Newcastle Council is pushing forward with multi-million dollar plans to turn the Summerhill tip into a resource recovery hub to help cut back on waste.
Consultants GHD have lodged a development application for a Material Recovery Facility (MRF) on behalf of Council, paving the way for the Hunter and Central Coast Regional Planning Panel to begin its assessment of the regionally significant project.
The Hunter’s recyclables are currently sent to the Central Coast for processing and have been since 2020 when the region’s old plant closed.
Now Council wants to open a new local facility capable of handling up to a scalable 85,000 tonnes of waste per year, and could also accommodate recyclables from neighboring LGAs.
The contents of yellow kerbside bins would be separated at the MRF and on-sold to be turned into new items.
The project received $5 million from the Federal and NSW Governments in August last year and is included in Newcastle Council’s adopted 2022/23 Budget.
Newcastle Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said Novocastrians have been crying out for a more sustainable option.
“The community has told us very clearly that they support measures to sustainably divert waste from landfill and City of Newcastle is committed to delivering on these expectations through our recently adopted Sustainable Waste Strategy,” Cr Nelmes said.
“The construction of the MRF will help us transform Summerhill into an innovative regional resource recovery hub that will reduce waste, increase recycling rates, create new jobs and kick-start local business opportunities within the circular economy.”
“The submission of this development application, in conjunction with the current call for tenders to design, construct and operate the MRF, will allow us to maintain momentum towards achieving this goal.”