NSW
A new Material Recovery Facility (MRF) at the Albury Waste Management Centre (AWMC) will substantially increase the amount of construction and demolition material that is diverted from landfill, says AlburyCity Council.
The AWMC is the region’s major waste disposal facility, offering a range of recycling, resource recovery and waste management initiatives. The facility services 170,000 people from the surrounding local government areas of Albury, Wodonga, Federation, Indigo, Greater Hume and Towong.
In 2010, these Council’s joined forces to establish the ‘Halve Waste’ initiative, with the goal of achieving a 75% reduction of material to landfill by 2025.
Mayor, Kylie King said the introduction of the new MRF will create many positive benefits for our community and local environment.
“The MRF will contribute to extending the landfill’s life span, improve the visitor experience through the ease of resource recovery and waste disposal, and provide a safer environment for employees,” Mayor King said.
The MRF is expected to be up and running at the end of 2023, with construction set to begin early next year.
Since the start of the initiative, the campaign has seen the AWMC divert, 51% of general waste; 15% of construction and demolition waste, excluding clean fill material; and less than 1% of commercial and industrial waste.
Overall, 53% of all material dropped off at the AWMC is diverted from landfill and recycled or recovered for other purposes. This achievement sees AlburyCity with one of the highest waste diversion rates in NSW.
Although the diversion rates for construction and demolition waste is not insignificant, there is substantial opportunity to improve, and the new MRF will enable the recovery of up to a huge 80% of construction and demolition material including bricks, timber, metals, concrete, cardboard, hard plastics and more, the Mayor said.
The project is supported by funding through the NSW Environmental Protection Authority’s Major Resource Recovery Infrastructure Grants Program.
