Shellharbour City residents can look forward to having at least one garbage bin collected weekly after Shellharbour councillors unanimously endorsed a $14.6 million redevelopment of its Dunmore waste facility.
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The Dunmore Resource Recovery Redevelopment Project includes the relocation of the existing transfer station ($8.2 million) and the creation of an organics processing facility ($6.4 million) capable of processing food waste and garden organics, meaning there will be weekly collections of a "green bin".
Shellharbour council scrapped optional weekly garbage collections in 2008 and has been collecting garbage, recycling and garden organics bins once a fortnight.
The council said the relocation of the transfer station was integral to extending the life of the landfill and would allow improvements to recycling.
Construction of the food and garden organics processing facility and subsequent weekly collection would demonstrate the council's commitment to waste minimisation and meet its promise to the community.
The council is confident it can secure more than $5 million in grants for the project, with other funds to come from a special waste restriction fund, money collected by the council for the carbon tax and general revenue.
Cr Kellie Marsh said a service to keep "smelly rubbish" out of a bin for a week would be something most households would enjoy.
Cr Paul Rankin said residents "have been screaming" for some kind of weekly pick-up.
"This project extends the life of our tip, keeps costs down and saves money in the long run as well," he said.
Mayor Marianne Saliba said having a facility in Shellharbour helped keep waste costs low.
"The tip is looking the best it has looked in my lifetime . . . it actually looks like quite a nice place to visit," she said.
The council expects to know the outcome of its grant applications within weeks.
