City of Newcastle takes milestone step in journey to deliver sustainable waste vision

City of Newcastle has hit a key milestone in its plan to build Newcastle's first Material Recovery Facility (MRF) at the Summerhill Waste Management Facility.

Consultants GHD have lodged a development application for the facility on behalf of City of Newcastle, paving the way for the Hunter and Central Coast Regional Planning Panel to begin its assessment of the regionally significant project.

The MRF will sort recyclables from residents' yellow-lid kerbside 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.

Newcastle Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said it was pleasing to see progress continue on the MRF, which will ensure City of Newcastle meets community expectations as well as State and Federal Government recycling targets.

"The community has told us very clearly that they support measures to sustainably divert waste from landfill and City of Newcastle is committed to delivering on these expectations through our recently adopted Sustainable Waste Strategy," Cr Nelmes said.

“As there is no MRF operating in the Hunter region, Summerhill Waste Management Facility is an optimal location for a regional solution with close access to the M1 and Hunter Expressway.

"Recyclables collected from Newcastle households have been transported to the Central Coast since 2020 when the only MRF in the Hunter closed affecting City of Newcastle and several other Hunter Councils.

"The construction of the MRF will help us transform Summerhill into an innovative regional resource recovery hub that will reduce waste, increase recycling rates, create new jobs and kick-start local business opportunities within the circular economy.

"The submission of this development application, in conjunction with the current call for tenders to design, construct and operate the MRF, will allow us to maintain momentum towards achieving this goal."

Concept designs prepared by CN ensure the MRF is scalable to process up to 85,000 tonnes of recyclables per annum, creating a regional solution for recyclable materials from across the Hunter.

The MRF project received $5 million from the Federal and NSW Governments in August last year and is included in the adopted 2022/23 Budget as one of four city-shaping projects that will deliver key outcomes for the community.