City of Greater Geraldton votes to stop accepting septage liquid waste from mining, resources sector at Meru

Council has unanimously voted to impose a ban on accepting any more septage liquid waste from the mining and resources sector at its Meru Waste Disposal Facility. The City of Greater Geraldton increased the liquid waste capacity from 4000 tonnes per year to 6000 tonnes a year in January to accommodate the increase coming from within the City and surrounding shires. Mayor Shane Van Styn said the large increase of liquid waste from mine sites outside of the Greater Geraldton region, such as the Gascoyne and Mount Magnet region, was becoming a problem. At the council meeting on Tuesday, councillors supported the move 11 votes to zero. Cr Bob Hall said the City had an outstanding facility at Meru, but “we get used up by a lot of people” and it was time to draw a line in the sand and stay within its capacity. Cr Natasha Colliver said: “I’m not sure if it’s a good or bad problem to have, it certainly shows we’ve got growth going on in this area.” If no controls were put in place, the City expected to exceed its licensed capacity to receive waste by November. The CEO will advise liquid waste carriers using Meru, the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation and surrounding local governments of the decision.