No kerbside recycling and $19m for new tip - KTC reveals waste strategy

KTC voted unanimously in favour of its 2021-2026 Waste Management Strategy in a special meeting on Monday night.

The strategy is the latest development in the performance agreement struck by council with the Northern Territory Environment Protection Authority, after the 2019 Territory Day tyre fire.

The strategy must be approved by the NTEPA before it is implemented.

The strategy rules out the introduction of kerbside recycling and outlines how much moving the rubbish dump will cost, totalling $18.9 million.

KTC executive manager of Infrastructure and Environment Brendan Pearce said the proposed new site is about 20km from Katherine on the Manbulloo pastoral lease.

The current tip was built in 1983 and is fast approaching capacity, it is expected to be full in five years if nothing changes according to the report.

Mr Pearce said the "quite large" cost to replace the dump will not result in new costs for ratepayers, however rates have been increased in previous years in order to bolster the council's funds for a new tip.

"It all comes down to dollars," he said.

"Council has been planning for this and setting aside reserve money for the best part of five to seven years."

He said the construction of a new tip will cost $2.7 million, while the closure and capping of the current site will cost $16.2 million.

Early estimates for the project came in at $40 million.

Construction of the new tip is expected to begin in 2027 under the strategy and take up to three years to complete.

Closing and capping the current dump will take much longer and be completed between 2023 and 2035.

Mr Pearce said the strategy intends to extend the life of the current tip to span the entire capping phase.

This will allow time for a new dump to be built and opened.

He said this extension will be done by increasing the tip's capacity with landfill machinery such as compactors and shredders, upgrades to the transfer station and raising the height of the landfill by two metres.

The strategy advises an immediate start on extending the life of the current tip.

The Waste Management Strategy also rules out the introduction of kerbside recycling.

Mr Pearce said the potential cost of kerbside recycling is high because a sorting centre would have to be built in Katherine at a cost of $15 million.

He said public consultation for the strategy suggested local residents do not want to pay more money in rates to offset the cost of introducing kerbside recycling.

"There was 90 per cent support to increase recycling but there wasn't that much support to have more costs."

Mr Pearce said the strategy explores alternative methods to ensure recyclable waste is not put in landfill.

This includes a $5.25 million, 11-year plan to expand the KTC transfer station where waste can be effectively sorted and recyclable material ultimately sold to market.

He said finding new markets for recyclable materials will be challenging given Katherine's small population and remote location, and will likely require materials to be shipped interstate.

The strategy includes local recycling initiatives as well, including the establishment of a tip shop by 2027, where people can buy goods disposed of by other residents.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:

You can also receive updates straight to your inbox each Friday at 6am from the Katherine Times. To make sure you're up to date with all the news, sign up here.