The ACT Government is taking the next step in building modern waste infrastructure our growing city needs with consultation opening on an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for a new Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) and Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) facility.
While it is anticipated the new MRF will be operational in 2025, it now expected that the ACT's first FOGO processing facility will not be operational until around 2026. These timeframes are subject to environmental and planning approvals along with successful procurement processes.
"Building a new recycling facility has to be the priority after the Boxing Day fire to ensure that we have the basic infrastructure to process and recycle materials in yellow bins," said Minister for Transport and City Services Chris Steel.
"The costs associated with transporting the ACT's recycling to processing facilities outside of the Territory to facilities as far away as Victoria, is unsustainable in the long run.
"The Government remains committed to delivering the city-wide FOGO collection service, and we will continue the FOGO pilot currently underway in Belconnen until the composting facility is built to enable the city-wide FOGO roll out .
"Given the circumstances of the disaster, the Government is expediting the new MRF by undertaking a single stage tender to ensure that the facility is built as soon as possible.
"A pre-tender notice will be released next month about the MRF project to inform the market and generate interest."
The new MRF will be located on the same site as the existing facility and utilise part of the adjoining block in the Hume Resource Recovery Estate. It will be designed to have an increased processing capacity of up to approximately 115,000 tonnes per year to provide for the future growth of our city.
"Modern technologies will provide better sorting capabilities at the new MRF with the development of additional products including glass, plastic recovery, and better bailing processes including for the Container Deposit Scheme," said Minister Steel.
The new FOGO facility will have capacity to process more than 50,000 tonnes of compost each year, with food scraps turned into a valuable resource instead of going to landfill, further reducing emissions from waste that would ordinarily go to landfill.
The FOGO facility is proposed for Block 5, Section 26 in the Hume Resource Recovery Estate.
Both the MRF and FOGO facility will include mitigation measures to alleviate potential noise, traffic and odour impacts.
"The composting facility is proposed to be an in-vessel facility, with indoor composting tunnels minimising odour risk," said Minister Steel.
The Government is committed to building a circular economy and meeting the National Waste Action Plan targets for halving organic waste sent to landfill by 2030.
"With organic waste decomposition in landfill accounting for more than seven per cent of Canberra's greenhouse gas emissions, it remains important that we divert organic waste from going into landfill and have the capacity to recycle it here at scale into valuable compost," said Minister Steel.
The ACT Government is also today releasing listening reports from consultations on additional single-use-plastic bans and the draft 'Circular Economy Strategy'.
To view the What We Heard reports for the community engagements on the Circular Economy Strategy and the next phase of the single-use plastics ban visit yoursayconversations.act.gov.au.
