The Lismore City Council Waste Services Report has been a hot topic of discussion since it was raised as an issue during the November 21 council monthly meeting and then again at the extraordinary meeting a week later.

Lismore City Council (LCC) released a Myths versus Facts sheet to explain why council would like to explore the 'Balanced Regional Model (C)' as the preferred waste management model and strategy and dump the current strategy.

There are still some questions that need to be answered, like "What is Balanced Regional Model (C)?" and "What exactly are the implications if council does not change?".

The Lismore App sent LCC questions so its readers can be further informed to understand what the next phase is.

A LCC spokesperson said, "The highlighted that Lismore City Council’s current waste management model and strategy, do not support the city to maintain its financial and regulatory obligations at an acceptable standard.

"The report also highlighted Council’s current adopted waste strategy (Resource Recovery and Residual Waste Strategy 2022-2032) was founded on significant untested assumptions that are unlikely to materialise, and that continuing to pursue the current strategy may result in the current financial losses continuing in the order of $6-8M per year."

What was the process involved in formulating the Waste Services Review Report?

The Report provides the most comprehensive review of Council’s waste and resource recovery operations ever undertaken by council.

The review took more than nine months with detailed analysis of all areas of the Waste Service, Strategy & Operations.

The findings provide full transparency of waste service operations after reviewing:

• 10 years of financial, consumer/user behaviour and weighbridge data to establish consistent trends and baselines
• Analysis and interpretation of 10 years of data in relation to cost of operating services under the current and proposed models
• Sustainability analysis related to current and future regulatory compliance controls for achieving required environmental performance
• Comprehensive process mapping of all processes & waste movements
• Bottom-up calculations producing financial forecasts for assessing all seven models over a 20 year period.

Put simply, this research and analysis identified that Council’s waste services operations are not financially sustainable, nor do they meet standard environmental targets. It is not sustainable or acceptable to continue to operate in this way.

The proposed model offers a sustainable financial model, and supports council to meet its environmental obligations in a way that delivers best value for money for rate payers and community.

What is Balanced Regional Model (C)?

Balanced Regional Model (C) is the name given to the new recommended model. This model was identified as the best of seven options, after measuring the strongest in the areas of financial, environmental and social performance outcomes over a 20-year forecast.

This proposed model offers a path to deliver improved environmental outcomes in a financially sustainable and affordable way.

The changes in focus for council’s waste strategy, recommended under this Model include:

• Remediation of the current damaged landfill for ongoing use as well as the long-term pursuit of a regional landfill and regional organics processing facility.
• Retaining the popular Revolve Shop at the Lismore Resource & Recovery Centre rather than the planned relocation to the CBD.
• Moving to a contracting arrangement for the recycling separation process and waste collection services with terms of service still managed by council.

What are the areas of waste that are causing the most concern?

The report also focussed on the past 3 financial years in more detail as being more relevant to the current operating environment. The last three financial years have seen an average annual loss of $4.31M with the Resource Recovery Facility (RRF) and Material Recycling Facility (MRF) the largest contributors to the deficit. Moving to a new strategic model is anticipated to return Council to a cost-neutral position within 3 years and is estimated to save Council approximately $30M over the next 20 years.

On average the Material Recycling Facility (MRF) processes 4,805 Tonnes per year of comingled recycling with approximately 70% of the material being successfully separated in recyclable commodities. There is further recycling and recovery at the Resource Recovery Facility (RRF) with an estimated 28% recovered.

What are the next steps for adopting Balanced Regional Model (C)?

Following Council’s vote for council to proceed with the implementation of the Balanced Regional Model (C), work can begin on the next steps.

Approval may still be required from relevant decision-makers at various decision points to pursue Balanced Regional Model (C).

The pathway to transition to a new model will include:

i. The establishment of contracted services for kerbside collections and comingled recycling separation (Material Recycling Facility) via competitive tendering processes.

ii. Retaining the Revolve Shop at the Lismore Recycling and Recovery Centre and continuing to pursue partnership opportunities to maximise resource recovery and community interaction.

iii. Detailed due diligence of long-term landfilling solutions, including landfilling options at the Lismore Recycling and Recovery Centre and regional landfilling options, with the intention of making a strategic decision regarding long-term landfilling in the next two to three years.

iv. Detailed due diligence of long-term regional organics processing solutions. This due diligence work could be completed in conjunction with due diligence on long-term landfilling.

Some of these steps can be potentially actioned within the next 6-12 months while others are focussed on decision points that are 3-4 years away. 

Funding has been secured to assist with the work required to restore Lismore’s waste facility to appropriate operations.

An engineering solution is currently in place to maintain compliance with the EPA whilst the repairs are undertaken over the next 2-3 years. Once remediated, the current landfill cell known as Cell 2b will have an expected life remaining of 8-10 years.

Council will continue its feasibility work in 2024 on a new landfill cell - exploring all options including potential regional sites.

Lismore's more recent waste strategy document relied on other Northern Rivers councils contributing their waste for Lismore to make a circular waste economy profitable. When costs became too high, these council's found cheaper alternatives and Lismore was left with a loss-making strategy funded by its ratepayers.

The word 'regional' is being used in LCCs language with Balanced Regional Model (C), could it be that the seven councils in the Northern Rivers will finally work together on operational issues that benefit each council and the Northern Rivers collectively?

The February 28 2022 big flood appears to be having some positive impacts on our region, even if it just brings everyone to the table so potential solutions can be discussed.