The City of Newcastle is continuing its investment in the future of recycling after awarding the contract to build Newcastle’s first Material Recovery Facility (MRF).
On Tuesday night, council members unanimously decided to accept a $56.7 million bid from the Australian-owned recycler iQRenew for the design and construction of the MRF at CN’s Summerhill Waste Management Facility.
The plant, which will be able to process up to 85,000 tonnes of recyclables annually, will be operated and maintained by the Central Coast-based company.
In a news release, CN said residents’ yellow-lid rubbish bins will be used to collect recyclables, which the MRF will separate into different materials like paper, cardboard, glass, plastics, steel, and aluminium.
These materials can then be sold to recyclers for use in the manufacture of new products, according to CN.
Newcastle Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes stated that the MRF will provide a regional recycling solution that will divert waste from landfill, reduce glasshouse gas emissions, and create local jobs.
“City of Newcastle is committed to delivering responsible, environmentally sustainable, and commercially feasible waste and recycling operations to manage our current and future waste streams,” Nelmes said.
The mayor underscored that in addition to ensuring that about 200,000 tonnes of recyclables from Newcastle homes are kept out of the landfill, the construction of a local, council-owned plant will eliminate about 6,000 tonnes of transportation-related glasshouse gas emissions over the next 25 years.
“The delivery of the MRF will also provide a major economic boost to our region, creating around 185 jobs during the construction and fit-out phase and up to 28 ongoing jobs when it becomes operational,” Nelmes noted.
Moreover, CN revealed the community has enthusiastically supported CN’s plans to create the new facility, with 98 per cent of locals polled during the project’s development affirming their support.
The Hunter and Central Coast Regional Planning Panel is now evaluating a development application for the MRF; a decision is anticipated in the second half of 2023.
If approved, the project’s preparatory earthworks would start later this year, and construction of the facility would start in the first quarter of 2024.
