A national waste management company may have a solution to Katherine's impending high cost problem of finding a new rubbish tip.
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Veolia has approached local regional councils, including Katherine, proposing a regional waste solution.
The tip issue has been the biggest financial burden hanging over Katherine in recent years.
It has estimated $40 million is needed for the tip changes.
Katherine council has imposed a succession of rate rises in recent years it says has been needed to fund the closure of the existing rubbish tip, which has almost reached the end of its life, and the opening of a new one
Veolia has proposed a regional waste management plan for the Big Rivers Region Waste Management Working Group which includes Katherine, Roper Gulf, Victoria Daly and West Daly councils.
Under Veolia's plan, residential waste would be collected and taken to transfer stations in each community.
Road trains would collect waste from the transfer station for disposal at a regional landfill in either Katherine or Mataranka.
Importantly, the proposed landfill would be owned and managed by Veolia.
The plan is in its infancy and council was tomorrow night will be asked to vote on a recommendation from acting chief executive officer Allan McGill to "further explore" the proposal.
Mr McGill also wants council to "allow sharing of finances of Katherine's waste management services with Veolia for the purpose of creating a more detailed cost figure of the proposal".
"Preliminary calculations indicate a total cost of $3.5 million per year, of which $1.3 million comes down to pure waste disposal costs," Veolia says.
That total cost of $3.5 million is expected to be for all the councils as a group.
"A more in-depth cost analysis is however required to get more detailed cost estimations. Veolia is interested to work with the councils to analyse the councils' current finances around waste management.
"This will not only help Veolia in specifying their proposal, it will also assist the councils in a cost benefit analysis of engaging in a project like the one Veolia is proposing.
"No direct costs will incur for Council for this exploration stage. Indirect costs are in the form of time spent to put the required data together for Veolia. No (other) commitments are required at this stage to advance Veolia's proposal."
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