Landfill operations manager Ross Cheesewright (left) and Cr Rob Wilson survey the Hampton Park landfill, which will be the only remaining landfill site in the area in six years’ time.
By Sarah Schwager
CONCERN has plagued Casey Council about the need for another waste landfill in the region.
It was revealed at the council meeting last week that five out of the six existing landfills will be closed by 2012.
By then the only remaining site will be on Hallam Road in Hampton Park.
Deputy mayor Rob Wilson, who brought the figures to light, said the council needed to start addressing the issue now.
It takes five years to obtain the approvals and licences required to open a new waste disposal site.
“This is a very serious situation that we are in,” Cr Wilson said.
“When the other landfills are closed, where is the waste going to be put? Is it going to be dumped in the ocean or in the outback?
“We need to think seriously about this.
“If we are going to open a new landfill we need to start now.”
But Casey director of infrastructure Ray Butler said while he did not believe there were any sites suitable for a landfill at the moment, it should not be a problem in the future.
Mr Butler said the aim was that there would be no landfills by 2015.
He said new technology would help meet that target.
“Landfills needed won’t necessarily be an issue in 2012,” he said.
Cr Wilson said the one tonne of waste dumped each year per person across the country was far too much.
He said the motto ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ needed to be reinforced in the community to help substantially reduce the amount of rubbish thrown out in Casey each year.
The information regarding the landfill situation in Casey was raised to support a motion calling for VicRoads to reconsider the duplication of Hallam South Road.
Councillor Wayne Smith said the duplication of the road, which is the continuation of Hallam Road, was urgently needed, with 60 extra trucks using the road every day.
He said this figure would be much higher in the future.
The council unanimously agreed to write to VicRoads and local MPs to forward a copy of the landfill report and request the urgent duplication of Hallam South Road.
