Buttonderry Waste Facility’s potential to be explored

Buttonderry Waste Facility at Jilliby could become a star income-producing asset for the Central Coast, thanks to the shortage of landfill sites in Greater Sydney and the State Government’s legislation for food organics and garden organics (FOGO).

Central Coast Council is already working on a business case for introducing a new system for FOGO at Buttonderry and now a committee has asked for a comprehensive briefing paper on the waste facility’s potential with the view to seeking expressions of interest for the future development, operation and income generation of the site.

The Economic Development Committee met on April 1 and voted for the briefing to come back to its July meeting.

The committee noted: the shortage of landfill sites in Greater Sydney; the legislation for transition to food organics and garden organics (FOGO) by 2030; and new and emerging technology to process waste.

Waste is big money.

Council pays more than $30M a year to the State Government in garbage taxes.

The value of Buttonderry Waste Facility is estimated to exceed $2B.

Council has an estimated $80M earmarked for upgrading the facility for FOGO.

But Council’s Economic Development Committee (EDC) wants to look at ways of making money from Buttonderry rather than having to spend that $80M.

Councillor John Mouland said the primary reasons he moved the recommendation included maximising a high-value asset by exploring development opportunities to maximise its value for ratepayers and reduce financial pressure on Council.

“Council currently pays over $30M annually in garbage tax to the State Government,” he said.

“By identifying new waste management solutions, we can potentially reduce this burden and reinvest those funds into core local services and infrastructure.

“With Sydney facing landfill shortages and the State Government’s mandated transition to FOGO by 2030, we have the opportunity to position Buttonderry as a mega-region leader in waste processing.”

Emerging waste technologies offer opportunities for more efficient waste processing, resource recovery, including energy generation. 

“Council already has a methane-to-energy facility onsite at Buttonderry, demonstrating our ability to harness waste as a resource,” Mouland said.

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“Further exploration of innovative technologies could expand these capabilities, creating new revenue streams for the Council while reducing environmental impact.”

Mouland said a strategic approach to Buttonderry’s future could attract private sector investment, create local jobs and drive economic growth. 

“This aligns with our committee’s core objective of fostering economic development in our region,” he said.

“By developing a comprehensive briefing paper and seeking expressions of interest, Council will be in the position to ensure the responsible management of a critical asset while exploring ways to enhance long term financial sustainability, environmental leadership, and economic growth for our region.”

The recommendation will go to the April meeting of Council for adoption.

The Council while under administration adopted a recommendation in 2023 to conduct a FOGO feasibility study.

Then in May 2024, the administrator accepted the report and asked Council to take the next step; to conduct a business study.

The administrator said at the time that it was a slow process and also that it could involve public private partnerships.

Council’s Resource Management Strategy 2020-2030 states there is potential to recover more than 61,000 tonnes of additional resources from the Coast’s general waste stream by improving capture rates and expanding waste services.

“Across all household collections on the Central Coast, residents generated 168,243 tonnes of waste in 2018-19, of which 59% (98,511 tonnes) was sent to landfill and 41% (69,732 tonnes) was recovered,” the report said. 

“Another 106,763 tonnes of drop-off material was received at our three waste facilities.”

(Back when the report was written, Kincumber tip was still operating.)

“A significant 22% of material in our red lid general waste bins (by weight) was recyclable items that should be captured in yellow lid recycling bins or other existing recycling services,” the report said.

“In terms of the yellow lid recycling bin, 8.5% of its content is contamination, including soiled paper, non-recyclable glass (mixed glass and glass fines), non-recyclable plastic, plastic film and containerised food. 

“While marginally better than the NSW average, contamination with non-recyclable items can lead to rejection of valuable recyclables by the recycler, increasing community costs and reducing our recovery rate. 

“Further education and community support is required to support Council in minimising contamination.”

Merilyn Vale