University of Ballarat
Project Name: West Wimmera Waste Management
Location: Victoria
Theme(s): Waste Management

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 Department of the Environment and Heritage

West Wimmera Shire Council

West Wimmera Waste Management

Local councils are realizing the environmental, social and economic benefits of reducing the amount of waste going to landfill by recovering recyclable materials. In the rural area of West Wimmera Shire, 14 smaller council landfills have been replaced by transfer stations where the recoverable materials can be removed from the urban waste. The general waste stream can then be collected and transferred to a regional landfill. There have been a number of management and environmental benefits.

Contents

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In the beginning…

Before 1997 the rural area of West Wimmera Shire was being serviced by 14 local tips, or landfills. Each tip serviced a small town or community, and the amount of waste going to landfill was high as there was little provision for the communities in the Shire to recycle. Waste collection was through a combination of council labour and private contractors. About 45% of the population received curbside collection.

The nearby Shire of Hindmarsh provided residents with a similar waste service.

 

In 1997 a Government Regional Waste Management Plan was developed for both West Wimmera and Hindmarsh Shires to provide short term and long term recommendations for:

  • reducing the volume of waste to landfill; and
  • recovering valuable resources in lieu of going to landfill.
 

The Desert Fringe Regional Waste Management Group (DFRWMG) was formed in 1997 under the Environmental Protection (Amendment) Act 1996 and in association with EcoRecycle Victoria to oversee the waste management in both Shires. The Regional Waste Management Plan provides the DFRWMG with long term waste management direction with regard to the:

  • level of services provided;
  • legislative and regulatory requirements; and
  • environmental responsibilities.

 

West Wimmera Waste Management

West Wimmera Shire in conjunction with EcoRecycle Victoria has developed an environmentally aware system of recycling and waste disposal. The two objectives of reducing landfill waste and recovering resources began by assessing the usefulness of the existing landfills and waste collection practices.

Replacing landfills with transfer stations

1. Transfer stations


 

Over the past six years, the 14 landfill sites have been reclaimed. Eight transfer stations now operate throughout the Shire, with seven stations feeding their waste into the central Transfer Station at Edenhope.

Transfer stations provide an alternative to landfills. As the name suggests, they are a place where materials can be collected and transferred to other destinations. Transfer stations were considered to be a more effective option to individual landfills because:

  • they have less impact on the environment and landscape;
  • they present less of an eyesore, however, illegal dumping over the fence continues at many transfer stations;
  • the fire hazard is lessened as the rubbish is removed regularly, and the metal waste is removed a couple of times a year;
  • they improve waste minimization opportunities;
  • they give Councils greater control over the recycling, diversion and reuse of waste; and
  • maintaining a single regional landfill is more economical than maintaining or rebuilding a number of smaller landfills.
2. Process of reclaiming the old landfills

Reclaiming the old landfills has required the co-operation of the Victorian Environmental Protection Authority (EPA).

Generally speaking, the process of reclaiming a tip site involves digging a trench, using a dozer to push n the rubbish/refuse, then compacting and covering with the excavated soil Additional clay soil (maybe from nearby dam banks etc) is placed over this area to form an impervious water barrier over the buried material. is dumped onto the tip mound, a front end loader pulled the rubbish towards the "tip face". More soil is dumped on top to create a sloping dam bank.

Although the principles for reclaiming a site could be applied to each of the tip sites, each site presented its own challenges.
Apsley Tip was a huge mound. The rubbish was pushed into trenches and buried. The area was smoothed over and clay was spread out over the area and has gained EPA approval. Vegetation, especially wattles, is expected to self seed to form a bushland. Landcare groups may be used to revegetate the area. Little evidence remains of the old tip (2).  

A transfer station has been constructed next to the old tip site (3-8).

Illegal dumping of rubbish over the fence makes the compound look untidy (5) and presents a fire danger. Long grass in the enclosure also presents a fire danger.

Signage is important for directing the public where goods should be placed (6). A person at the gate of the station encourages the public to separate the recyclable materials before dumping the solid waste into the bins.

