After six months of site works, the construction of the new landfill cell in Gatton is now complete – both on time and on budget.
The $3 million project, $1.72 million of which was funded through the Queensland Government's South East Queensland Community Stimulus Program (SEQCSP), included extensive earthworks at the site, located at Fords Rd, Adare and provides a total waste capacity of 150,000m3.
Lockyer Valley Regional Council Portfolio Councillor for Waste and Deputy Mayor, Cr Jason Cook thanked local contractor BeneTerra for their seamless completion of the project, which is estimated to take around seven years to fill at current waste volumes and fill rates.
“This investment furthers our Council’s commitment to sustainable waste management practices.
“We are dedicated to future-proofing our community’s waste needs, and the completion of this project will play an important part in making this happen.
“Once the Gatton Landfill is full, we will have to start transporting waste to a commercial landfill outside the region which carries additional transport costs.”
Cr Cook said the community’s help in extending the life of the cell by ensuring they are disposing of rubbish correctly was encouraged.
“Every landfill cell costs ratepayers millions of dollars in construction, maintenance, capping and monitoring and these are costs that are eventually met by the community.
“We’re certainly encouraging residents to separate their waste for resource recovery where they can.
“Increased recycling, composting and utilising green waste services can make a big impact on the volume of waste we all produce and maximise the life of these cells by reducing the amount of waste we send to landfill.
“While landfilling is necessary, it is expensive and the more time we can get out of our landfill sites, the better we will be,” Cr Cook said.
Minister for Local Government Meaghan Scanlon said the Miles Government was proud to invest in communities through the SEQCSP.
“We’ve already seen the benefits the SEQ Community Stimulus Program is delivering for local economies, tradies and families right across this region," she said.
"I look forward to seeing the lasting benefits this project will deliver for the local community."
At this stage, it is anticipated waste will start to go into the new cell in late December or early January, once Cell 4 landfilling is complete.
Proudly funded by the Queensland Government’s South East Queensland Community Stimulus Program and Local Government Grants and Subsidies program in association with Lockyer Valley Regional Council.
