TWELVE million dollars was the initial estimate to cap the old Wonthaggi landfill site.
Demanding a more cost effective solution Bass Coast Council has not only saved itself a very handy $5 million but has come up with a ground-breaking solution claimed to be an Australian first.
Served with an EPA environmental action notice to complete the installation of a final landfill cap Bass Coast had few available options for securing the landfill area.
A preliminary quantity survey put the cost of a conventional landfill cap at $12 million.
Searching the world for an alternative solution council officers conducted a thorough review of available capping methodologies and finally obtained EPA approval for an alternative geo-composite capping design.
Landfill capping generally involves placement of a clay layer over waste materials to minimise the percolation of rainwater or surface water into the landfill.
According to Bass Coast Councils the geo-composite capping system will provide better long-term site stability and minimise environmental risks and management costs over decades.
Best practice for a composite capping of landfill depends on site conditions and the type of waste being managed but a common solution and most cost-effective approach globally is to use a geomembrane as the primary liner, combined with a secondary liner such as a geosynthetic clay liner (GCL) or a compacted clay layer.
Bass Coast is remaining tight lipped about the exact nature of its revolutionary landfill capping system but given the competitive cost advantage Council may be well advised to keep its valuable intellectual property under wraps.
Cr Jon Temby commended council officers for having done the research and finding a far better solution at almost half the price of what was anticipated.
“Landfill capping is always a difficult and expensive problem wherever it occurs,” said Cr Temby, “but this is a better long-term solution and getting it right was important for all sorts of reasons.”
“I think we’ve come up with a far better solution than the standard one that has been implemented over many years across Australia. This technology has been used very successfully overseas,” he said.
Cr Temby added he was pleased to see Bass Coast had the courage to adopt a process for implementation that will be watched by people right across the country.
“We are taking the lead, I think it is excellent.”
Cr Mat Morgan also thanked council officers and particularly the waste management team for the fantastic work that they had been doing.
“I really hope that with this capping method, we are setting an example for local government in waste management,“ said Cr Morgan. “It is wildly important that we get this right, so let’s do this once, let’s do this right and let’s reduce our waste.
“There is only so much capping we can do.”
Cr Morgan also asked residents to stop putting polystyrene into landfill bins.
“We can recycle polystyrene,” said Cr Morgan, “but you have to take it down to our waste transfer station.”
Cr Ron Bauer noted that the historic cost of capping the old Wonthaggi tip was first put at $3 million but that had now more than doubled.
“Yet another example of how a capital works project has blown out,” said Cr Bauer. “We were lucky that we could extend the Inverloch tip capping down the track in the long-term plan to allow Council to cover the overrun. Houdini would be proud of us.”
Mindful no doubt of the still significant cost of the project Mayor Cr Rochelle Halstead congratulated the Finance Department on setting aside money for the project so it wasn’t going to be a huge hit on council.
“There has been money saved and diligently placed in an account so this work can take place,” said Mayor Cr Halstead.
“It is quite incredible that a reasonably small regional council the size of Bass Coast has such expert officers that can find
solutions that not only reduce the cost to the community but also serve our community well in that 75 per cent of our waste is being redirected from landfill.
“We’re leading the state for that. A huge congratulations to our community as they’re the ones doing the recycling and they’re the ones using their bins the way they should,” said Mayor Halstead.
“For us to get to 75 per cent is really encouraging.”
Cr Tim O’Brien joined Cr Halstead in her comments saying all indicators show the Bass Coast community is leading the pack.
“Best on ground,” added Mayor Halstead.
Cr Temby said it was a great project, and council had reduced the cost of managing the landfill very significantly with a better product than what had been available before.
The tender for the Wonthaggi landfill rehabilitation works was awarded to EcoProjects based in Korumburra for a contract sum of $6.9 million.
The project is scheduled to commence in April/May extending into 2025/26. The total budget available for this multi-year project is $8.4 million (GST exclusive), which includes contingency and project management fees.