Household, industrial and agricultural waste metal can be sold as scrap metal. It has taken two months to get this amount of metal (7). When Lillimur Tip was closed down, 330 tonnes of scrap metal was removed. At $25 per tonne, the scrap metal paid for digging a hole for burying the rubbish.

It cost $12,000-$14,000 to set up Apsley transfer station with the three cubic metre bins (8) and the raised mound (4). This is compared to $72 thousand spent on Edenhope Transfer Station. At Lemon Springs, the Council received $26,400 from EcoRecycle to develop the “Lemon Springs Recycling Recovery Facility” on the old tip site, which was originally an old gravel pit.

Curbside collection and recycling

The number of residences receiving curbside collection has increased and is more widespread throughout the Shire. Since the beginning of 2003, contractors have been tendered to collect, segregate and distribute the urban waste.

1st contractor:

Curbside collection of general waste

  • Waste is collected with a contractor owned MGB rear loading garbage compactor vehicle (rubbish truck)
  • The rubbish truck follows a loop between Kaniva (population 900) and Edenhope (population 860), and includes a Rural Pickup Service.
  • Residents use a 120 litre wheelie bin
  • The waste is taken to the Edenhope Transfer Station and transferred to 30 cubic metre bins

2nd contractor:

Transferring waste from local transfer stations

  • The surrounding rural towns take their own rubbish to a nearby transfer station where it is placed into 3 cubic metre skips for the separate waste streams.
  • The second contractor transfers the 3 cubic metre skips at each of the transfer stations to Edenhope Transfer Station. The general waste stream is placed in the 30 cubic metre bins

3rd contractor:

Curbside collection of recyclable waste

  • The townships of Kaniva and Edenhope have separate contractors that collect recyclable materials once a week.
  • Prior to June 2004, the crates were manually lifted on to the back of a ute.
  • Residents use 60 litre crates for their plastic and glass.
  • The materials are taken to Edenhope Transfer Station where the plastics and glass are graded, bailed up and distributed.

Click here to see the workings of Edenhope Transfer Station (Edenhopts.ppt - 6.72 MB)

4th contractor:

Waste from Edenhope to Dooen Landfill

  • The first contractor takes responsibility for transferring the 30 cubic metre bins from Edenhope to a regional landfill at Dooen in the Horsham Rural City Shire.
  • A population of 4,500 people in the West Wimmera Shire produces three bins per week.

Click here to see photos of the Dooen Landfill (DooenLandfill.ppt - 2.33 MB)

For occupational health and safety reasons, the Government has introduced a "No Lift Policy" to be enforced by June 2005 to minimize injury in the workplace. This means that the current method of manually lifting and emptying the recycling crates of recyclable into the back of a ute will not be possible. For this service to continue for the townships of Edenhope and Kaniva, a specialized vehicle and bins will be required where there is no manual lifting involved. The economic outlay must be considered against the social and environmental gains that this curbside collection service provides.

Impact

This program for recovering recyclable materials began mid July at Edenhope and Kaniva. Early 2003 saw the entire system of transfer stations operating. Time will tell if the recycling is efficient.

However, in two months (July-August, 2002) 161 cubic metres of waste was diverted from the urban waste stream as glass, aluminium and plastic at Edenhope and Kaniva.

It is estimated that 1,260 cubic metres (384 tonnes) each year could be diverted as glass, aluminium and steel, plastic, cardboard and paper and green waste.

The arrangement with the Horsham Rural City Council has meant that the two Shires of West Wimmera and Hindmarsh will not need to manage their own landfills. Reclaiming of the 14 landfills and replacing them with transfer stations is more efficient and provides greater choice for the Shires about how they deal with their waste.

Useful Resources and Contacts

Acknowledgements

  • Colin Mibus, Engineer, West Wimmera Shire Council
  • David Elteringham, General Manager Technical Services, Horsham Rural City Council
  • Rob Marshall, Chief Executive Officer, Little Desert Fringe Waste Management Group

Photos by Linda Darby unless otherwise indicated
Content coordinated by Ben Quinney, University of Ballarat. | CRISCOS Provider No 00103D| Disclaimers | Guestbook
Date researched: October 2004 | Case study initially prepared: September 2004