A fresh call for a new materials recovery facility at the Ballarat West Employment Zone is the latest step for the City of Ballarat as it seeks to move toward a circular economy.
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Council has been investigating and seeking funding and investment for an MRF for years, but mayor Daniel Moloney said with government support, more than 10,000 tonnes of recyclable material could be saved from landfil.
The facility would require $16 million for infrastructure, and another $10 million in private investment, as well as memorandums of understanding with state and federal governments to "deliver on shared policy initiatives in the circular sector," according to council's website.
This would be separate to earlier proposals for a waste-to-energy or bioenergy plant at BWEZ.
"Each year 5000 garbage trucks full of waste collected from Ballarat homes and commercial operators - 50,000 tonnes worth - is tipped into Ballarat's Regional Landfill," Cr Moloney said in a statement.
"That all goes into a massive hole in the ground - the new cell at the Ballarat Regional Landfill, which is costing ratepayers $2.9 million to build and will take just two years to fill.
"We're seeking government support to create a Circular Economy Precinct - Victoria's first - at the Ballarat West Employment Zone.
"We already have interest from companies wanting to invest in Ballarat by co-locating in a Circular Economy Precinct at the Ballarat West Employment Zone.
"It's a sustainable option, one that delivers on the Victorian Government's recycling policy and strategic vision for this sector."
The push follows council's commitment to several new circular economy initiatives in August, including joining the CSIRO's online waste marketplace, helping businesses identify circular economy opportunities, and a detailed research project on "regional material flows".
The new projects would help inform what the waste situation is in Ballarat, and how it can be improved.
The CSIRO program, ASPIRE, would be provided as a free subscription to businesses with fewer than 100 employees - according to council, it's "an online marketplace for businesses to both sell and buy waste. This diverts materials from landfill, provides cost savings and potentially creates new revenue streams". Council will also use data from the project "to better understand local waste streams and help attract circular economy businesses."
The state government has offered millions of dollars to councils to help deal with landfill and recycling issues since the collapse of the export model three years ago.
Since then, Ballarat has swapped to a system of separating glass from other recycling - residents are still required to drop off glass in skip bins scattered across town, with several projects investigating how to reuse the recovered material.
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