New era for recycling in region

City of Newcastle is has awarded a contract to build Newcastle’s first Material Recovery Facility (MRF). Council voted in May to accept a $56.7 million tender from Australian-owned recyclables processor iQRenew to design and construct the MRF at the Summerhill Waste Management Facility.

The Central Coast based company will also be responsible for operating and maintaining the facility, which will be capable of processing up to 85,000 tonnes of recyclables per year.

The MRF will sort recyclables from yellow-lid garbage bins into separate materials such as paper, cardboard, glass, plastics, steel and aluminium, which can then be on-sold to recyclers for use in the manufacture of new products.

Lord mayor Nuatali Nelmes said the MRF will deliver a regional recycling solution designed to divert waste from landfill, cut greenhouse 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,” Cr Nelmes said.

“The sudden closure of the only MRF in the Hunter in 2020 meant recyclables from Newcastle had to be transported to a processing facility on the Central Coast. For other local councils their recyclables now have to be transported to Sydney at significant expense to their ratepayers.

“The establishment of a local, Council-owned facility will remove around 6,000 tonnes of transportrelated greenhouse gas emissions over the next 25 years while ensuring almost 200,000 tonnes of recyclables from Newcastle homes are diverted from landfill.

“Beyond meeting the needs and expectations of Newcastle residents, the MRF’s scalable processing capacity and optimal location close to the Hunter Expressway and M1 will make it an essential piece of regional infrastructure capable of servicing the entire region.

A development application is currently being assessed and construction of the facility is expected to get underway in the first quarter of 2024.

The project has received $5 million from the State and Federal Governments and plays a key role in Newcastle’s Sustainable Waste Strategy, as well as addressing future government targets on waste diversion and recycling.