Meru Waste Disposal Facility to axe receiving liquid waste from mining and resource sector amid full capacity

Waste management controls could be introduced at the Meru Waste Disposal Facility to stop mining and industry sectors from bringing in large amounts of septage liquid waste. The City of Greater Geraldton will vote to stop accepting septage liquid waste from the mining and resource sector following a large increase from surrounding areas since March. The City increased the liquid waste capacity from 4000 tonnes per year to 6000 tonnes per year in January to accommodate the increase coming from within the City of Greater Geraldton and surrounding shires. Mayor Shane Van Styn said the large increase of liquid waste from mine sites outside of the Greater Geraldton region, such as the Gascoyne and Mount Magnet region, was becoming a problem. “There’s a massive increase in liquid waste that’s causing some issues at Meru in terms of what we can do with the waste and how we can try and maintain delivery of services to those that are live in the City of Greater Geraldton,” he said. If it continues, the City expects it will exceed its licensed capacity to receive the waste by November. Meanwhile, construction is ongoing to build a 20-bay waste transfer facility south of the existing four-bay station. The $7.36 million upgrade aims to make waste management safer and more efficient, while meeting the growing demand of waste in the community. Mr Van Styn said the City has had constrained liquid ponds and understood they needed to be expanded, but it was all part of the project to expand the Meru facility. He said the City was confident the contractor remained ahead of schedule and under budget while working through planning and design challenges. “The progress there has been phenomenal. We understand the challenges, however, with designing facilities that are beyond our population base,” he said. “Trying to understand what it is we need to build for the future when we see mine sites and developing sites well outside of our region. Trying to get a better handle on that is something that we’re considering as part of our planning,” he said. The council will vote to refuse liquid waste from the mining and resource sector at the site on Tuesday.