Tech deal could slash landfill volume

THE volume of waste being sent to landfill in Bendigo could be reduced to almost nothing under a new municipal plan.

The City of Greater Bendigo announced last week it had conditionally agreed to a 20-year deal with Pyramid Hill waste recovery company Advanced Energy Tech, which will use new sterilisation, sorting and recovery technology to process the city’s waste.

It is aimed at recovering materials for recycling and repurposing, rather than simply sending them straight to landfill.

According to City presentation and assets director Brian Westley, the arrangement may divert as much as 95 per cent of waste from landfill.

Mr Westley said AET would design, build, own and operate a municipal solid waste receival and treatment facility at a site yet to be determined.

“The new facility will consist of waste receival, material sterilisation, screening and sorting, and product storage and transport areas,” he said.

“The facility must be located on industrial land within 25 kilometres of the city centre. AET will be responsible for obtaining all relevant permits and meeting all regulatory requirements of relevant authorities including the Environment Protection Authority.”

Mr Westley said City officers would work with the company to identify appropriately zoned land.

“Subject to regulatory and planning approvals, the new facility will initially have the capacity to process up to 30,000 tonnes per annum with the ability to expand to up to 80,000 tonnes to support other regional local government areas in the future,” he said.

Mr Westley estimated it would take five years for the processing centre to become operational, and when it does, the City would no longer have to cart waste to the landfill site at Patho, near Echuca – instead sending 22,000 tonnes of waste annually to the AET facility.

“The new facility would deliver an outcome which is environmentally and socially superior to landfilling valuable materials. It will deliver a service that is a comparable cost to existing practices,” he said.

“The new facility will also create new local jobs and has the potential to generate other complementary businesses.”

The Eaglehawk Landfill will soon reach capacity and Mr Westley said existing landfills were no longer sustainable, while continuing to transport waste to other locations did not align with council policies.

“In 2022 Council provided in principle support to pursue a circular economy solution for its general waste,” he said.

“Introducing circular economy solutions such as this will change how we handle and value our material resources, keep them in use for as long as possible, create local jobs and support local industry in the future.”

The City is finalising terms of the agreement now.