Tamworth Organic Waste Recycling Facility continues to face delays

The Leader revealed in February how a cost blowout for a proposed Organic Waste Recycling Facility, from $12 million to $30 million, sent council into a frenzied search for alternative options.

Nearly six months later not much progress has been made in finding a private sector solution.

"We're still working on that. The cost of the facility is considerable and we're still talking to contractors and the council about how we might be able to proceed with that, but it's still certainly one of our priorities," Tamworth Regional Council's director of waste and water Bruce Logan said.

Council is running out of time to find a solution before the state government imposes a ban on organic material being placed in landfill in 2030.

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Plans for the organics recycling facility have already been delayed once before as residents' concerns about the project's safety pushed council to modify the waste station's design.

"Until we build an organics recycling facility we cannot roll out a food organics or garden organics collection service across the wider community like other towns," Mr Logan said.

The latest delay comes as residents express outrage at newly-adopted waste disposal charges.

Council recently approved its annual budget, which includes major changes to disposal charges at the city's landfill, with certain items increasing in cost as much as 800 per cent to drop off.

When it comes to organic waste, however, Mr Logan said ratepayers were getting a fair price at $70 per tonne.

"Most people will pay around $7 to $10 for a trailer load of green waste, so I don't see that to be particularly onerous considering the cost to council," he said.

"It costs [council] about $500,000 per year to process that waste and so someone has to pay for that."

Prior to this year, there was no cost for residents to dispose of green waste at the Forrest Road landfill.

Mr Logan said the charge will "only" affect residents with too much green waste for normal bin collection, and people who live in areas without a green bin service.

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