Lismore waste management

Related to the sustainable management of waste and recyclables and to be a leader in waste
management within NSW. Lismore has a long history of innovative waste management
programs and was the first council in Australia to introduce mixed food and garden organics
in 1999. The cost of waste disposal due to the NSW Government’s landfill levy and the
community desire to become better recyclers is driving the continued evolution of the
strategic waste direction for Lismore City
Council.

The Lismore Recycling and Recovery

Centre is a regionally significant facility
that includes a Materials Recovery
Facility (MRF), a Resource Recovery
Facility (RRF), a composting facility, the
Lismore Revolve Shop, a construction
and demolition recovery area,
Environmental Education Centre,
Community Recycling Centre and the
Lismore Rainforest Botanic Gardens. The
Lismore Recycling & Recovery Centre
accepts waste materials from other
neighbouring Councils and is becoming a regional hub of recycling and organics processing.

Composting process

Compost is organic matter that has

been decomposed and recycled as
a fertilizer and soil amendment. Compost is a
key ingredient in organic farming. As well as
organic matter, composting requires three
components: human management, aerobic
conditions, and the development of internal
biological heat. Composting recycles organic
materials and is a waste-free process.
At the simplest level, the process of composting
requires making a heap of wet organic matter
(leaves, food scraps) and waiting for the
materials to break down into humus after a period of months. Modern, methodical
composting is a multi-step, closely monitored process with measured inputs of water, air, and
carbon- and nitrogen-rich materials. The decomposition process is aided by shredding the
plant matter, adding water and ensuring proper aeration by regularly turning the mixture
when in open piles or "windrows". Worms and fungi further break up the material. Bacteria
requiring oxygen to function (aerobic bacteria) and fungi manage the chemical process by
converting the inputs into heat, carbon dioxide, and ammonium. The ammonium (NH+4) is
the form of nitrogen used by plants. When available ammonium is not used by plants it is
further converted by bacteria into nitrates (NO−3) through the process of nitrification.
Compost is rich in nutrients. It is used in gardens, landscaping, horticulture, and agriculture.
The compost itself is beneficial for the land in many ways, including as a soil conditioner, a
fertilizer, addition of vital humus or humic acids, and as a natural pesticide for soil. In
ecosystems, compost is useful for erosion control, land and stream reclamation, wetland
construction, and as landfill cover (see compost uses). Organic ingredients intended for
composting can alternatively be used to generate biogas through anaerobic digestion.

Recycling and Recovery Center

In May 2014 we constructed a state-of-the-art, $3.65 million Materials Recovery Facility

(MRF) and Glass Processing Plant.
Our MRF (pronounced 'Murph') is a specialised
plant that sorts, separates and prepares
recyclable materials, ready to be sent off and
made into new products.
It processes up to 15,000 tonnes of recyclables
per year including materials from our
neighbouring councils, making us the recycling
hub of the region.
Our MRF earns Council money and enables us
as a community to deal with the waste created
in our own backyards. This is helping us work
toward the Imagine Lismore goal of Lismore
becoming a model of sustainability.
The better everyone recycles at home, the better the MRF works. We have a set of recycling
rules called The Dirty Dozen – 12 Recycling Rules for your Yellow Bin. We encourage
everyone to learn these rules and help us keep our recycling stream free of waste.

Glass Processing Plant

In May 2014 we also opened a Glass Processing Plant in conjunction with the MRF. The
plant uses imploder technology and is one of only two plants of this kind in Australia. The
plant crushes glass down to create glass sand that is transported to Council’s Blakebrook
Quarry for use in road base and asphalt.

We used glass sand for the first time in

June 2015 on a 500m section of road near
Numulgi Hall with excellent results. The
glass sand will now be used in all road
base going forward, and the only issue
will be can supply keep up with demand.

The Glass Processing Plant has a broad

environmental impact as conventional
glass recycling is costly and requires
significant technology to separate
different coloured glass for re-processing,
with a high loss rate due to breakage. When turning glass into sand, we can crush everything
together, regardless of the colour or type of glass.

As well as ensuring more glass can be recycled and therefore reducing transport miles,
transforming glass back into sand reduces the need to mine as much virgin material for road
base and asphalt, decreasing road resealing costs as well as limiting truck movements on the
road.

Our Phytocapping site in Landfill System

Since 2007, Lismore City Council has been one of five trial sites Australia wide for a
research program entitled the Australian Alternative Cover Assessment Program (AACAP),
conducted in collaboration with several Australian universities.
The AACAP program trialled phyto (or plant-based) techniques for capping landfill and the
concept of a ‘phytocap’ for modern landfills is now being increasingly considered in the
United States and Australia. This involves placing a layer of soil over the landfill and
planting it densely with site-specific vegetation, instead of simply covering the landfill with
clay, gravel and dirt.

In 2013, we opened the first licensed

phytocapping site in NSW on a 1.3-hectare
old landfill site at Wyrallah Road. The
phytocap has been planted chiefly with koala
habitat species and as these grow, a diverse
understory is being established.
Phytocaps control the drainage of rainfall
into the buried waste. They remove the water
from the soil by evapotranspiration, returning
it to the atmosphere, and reduce the fugitive
emissions of anaerobic landfill gas through
diffusion and oxidisation.
Phytocapping is around half the cost of standard landfill capping and will enhance the
existing koala habitat at our Wyrallah Road site, which is becoming a haven for local flora
and fauna.