MAJOR changes in the way Bendigo deals with its waste will need to happen once the Eaglehawk landfill is closed in about four years, the council says.
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And making sure waste is not just buried underground will be the main priority.
The state government released its statewide waste plan this week which set 2021 as the estimated closure date of the Eaglehawk landfill
It found that once closed, the site should be used to increase resource recovery activities.
The City of Greater Bendigo is also preparing its own report, considering future options for the city’s waste in a post-landfill Victoria.
Council director presentation and assets Craig Lloyd said with no new landfills opening around the state, there was a need to develop waste recovery and recycling facilities.
He said an entirely new facility in Bendigo was a likely outcome.
“There will be a lot of changes in the way we operate,” Mr Lloyd said.
“We need to decide on what the most efficient response will be.”
The council’s report is due for release by the end of the year.
Last year, about 50,000 tonnes of waste went into the Eaglehawk landfill, attracting a cost of $62 per tonne from the Environment Protection Authority levy.
In 2012-13, more than half of the waste received at the landfill was transported to the Patho landfill near Torumbarry for disposal.
As a rural landfill, Patho only attracts half of the EPA levy – an overall cheaper option for the City of Greater Bendigo.
Despite the savings, Mr Lloyd said the council would try not to rely on increasing its proportion of waste sent to Patho.
“A better model would be to not put waste in the ground in the first place,” he said.
The council will release its findings from an audit of household bins in the coming weeks. Mr Lloyd said it showed there was still “some way to go” in Bendigo, with recyclables in the general waste bin as the main problem identified.
The state government plan also found Bendigo’s organics program could be replicated in Ballarat, Shepparton and Geelong.