Macs Reef Road Waste Transfer Station in jeopardy – Council tells 3,700 residents to drive to Bungendore instead!!

Bywong, Wamboin and Sutton are facing the potential loss of the only tangible Council facility in the area, with the potential of finance not being made available in this year’s General Management Plan.

In March, Palerang Council agreed (by one vote) to include in the 2010/11 budget, a Waste Transfer Station (WTS) on the current landfill site as recommended by the Working Party. The proposed waste transfer station plans can be see here.

Important information about costs

• The operational costs of the proposed WTS are comparable with those of the current landfill;
• Gate fees are being introduced Shire-wide. The gate fees from the Macs Reef Road WTS are expected to cover the capital cost of the WTS.
The WTS maintains the long-standing waste management facilities in the Wamboin/Bywong/Sutton East area and should have minimal cost impact on waste management costs in the Shire.

There is still opposition to Macs Reef Road WTS

Mr Bascombe (General Manager), Cr Raynolds (Mayor) and Crs Graham, Crozier and Marjason are vigorously opposed to the construction of the WTS.
Their preference is to close the current landfill and use both the savings in operational cost and the gate fees paid by Wamboin/Bywong/Sutton East to minimise the general waste charge (GWS) increase for residents in the rest of the Shire.

In short, these individuals want the residents of Wamboin/Bywong/Sutton East to:
• Pay $256 per annum General Waste Charge (up $18 from last year),
• Take all their waste to the Bungendore Waste Transfer Station, and
• Pay gate fees at Bungendore to dispose of the waste.
It is estimated that the residents of the three communities contribute at least $1.5-$2m annually in rates to the Council.

What you can do

Email your local Palerang Councillors to tell them that they must keep their promise to build a new waste transfer station at the Macs Reef Road site.councillors@palerang.nsw.gov.au

For more detailed background information

http://www.bywongcommunity.org.au/local-issues-to-council/waste-management
*ABS Census 2006:population of 3673 for Sutton South, Bywong &Wamboin combined.