Residents now must separate green waste dumped at Tamworth tip

Residents dumping rubbish at the city landfill would now be forced to sort their green waste into three categories - grass clippings and weeds, tree and shrub clippings and large stumps.

The local council hoped the introduction of the new categories would help sort through weeds more effectively at the dump.

Tamworth Regional Council waste manager Morne Hattingh said the new process had been introduced in a bid to comply with EPA requirements.

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But she said separating weeds and invasive species from green waste at the Tamworth Waste Management Facility would also mean a higher quality mulch product, with less contamination going back out into the Tamworth region.

The mulch would also meet the Australian mulch standards.

"By introducing the categories for green waste, staff are able to sort through the weeds as they come in and process them accordingly. Some weeds take longer to break down and need to be treated differently to others," Ms Hattingh said.

"This change is in place for everyone; residential and commercial users and even our internal council staff."

She said the council did not "expect perfection overnight".

"All we ask is for users to consider the categories when they prepare their green waste and unload it at the landfill," she said.

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