Stage 2 of the much-awaited site upgrade at Stotts Creek Resource Recovery Centre is nearing completion transforming, the centre into a more user-friendly and innovative site.
The upgrades form part of the overall Stotts Creek Master Plan, which will look after the resource recovery and waste disposal needs of the Tweed community for the foreseeable future.
Stage one, which was completed at the end of 2023, involved the construction of the last waste cell at the Stotts Creek site, and stage two involved significant upgrades at the front of the site. The most recent works include:
- new state-of-the-art weighbridge and overhaul of the site entrance, including a roundabout
- additional parking, separate entrance and building extension for Tweed JUNKtion (Tip Shop)
- new road infrastructure throughout the site using recycled road-building materials
- new site office to replace the office destroyed in the floods
- designated education room and administration office
- signage improvements for safety and accessibility to assist customers.
Council's Director of Sustainable Communities and Environment, Naomi Searle, said it was exciting to see the master plan coming to fruition with the various stages taking shape after significant planning.
"With the Tweed's expanding population and evolving community needs, along with government requirements, we needed waste solutions that could accommodate growth. These solutions also helped us recognise the resource in materials previously sent to landfill as we work together to reduce our impact on the natural environment," Ms Searle said.
"When we developed the master plan, the main considerations were cost and functionality, regulatory requirements relating to diversion, customer experience and meeting rapid changes in an environment where waste is seen as a resource rather than something we discard into landfill.
"With new signage, an improved road network and innovative hubs to divert, process and repurpose salvageable materials, we're making waste disposal easier and safer for our residents, while advancing towards our zero-waste ambition."
Approximately $7 million has been spent on waste transfer station infrastructure and another $3.5 million on the development of the final landfill cell at the site.
The next stage of the master plan is already underway, with a contract awarded for the construction of the internal road to the new landfill, and design works nearing completion on a new transfer station and stormwater and leachate infrastructure. These works have an estimated value of close to $20 million and are programmed for completion in the next two years.
