Changes to Killarney waste facility

Published on 27 February 2024

Moyne Shire Council’s Killarney waste facility will no longer accept landfill inert waste onsite.

The decision at Tuesday’s council meeting follows advice from the Environment Protection Agency that current landfilling was no longer compliant, with a significant investment required to bring it to an acceptable standard.

It will not impact the ability to accept other types of waste and recyclables.

Inert waste is classified as waste that cannot disintegrate naturally and is usually building materials like plaster, insulation, metal, bricks, cement, rubber and furniture.

Analysis shows it could cost as much as $7 million if council was to continue its current arrangements and make it compliant, or up to $2 million plus additional annual operating costs for onsite management and offsite disposal.

Mayor Cr Ian Smith said in a rate capped environment Council needed to keep a close eye on every dollar it spent.

“The cost of upgrading was far too high and would have meant we would need to increase all waste facility fees significantly to try and recover that cost,” he said.

“We understand this will be an inconvenience for some people, but the cost of upgrading to be compliant compared to the volumes received made it an unviable option.”

He said the Killarney facility received more than 1200 tonnes of inert waste in 2021/22.

Cr Smith said councils waste facilities can accept up to 1m3 of inert waste per customer and there were options for inert waste disposal nearby in Warrnambool.