Advocacy - Neerabup Resource Recovery Precinct
What is the issue?
The City of Wanneroo is one of the largest growing local governments in Western Australia. Already home to more than 250,000 people across 685km², the City’s population is expected to reach 438,190 by 2046.
As the population grows, so too does the volume of waste, recycling and greens materials. Existing waste facilities at Tamala Park are approaching end-of-life, expected as early as 2028, creating an urgent need for alternative waste and resource recovery infrastructure.
At the same time, fundamental shifts in how waste is managed require new approaches, technologies and innovation. Planning for circular economy outcomes, where waste is treated as a resource, creates opportunities to recover value, reduce landfill and drive new industries as scale and efficiencies are achieved.
What is the current state?
Tamala Park currently services an estimated population of 750,000 people, comprising households and businesses from the seven member councils that make up the Mindarie Regional Council in a rapidly growing northern corridor. Tamala Park is expected to reach end-of-life in 2028.
The City of Wanneroo has consulted with community and is currently seeking environmental approvals from DWER and EPA to develop a Resource Recovery Precinct in Neerabup Industrial Area. The 30.4ha precinct is owned freehold by the City of Wanneroo.
Using best practice design principles, facilities are proposed to include:
- Materials recovery
- Waste transfer station
- Community recycling centre
- Leasehold opportunities for related industries and users of waste as a resource
- Opportunities to incorporate education, training, research, and development.
The combined cost of Stage One, including the Community Recycling Centre, Waste Transfer Station and Materials Recovery Facility, is estimated at $75 million.
A precinct of this scale is required to serve the City’s current and future growth needs to meet waste targets set by State Government in the Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Strategy 2030.
There is currently no comparable large-scale resource recovery facility operating or planned in Perth’s northern suburbs. Without investment in new infrastructure, the northern corridor will face increased transport costs, reduced waste diversion rates and greater reliance on landfill.
What does the community need?
A master planned Resource Recovery Precinct, ideally powered by renewable energy, offers potential to enable the circular economy, catalyse private investment and act as an incubator for innovative waste solutions by bringing together collection, recovery, processing and value adding.
The precinct will also support local job creation, attract private sector investment and position the northern corridor as a leader in resource recovery and circular economy innovation.
Co-locating waste resource stream users with collection, sorting and processing facilities will help achieve economies of scale and efficiencies.
Set to be the first facility of its kind in Perth’s northern corridor, the precinct will bring together waste collection, sorting, processing and value-adding activities in one location, using state-of-the-art technology to recover valuable materials and reduce what ends up in landfill.
This new facility is a critical step towards improving efficiency and managing waste sustainably for a growing community.
How can we make change happen?
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The City of Wanneroo’s proposed Neerabup Resource Recovery Precinct represents a significant opportunity to advance sustainable waste management in Perth’s northern corridor. The City seeks State and Federal Government partnership to deliver this regionally significant waste infrastructure. The City of Wanneroo asks the State and/or Federal Government to: Recognise and designate the Resource Recovery Precinct in Neerabup Industrial Area as critical regional infrastructure. Provide funding toward delivery of a state-of-the-art resource recovery facility to service the rapidly growing northern corridor before the closure of Tamala Park. Support and co-invest in enabling infrastructure to attract private investment and innovation within the precinct. This aligns with one of the headline strategies in the Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Strategy 2030: “provide funding to promote the recovery of more value and resources from waste with an emphasis on focus materials.” |
The City will continue to work in partnership with State and Federal Governments and private sector partners to secure funding and deliver the precinct, with the Materials Recovery Facility expected to be supported through private investment.
Location
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