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Current Operations

The upgraded Katoomba Waste Management Facility (Katoomba WMF) was officially opened on 13 August 2010. The $7million upgrade includes a new waste transfer station and upgraded resource recovery facilities. The facility is expected to process approximately 40,000 tonnes of material per annum, including waste and recoverable material. At least half this material will be diverted from landfill.

The landfill operation at the site is now closed. All material received at the site is either diverted for reuse, recycled or baled and transported to the newly extended Blaxland Waste Management Facility (Blaxland WMF) for landfill.

The site has 4 key areas:

• Small vehicle area incorporating drop off area for recyclables, scrap metal, timber, green waste and residual waste. This area also includes secure collection of motor oil and gas bottles and is the area for the twice yearly collection of Hazardous Household Chemicals.
• Transfer station for large vehicles. The waste is sorted on the floor to remove any recoverable material and the residual waste is baled for transport to Blaxland WMF for landfilling.
• Resource recovery platform for receival of bulk recoverable materials including green waste, white goods, scrap metal and building and demolition waste. Materials are sorted and processed prior to reuse and recycling.
• New Reuse Shed for any materials that are in good enough condition for customers to take home and reuse. The Reuse Shed often has such items as bookshelves, lounges, tables and books.

The facility no longer accepts special waste deliveries such as asbestos or animal carcasses. These need to be booked in at least 24 hours before being delivered straight to Blaxland WMF for immediate burial.

The site is open 7 days per week and is closed on Christmas Day and Good Friday.

Safety and Environmental Improvements

A number of safety and environmental improvements have been made to the facility:

• The new operations significantly reduce odour, dust and litter from the site.
• Upgraded storm water and leachate management to protect local water ways.
• Following capping and rehabilitation of the old landfill area, a 1.5 to 2m high screening bund is proposed around the perimeter for visual and acoustic screening.
• Trees to be used for rehabilitation have been grown from seed collected from indigenous vegetation on the site
• The small vehicle tipping area is under cover to ensure all weather operation.
• An all weather surface has been constructed on the resource recovery platform for large vehicle access and movement.
• Improved staff and customer parking.
• Improved road system for better and safer traffic management.
• Separation of small and large vehicles for safer unloading.

What is a Transfer Station and why do we have one?

A transfer station is a solid waste management facility which accepts waste delivered in small loads and reloads larger vehicles for transport to a final disposal facility. These are often located in urban areas which have no local landfill or alternative waste facility thereby vastly reducing the need for long distance transportation of many vehicles carrying small amounts of waste.

There are different types of transfer stations, they may be large of small depending on the size of the community which uses them and waste may be handled in a number of different ways depending on whether it accepts only small or large vehicles.

The transfer station at Katoomba WMF accepts both small and large vehicles to ensure that waste services continue to be available to the residents of the upper Blue Mountains and so that kerbside services will be more efficient. The Katoomba WMF transfer station is a baling transfer station. Received waste is initially sorted for removal of any recoverable materials with residual waste compacted and baled. The bales are transported to Blaxland WMF using enclosed trucks that contain any leachate, litter and odour. Approximately 4 loads of waste are taken to the Blaxland WMF each week day.

What is happening to the existing landfill?

The old landfill area has been capped to prevent water infiltration and leachate generation. The batters (slopes) will be progressively rehabilitated while the top platform has road base material placed and compacted to form an all weather surface for bulk resource recovery activities.

The platform of the landfill is utilised in conjunction with the new facilities for bulk resource recovery activities including stockpiling of garden organics, timber, construction and demolition materials (such as bricks, concrete) and scrap metal. No infrastructure is required on the platform and a 1.5 to 2m high screening bund is proposed around the perimeter for visual and acoustic screening.

All closure works are undertaken in accordance with a Post Closure Management Plan (PCMP) approved by the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water (DECCW).

The PCMP details proposed closure works including:

• capping of the landfill to prevent water infiltration and leachate generation;
• upgrade of the leachate and storm water controls;
• revegetation of landfill batters (the platform will become future operational area as described above); and
• monitoring and reporting regime for landfill gas, groundwater and surface water.