourage community reporting of illegal dump sites to enhance awareness and vigilance

2014 ongoing Recurrent budget

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THEME 7 – Infrastructure Management


Ensure optimal operation of the Dungog Waste and Recycling Centre

Review and implement improvements for garden organic waste at the Dungog Waste and Recycling Facility so that management practices meet the requirements of the NSW mulch waste levy exemption standards to ensure these products do not need to be landfilled.

2014 Recurrent budget

Undertake review of the tip shop operations, health and safety procedures, reporting and fraud management protocols.


Develop a comprehensive filling plan and final site design plan for the Dungog Waste and Recycling Facility. The plan should provide details of location, size and design of each cell, construction materials (including staged quantities) and final landform design and use.


Develop a comprehensive facility operations budget that incorporates the landfill filling and closure plan to ensure that Council is applying appropriate charges to landfill prices to manage the ongoing financial liability associated with the operation and legacy of the Dungog landfill


Undertake assessment of the possibility / requirement to manage landfill gas emissions (to be conducted along with the filling plan)


Actively participate in regional training opportunities for operational staff with regards to effective site and environmental management

2014‐15 onwards Utilise “Better Waste Recycling Fund”

Undertake discussions with the NSW EPA to confirm the requirements for the Dungog Waste and Recycling Facility to install and operate a weighbridge. If required, a finance plan, installation plan and ongoing management systems will need to be developed and implemented to meet the new requirements


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Ensure appropriate infrastructure available for litter management

Conduct a review of the location and servicing arrangements for litterbins throughout the Dungog Shire


Conduct research into the need / possibility of installing public place recycling bins in township areas throughout the Shire


Effective management of existing closed facilities

Undertake an assessment of closed waste management facilities to ensure appropriate environmental controls are operating (i.e. leachate collection, on site water management, weed management, etc.)


Ensure delivery of high quality kerbside collection services to residents and businesses

Review and update the waste and recycling collection contracts with a view to commencing new contract services on 1 July 2015


Investigate the need/desire for provision of kerbside collection services (via a Bank of Bins arrangement) to currently un‐serviced areas of the LGA. NOTE: a Bank of Bins is a locked structure for housing bins at the end of collection routes. Residents past this point could permanently store a 240L bin in the bank and bring their waste to the bin for collection, as opposed to self management or self haul to the landfill.


Waste Strategy Dungog FINAL€¦ · Waste Management Framework ... Strategy Implementation and...

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