A major upgrade of the Stotts Creek Resource Recovery Centre has been completed say Tweed Shire Council, ‘transforming the Tweed’s tip into a site that is easier to use and recovers far more material from landfill’.
Council say the works officially opened on Monday 15 June and span the whole site.
They include:
- a new waste and recycling transfer station, with new covered drop-off areas
- a bigger and better JUNKtion Tip Shop with a separate site entrance and parking
- 1.6 km of new road built, incorporating over 10,000 tonnes of recycled concrete
- a new site office incorporating an education room
- a new weighbridge and entrance road, and
- clearer signage throughout.
They say, ‘The aim running through all of it is to make the centre as sustainable and user-friendly as possible’.
‘For people using the site, that means more room to drop off waste and recycling, better traffic flow and less congestion with fewer vehicles waiting at the tipping bays. A transfer station sits at the heart of the new layout, where waste and recycling are received and sorted into the various waste and resource streams, before being moved for further processing or disposal.
‘One of the simplest changes is making one of the biggest differences. New covered areas keep cardboard and salvaged goods dry, so they can be recycled or reused instead of being thrown away. In the past, cardboard left out in the rain became pulp and sent to landfill. Now it stays dry under cover and can be recycled. Council estimates the change will keep around 134 tonnes a year out of landfill.
‘It sounds like a small thing, keeping the rain off,’ said Tweed Shire Council Director Sustainable Communities and Environment Naomi Searle, ‘but it makes a real difference. Material that used to be lost to landfill can now be recovered, and the transfer station upgrade was funded entirely by Council. That is a genuine win for the Tweed.’
Council say, ‘The same thinking runs through the JUNKtion Tip Shop. Good-quality items dropped at the site are salvaged and resold rather than buried, giving them a second life. In 2025, the JUNKtion tip shop diverted around 200 tonnes of reusable items from landfill. The Tip Shop now has more parking and a separate entrance, so visitors no longer need to pass through the weighbridge to reach it, and all salvaged items are protected from the rain and the weather’.
‘The upgrade supports Council’s Towards Zero Waste target, adopted in March 2018, which aims to maximise the diversion of waste from landfill.
‘These projects make up the middle phase of a long-term masterplan first developed in 2017, following consultation with the community, the Environment Protection Authority, local businesses and Councillors. The masterplan sets out how Stotts Creek will meet the Tweed’s waste, recycling and environmental needs as the region grows over the next 20 years. The site remained open throughout the works, with minimal disruption for customers. The site also accepts free drop-off of items such as batteries, household chemicals and gas bottles, helping keep these out of landfill.
‘We no longer think of waste as something we simply throw away. It is a resource,’ Ms Searle said.
‘The next stage of this plan is about preparing for the challenges ahead including treating leachate to removing long-lasting chemicals known as PFAS and working with different levels of government to find a way to deal with embedded batteries. Our overarching aim is to keep protecting our environment while recovering more of what comes through the gate.’
Council say ‘Future works will focus on new technology and storage for the sites leachate to meet long term environmental and regulatory needs. Still to come are the replacement and relocation of the site’s main leachate pond and upgrades to stormwater infrastructure across the site. There is also a new landfill to accommodate the needs of current and future residents and a quarry on adjoining land already planned and approved’.
‘The improvements will help Council manage waste for the Tweed’s growing community for the next 20 years’.
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