Seven years to find new waste site

COFFS Harbour City Council is trying to find a new site for another waste management facility.

The Coffs Harbour landfill site will be at capacity in seven years.

COFFS Harbour City Council is trying to find a new site for another waste management facility.

The current facility on Englands Rd has a shelf life of another seven years.

Council's manager of Health, Craig Foley, said a wide range of alternatives would be discussed over the next 12 months prior to making a final decision.

"At the moment everything is on the table," Mr Foley said.

Mr Foley added alternatives, including discussions with regional partners at Nambucca and Bellingen shires, whose landfills "have a reasonable amount of life left", will also be looked at.

Although the expiry date of theEnglands Rd site was seven years away, Mr Foley said the length of time required to establish a new landfill meant action on the issue needed to start now.

"It's not desperately urgent but it's time we looked at it now," he said.

"If we want to establish a new landfill it's actually a tight time frame even though it won't be needed for another seven years on current fill rates.

"First we need to identify land that is a suitable site, then studies are needed, approval required followed by setting up."

Knowing that the Englands Rd site was in need of replacement in the future, Coffs Harbour City Council purchased a site off Bucca Rd in Nana Glen long ago.

A study undertaken six years ago ruled that this site was no longer appropriate for use as a waste management facility.

In response to the study, the council sold the proposed site as a sub-divided property rather than as a single lot.

Originally published as Seven years to find new waste site