Mackay City Council has transformed a 38 hectare parcel of land into one of the most advanced waste management facilities in Queensland. The Paget Waste Management Centre, located in the industrial hub of the city, is the centrepiece to Council’s $21 million Integrated Waste Management Strategy. The three components of the strategy comprise the new Paget Waste Management Centre, which includes a Waste Transfer Station and Recycling Centre, a stabilised engineered landfill at Hogan’s Pocket, about 50 kilometres west of Mackay and Rural Transfer Stations at three key rural areas – Kolijo, Bloomsbury and Seaforth.
Council’s Manager of Environmental Services, Rick Thessman, said the use of innovative technology coupled with a 50 year life expectancy of the Hogan’s Pocket landfill built a solid foundation for the city’s future waste management needs.
“It is all about providing the infrastructure required to cater for the growing population in a sustainable way,” he said.
Mackay was the fourth fastest growing region in Australia in the 12 months to June 2005, according to figures released from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Rick Thessman said the growth rate of 3.21 per cent reinforces Council’s decision to invest in such important infrastructure.
The new facility is unique and utilises best practice technology, comprising weighbridge systems, the installation of CCTV systems and a recycling facility. A key feature of the Hogan’s Pocket landfill site will be its ability to allow methane to be collected and flared off in about five years, helping Council meet a key greenhouse gas milestone within its Cities For Climate Protection program.
“There are specially designed leachate collection systems, groundwater monitoring wells and a buffer zone between the landfill and a nearby creek,” Rick Thessman said. “It really takes Mackay into a new era of waste management and delivers on Council’s desire to implement practices in line with State Government environmental laws, leading the way in sustainable waste management.”
Mackay Mayor, Julie Boyd, said waste management was a key consideration for Local Government.
“Delivering the city’s Integrated Waste Management Strategy was another example of Council investing in the necessary infrastructure for a rapidly expanding city,” she said.
