By Ewen McRae
Waste sent to Melton’s landfill has almost halved since July, following upgrades to the Melton Recycling Facility.
Melton council joined with the state government last week to officially open Stage One of the Melton Recycling Facility redevelopment, and celebrate the waste reduction.
The $2.1 million works were funded with $1.7 million from the council and $374,000 from the State Government via the Resource Recovery Infrastructure Fund.
The upgrade has allowed more reusable and recyclable material to be recovered, using a new bay for sorting construction and demolition debris, and helping residents to better separate materials with improved signage.
Former Mayor Bob Turner said the council was committed to making environmental sustainability a priority.
“At council, we strive to limit how much waste is added to landfill and make recycling and waste disposal easy and cost effective,” Cr Turner said.
“This upgrade has considerably boosted our ability to reuse, recycle and divert material from landfill. It’s a massive achievement and we’re thrilled to be leading the way in ensuring environmental sustainability for future generations.
“A greener future is already a reality for the City of Melton.
The upgrades also included a new gatehouse and dual weighbridge to help the council better manage waste and plan for future waste solutions by accurately measuring how much goes to landfill.
A new street sweeper drop-off bay was also installed, creating an environmentally friendly way to separate and treat water from waste collected in street cleaning.
Planning for Stage Two of the redevelopment will begin in January and is expected to be complete by July 2020.
The council will invest $7.7 million into this next stage of upgrades, which will include of a new resource recovery shed to encourage better separation and recycling, including e-waste drop off, and a new sorting shed and loading tunnel for bulk haul transporting.
