Closing our landfill and planning for the future

Hanrahan Road Waste Facility has been used as a location to process and bury Albany’s waste since 1975. After 50 years the site is nearing capacity and, with the licence issued by the Department of Water Environment and Regulation ending in 2032, the City will no longer legally be permitted to operate a landfill at this location. 

	Hanrahan Landfill Over The Years
1954	1977	2026

This gives the City 6 years to finalise planning and then build and open a new waste facility. To prepare for this complex and significant project the City has been undertaking background research and investigation since 2013 and this planning is now ramping up into the feasibility and design stages.

The City has undertaken an extensive process to consider all available options for the most cost effective, environmentally conscious, and responsible way to manage the waste from the Albany (and Denmark) region. The options have included:

• Trucking all future waste to a Perth-based Waste-to-Energy facility and paying a ‘gate fee’
• Trucking all future waste to a closer site such as Bannister and paying a ‘gate fee’
• Building a regional landfill with neighbouring councils
• Building a Waste-to-Energy facility in the region
• Trucking waste to another facility in the region and paying a 'gate fee', should a licenced facility be available and ready 
• Building a City owned and operated landfill

Many studies were undertaken and, combined with Council's preference to minimise operational risk and maintain control along with minimising ratepayer expense, the current preference is to investigate a City owned and managed landfill site.

This will include transitioning the existing Hanrahan Waste Facility into a transfer station (the place where all waste is taken and sorted through to recover as much material as possible before the remaining waste is taken to its final location). This is where ratepayers may notice the biggest change to their waste management, with new ways to move through the Hanrahan site, changes to what and how you dispose of items and a much bigger Fossicker's Tip Shop -- with each step designed to reduce waste ending up in landfill.

Initial high-level feasibility studies of a possible location for a new landfill have identified City-owned land in Palmdale as a site that may be suitable as a cost-effective and efficient solution for Albany’s waste management. At this stage:

• No final decisions have been made
• The site has not been approved for development

Further technical, environmental and community consultation work is required and will influence the outcome of the project.

The next steps in this process are to work with adjoining landowners and key stakeholders to seek feedback and continue to review key environmental and construction considerations to proceed to detailed design and further site investigations.

In the coming months we'll be communicating more about this project and giving tips on how you can be involved. One of the biggest parts that our community can play in the transition is to continue reducing where we can and sorting our waste correctly to minimise what goes in the red-lid bin. The less waste made by the community means less waste going to landfill -- which reduces the economic and environmental impact of our lifestyles. For helpful tips and answers to your waste questions in the meantime click here to learn more about your FOGO, recycling and reuse options.

To stay up to date with the Waste Futures Project email your name and suburb and the subject line ‘more information’ to [email protected] and we'll keep you informed.