Reduced use prompts Tilbuster waste station closure

Tilbuster Waste Transfer Station will close at the end of the year, as extensions to kerbside collection services  bring reduced use of the transfer station.

Council’s November Ordinary Meeting resolved to close the transfer station from 31 December 2020, after a review found an average of only three to four people used the facility on the days it is open.

The station is currently open each Saturday and Sunday, between 2pm and 5pm.

The review found it cost Council $145 to staff the facility on those days, while the station collects less than $15 in waste fees for the approximately 1.5 cubic metres of waste delivered per day.

Declining usage of the transfer station has coincided with the introduction of kerbside collections to surrounding areas, including Tilbuster Estate and Puddledock Road.

“The operating deficits at the Tilbuster station add up significantly over time and, in addition to our other waste operations, impact on our capacity to provide other waste services,” Interim Administrator Viv May said.

“The cost savings that will come with closing the station will be redirected into more cost-effective options for our regional waste services.

“Surrounding households are being notified of the transfer station’s closure and their other options for waste disposal, including using the Guyra Recycling & Transfer Station or the Long Swamp Road Waste Management Facility in Armidale.”

The site previously operated as a landfill but was capped and rehabilitated in 2001.

Further clean-up of the transfer station will begin before the end of the year and Council will liaise with Crown Land on future use of the site.

“Closing the station will also enable a number of measures to improve environmental outcomes at the site,” he said.

Published on 09 Dec 2020