We are proposing to build an organics processing facility at Summerhill Waste Management Centre to process food and garden waste, diverting it from landfill.

The proposal involves construction and operation of a fully-contained composting facility which includes receiving, composting, maturation, and storage areas. The proposed facility will use new technology to process organic waste into compost for reuse. The facility is intended to:

  • Increase resource recovery from food and garden organic wastes
  • Reduce the amount of waste going to landfill
  • Contribute to the City’s goal of net zero emissions from its operations by 2030

Key features

We currently receive around 23,000 tonnes of garden organic waste at Summerhill each year, which is then transported off site for further processing. The proposed facility will instead allow onsite processing of up to 50,000 tonnes of food and organic waste every year in a completely enclosed facility, as part of our transition to more sustainable waste management practices. Diverting this waste from landfill and processing it on site will contribute to our goal of net zero emissions from our operations by 2030.

The proposed facility will be fully enclosed, and will use an active odour control system. The system ensures that air is continuously drawn from the facility buildings to keep it under a constant state of negative air pressure.

Next Steps

The community were invited to feedback on the proposed facility to help guide preparation of the project's Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in November and December 2021, via drop-in sessions, a survey and written submissions.

The DA for the proposed facility has been submitted, and the proposal is subject to approval by the Joint Regional Planning Panel. If the application is successful, construction is planned to begin in 2024.

To keep up to date with the status of the DA application via our Application Tracker using the ID number: DA2022/00572.