Coffs Harbour waste facility to reopen for residents

Coffs Harbour City Council responds to community requests to reopen the city's waste facility to household disposal under Covid-19 lockdown.

The Coffs Harbour Waste Facility on England's Rd will reopen to self-haul domestic disposal. Picture: Trevor Veale

COFFS Harbour City Council has bowed to community requests and reopened its England Road Waste Facility from today to limited self-haul domestic waste. 

The closure under Covid-19 restrictions have come with many people using the self isolation period and holidays to clear garages and tidy up around the yard and house. 

However, the council said it took the action to close the facility to safeguard its staff from Covid-19 infection. 

But within a matter of days the closure prompted a host of reader's letters to the Advocate calling for the facility to reopen. 

"Most of the residents of Coffs are doing the right thing during the enforced Covid-19 restrictions, keeping themselves busy by extra gardening and generally cleaning up around the house, to find they are being turned away from the tip, with full trucks or trailers, of either rubbish or green waste,  because council believe they are endangering their staff," local business owner John Farlow said.  

"Please this is overregulation at its very worst, and it will only be a matter of time before a percentage of this green waste, and or garbage will find itself being dumped in our local bush areas, or possibly on the side of the road.

The council this afternoon announced the reopening of the waste facility to household disposal.  

"We would ask that people only use the facility to dispose of essential waste at this time as we are going to have to limit the numbers of vehicles coming into the site for health and safety reasons related to the pandemic," the council's Director Sustainable Infrastructure Mick Raby said. 

He said priority access to the weighbridge is given to rubbish trucks and commercial waste operators so residents bringing in self-haul are being warned to expect delays and queues.

"Traffic control is to be in place along Englands Road itself, as well as inside the facility and we would ask people to be patient," Mr Raby said.

Englands Road will be open to residents from 9am to 2pm, Mondays to Fridays, and 8am to 4pm on weekends.

Payment is to be via EFT and/or voucher only, cash is currently not accepted.
There are currently a number of temporary changes to other local waste facilities:
• The Woolgoolga Waste Transfer Station is currently closed.
• Lowanna Transfer Station will be open on Sundays only for the disposal of household waste by Lowanna and Ulong residents that do not have a kerbside waste collection.
• Coramba Transfer Station will be open on Saturdays and Sundays only for the disposal of household waste by Coramba, Nana-Glen and Bucca region residents that do not have a kerbside waste collection.

For full updates and information click here or see the Coffs Coast Waste Services Facebook page.