COFFS Harbour City Council has set its sights high with its focus for the region’s future planned landfill tip facility to become the most modern waste recovery complex in Australia.

Coffs Harbour councillors approved the adoption of a Council Vision Statement at Council’s meeting on Thursday 12 August, as Council works towards a new landfill tip facility.

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The Vision Statement states that, “Council, upon identifying the most appropriate tip site, also builds a facility that creates a new standard in onsite recycling and waste recovery and thus strive to ultimately maximise the diversion of waste from landfill in our Local Government Area.

“Council seek to apply new technologies to deliver the most modern waste recovery complex in Australia”.

Cr Michael Adendorff, however, expressed his concern at the meeting about Council taking a risk in seeking to use new innovative technologies at the future tip facility.

“I’d rather leave innovation, particularly in the waste field, to private enterprise,” Cr Adendorff expressed.

“I don’t think it should be up to a local council to seek to apply new technologies to deliver the most modern waste facility.

“I am against it because I believe that any new and modern technology has the risk of failure.”

Cr Adendorff said Council should be using “tried and tested” waste management technologies in the future waste management facility.

“I am concerned that we become a guinea pig or test Council if we take on this vision,” he stressed to councillors.

“We’ve seen this in Coffs Harbour, that new technology can fail, particularly in this area.

“I’m concerned that it opens us up to abuse, frankly.”

Fellow councillors did not agree and welcomed Council’s Vision Statement for the future tip facility.

Cr Paul Amos said hopefully in the near future Council will have the newest tipface facility in Australia.

“I’m hoping it will be the most modern and we work towards limiting what we actually put into that tip, we would be looking at reclamation and reuse, and making it something to really be the benchmark for other councils,” Cr Amos stated.

“Unfortunately it’s a necessary evil to have a tipface, but if we can make it the best one possible in Australia it will be a great feather in the cap of Coffs Harbour Council.”

Cr Sally Townley also supported Council’s Vision Statement for the landfill facility.

“I support Council having a vision for the future of waste management,” Cr Townley said.

“Of course we need vision; if we’ve got nothing to aim at we don’t know where we’re going.

“It’s a great start, it signals our intention and I think it’s setting out to say that we want to do a good job, not just a good job, we want to do the best job.”

Council’s General Manager Steve McGrath said the next step would be the establishment of a business case that will help Council understand the potential costs of different waste management options being considered by Council.

By Emma DARBIN