Blue Mountains News

Council recently completed a multi-million-dollar development of the Blaxland landfill expanding the current landfill to support the management of our community’s non-recyclable waste in an environmentally responsible way.

Blue Mountains Mayor, Mark Greenhill said that hard work and ingenuity had driven the creation of this new cell which significantly extends the life of the city’s only and crucial landfill.

“This is the final extension of the Blaxland landfill site, and we expect it will provide enough capacity to manage waste locally for the next 15 years, and importantly to do that in an environmentally responsible and affordable way.

“Of course, we want to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill, and we are on track to do that. In fact, over the last 20 years we’ve already decreased the amount of material going to landfill by 60 per cent.

“But the reality is that we do still need a landfill, and having one in our LGA is the most financially and environmentally sustainable way to manage our landfill.

“If we had to ship our waste to another area, the cost and carbon footprint would be astonishing, so it’s important that we retain a local landfill while we work towards our zero-waste goal,” Mayor Greenhill said.

Council endorsed the Towards Zero Waste strategy 2022-2031 in 2022, which focusses on the work Council has already done to reduce waste and provides a detailed action plan presenting clear and practical strategies for continuing to reduce waste to landfill and transition to a zero-waste city.

The objectives of the strategy are: embed a circular economy by focusing on avoid, reuse, recycle then landfill; comply with legislation including a focus on environmental management; maintain ongoing value for money; ensure flexibility to respond to emerging opportunities; ensure local landfill capacity beyond 2034; and engage with the community.

Council has already rolled out several projects to meet these objectives, including:

• Free textile, battery, x-ray, polystyrene, blister packs, e-waste and soft plastics recycling at our Resource Recovery and Waste Management Facilities.
• Hosting the Binfluencer Awards – highlighting and promoting waste avoidance and recycling efforts within the community.
• Expansion of the Compost Hub program.
• Launch of the Blue Mountains Repair Network.
• Introduction of a new fortnightly waste kerbside collection option.
• Expansion of booked waste collection service to include green waste and offer versatile collection and drop-off options.
• Reintroduction of kerbside chipping for green waste, held in August each year.
• Installation of Community Recycling Centres at both our Resource Recovery and Waste Management Facilities.
• Waste education through events and bespoke workshops.
• Introduction of energy and water saving kits available to borrow from Blue Mountains Library branches.
• Expansion of the reuse shed facility and promotion via social media
• Extending the weekday opening hours at the Katoomba Resource Recovery and Waste Management Facility.

Council is also working towards implementing a Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) bin service, when the current waste contracts are renewed. This will divert more than 30 per cent of household waste from landfill by allowing food waste to be collected via green bins and composted.

Find out more about Council’s waste management services: here