An award-winning project that set a new benchmark in how asbestos is managed has been awarded a top Local Government NSW honour.
The project, which also saved City of Canterbury Bankstown ratepayers $1.3 million, has seen the Council awarded the Asbestos Management award at the 2025 Local Government NSW Environment Symposium and Awards.
The work followed the inspection of an 8,000-tonne stockpile of construction waste at its Kelso Sustainable Resource Recovery Facility in Panania, which found the material had traces of bonded asbestos in it.
Going above and beyond the standard approach, which would have seen all the material dumped in landfill, Council worked with the NSW Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to separate the stockpile material into high, medium and low risk categories, Council said in a statement.
The contaminated high-risk material was sent immediately to landfill, while further rigorous testing was carried out on the medium and low risk material.
Based on the results of the extensive testing, and approval from the EPA, some additional medium and low risk material was sent to landfill. However, all other non-contaminated material is now able to be safely reused in civil and construction works.
Mayor Bilal El-Hayek said 73.6% (5890 tonnes) of waste was diverted from landfill and the project reflected the passion Council staff have for thinking outside the box and developing new solutions to waste challenges.
“What was achieved was groundbreaking and the team involved deserves a big round of applause for their success and the benefits they have delivered for their community and the entire local government sector,” Mayor El-Hayek said.
“Most importantly, compliance with asbestos management requirements was never compromised and by working with the regulator and experts, Council staff achieved major benefits, both financial and environmental.”
The award was presented to Council’s Environmental Engineer Rutuza Gade Patil (pictured) at a ceremony held at the Waterview Bicentennial Park in Sydney on 3 December.
