Waste company Lantrak seeks approval to extend operations at Swanbank, Ipswich

An Ipswich waste company with a permit to operate until 2028 is seeking approval to continue the arrangement “in anticipation” of the landfill reaching capacity.

A national waste company has indicated the landfill at its Ipswich site is filling faster than expected.

Lantrak Waste and Recycling Pty Ltd is seeking approval from Ipswich City Council for the continued operation of a resource recovery facility “beyond the life” of the landfill at its 16.2ha Swanbank site.

This comes despite the fact the council’s current approval is valid until January 10, 2028 “or until such time as the maximum landfill height ... is reached, whichever is sooner”.

Lantrak stated it was applying for ongoing operation of its facility “in anticipation of the landfill reaching capacity and being closed”.

“If the sought development permit is granted, the applicant would not act on it until the current permit expires ...,” the application read.

The company has proposed to concentrate waste activities on the eastern side of the site with storage areas to the south and west of the landfill, aligning with the existing operational areas.

“No new buildings, structures, or works are proposed or required to (facilitate) the activities; the existing mobile structures, access routes, and storage areas will be maintained for the ongoing permanent use,” the application stated.

The proposed resource recovery facility is not expected to require any additional staff or parking spaces, but will generate traffic of about 40 trips per day.

Currently, the landfill operation has approval to accept 550,000 tonnes of waste per year; thereby facilitating about 160 heavy vehicle trips per hour.

Lantrak did not submit an air quality impact assessment with its recent application as the odours, airborne contaminants, dust and particulate matter emissions currently generated by landfilling activities at the site are “significantly” higher than what the proposal is expected to generate.

“It is anticipated that there will not be any need to modify the existing air quality conditions, given that the proposed development will generate lower impacts than what is already approved and operating,” the plans read.

The applicant stated it would avoid operating at the proposed facility between 6am and 7am but would freely operate between 7am and 6pm.

The Swanbank site is already occupied by waterbodies, a landfill, ancillary processing areas, a site office, a weighbridge, and mobile mechanical waste processing infrastructure.

Lantrak was asked to comment on when it expects its Swanbank landfill to reach capacity but did not respond before the time of publication.