About Gregadoo Waste Management Centre

GWMC operates as a solid waste landfill servicing the city and surrounding villages and rural areas within the Wagga Wagga local government area. At present it receives approximately 60,000 tonnes of solid waste per annum which when received is weighed at the weigh bridge and recorded along with the waste type. From the weighbridge, the waste is then directed to one of two landfill areas (inert or solid waste cells) currently used for disposal, to a metal recycling area, and/or to a green waste collection area.

A transfer facility will soon be in operation at GWMC, where all light vehicles will be directed to an off-loading platform, improving customer safety, reducing wind blown litter, and encouraging better waste separation.

Charges

Applicable fees and charges are detailed in Council's annual Revenue and Pricing Policy.

Separation of Waste

Separating waste into rubbish and recyclables is a major objective for Council. One of the main reasons for this is the enormous environmental and financial costs of constructing and managing a waste management facility.

Historically, all waste was deposited into a general waste cell. It is now separated into its appropriate waste or recycling streams. Materials are separated into the following categories where possible:

• Putrescible and commercial waste - Solid waste cell.
• Building refuse - Inert waste cell.
• Concrete and rubble - Reused on site where possible, or inert waste cell.
• Green waste - Mulched and used for cover material in solid waste cell, with some material being used by local composting businesses.
• Cars, whitegoods and other scrap steel - Metal recycling area.
• Mineral oils - Collection drum for recycling.
• Whole tyres - Taken away by tyre recyclers, used for drainage medium within interception trenches, or stored on site for future recycling opportunities.
• Car batteries - There is a collection point for lead acid batteries. These are collected by the Triple R contractor and on-sold to a recycler.

Triple R (Resource Recovery and Reuse) Facility

The scavenging rights to the landfill have been awarded to a local firm. They provide a collection point before the weighbridge to dispose of material that has the opportunity to be sold back to the public. The Triple R contractor is also responsible for kerbside collection of bulky waste throughout the kerbside collection areas within the Wagga Wagga local government area.

Green Waste

Collected green waste is mulched and used for cover material within the cell. In addition to this operation by Council, private commercial composting operations are being encouraged to ensure that maximum material utilisation occurs, with Riverina Composting relocating their operations and services to a part of the GWMC site in 1999.

Recycling

Recycling Near You
There are a number of recycling opportunities at Gregadoo Waste Management Centre.

There is a lead-acid battery collection point within the metal recycling area.

Clean fill is accepted free of charge and used as cover material.

Clean and separated bricks and concrete are received at half the charge of general waste, and reused where possible.

There is a mineral oil collection drum just inside of the weighbridge, with the oil collected being recycled by a local contractor.

Special Wastes

A number of "higher grade" wastes have been accepted at GWMC and handled in accordance with the EPA license conditions:

• Asbestos is disposed of into a separate and identified cell. Loose asbestos is delivered double wrapped in plastic and manually moved and covered immediately.
• Farm ChemicalContainers delivered after being triple rinsed, punctured & flattened, are recycled through the DrumMuster program
  www.drummuster.com.au
• Oil filters are accepted after being drainage, crushed and packed in an absorbent material.
• Needles and syringes (sharps). There is a sharps collection point at the GWMC weighbridge.

Asbestos

Gregadoo Waste Management Centre (GWMC) is the only waste management facility within the Wagga Wagga local government area licensed by the Department of Environment, Conservation and Climate change (DECC) to accept asbestos containing waste.

Council's procedures for the disposal of asbestos at GWMC are summarised as follows:

• The weighbridge must be notified 24 hours prior to asbestos being delivered. The weighbridge contact number is (02) 6926 4003;
• Asbestos is to be handled and transported in accordance with the Asbestos Code of Practice (WorkCover);
• Licensed asbestos disposal contractors must provide a copy of their asbestos licence on arrival to GWMC;
• Asbestos must be carefully unloaded by hand onto the asbestos disposal area under the guidance of GWMC staff; and
• Asbestos will be charged at the rate specified in the current Management Plan, with a one tonne minimum charge applying

Wastes Not Accepted

The following wastes are not accepted at Gregadoo Waste Management Centre:

• All liquid wastes. GWMC is licensed only to accept solid waste. Mineral oil is an exception, as there is an oil recycling container on the site.
• All chemicals, including drums of old chemicals.
• Contaminated soil assessed to exceed the solid waste criteria, as defined in the EPA Waste Classification Guidelines.
• General clinical waste. These ceased to be accepted at Gregadoo since early 2002. Specialist contractors collect and appropriately dispose of such waste.
• Any other waste that does not meet the inert or solid waste criteria as defined in the EPA Waste Classification Guidelines.

However a recurrent Household Chemical Collection day, every second year, will be organised by the Riverina Eastern Regional Organisation of Councils.

Next collection is proposed to happen in April/May 2009.