2018-10-18 Ordinary Meeting Agenda

ORDINARY MEETING AGENDA                                                           18 OCTOBER 2018


3.     Proposal

Based on discussions at the meeting on 10 October, Unitywater has agreed to prepare a draft
MOU for perusal by the participating local governments and if acceptable, signing by the respective
CEOs. The MOU would commit the participants to:
 Investigating the feasibility of developing an advanced organic waste treatment process for
   regional food, green waste processing and possibly other waste materials (via an external
   consultant);
 Investigating the potential likelihood of funding of infrastructure costs for the treatment facility
   through a Queensland government grant program (generated via the future waste levy); and
 A commitment from all parties to make available their waste products and feedstock for the
   treatment processes to ensure its future viability.
The consultancy investigation is proposed to be managed by Unitywater and completed by March
2019.

Previous Council Consideration
Nil.

Finance
Signing the MOU will commit Council to contributing towards the consultant costs to investigate
the feasibility study. Initial discussions suggested that the costs (which are unknown at this stage)
would be shared amongst the three participating local government areas as well as a Unitywater
contribution. Noosa Council’s contribution will be funded from the Waste budget.

If the feasibility study demonstrates that the project is viable for all parties, it is anticipated that
funding from the Queensland Government would be explored to proceed with development of one
or more processing facilities.

Risks & Opportunities
Risks
The risks associated with signing an MOU are not significant but it will commit Council to participate
in funding a consultancy investigation of the feasibility of a regional organic waste processing
facility. Should the investigation find the facility to be viable, Council would then need to consider
its position in regard to any funding for the construction and ongoing costs of the facility.

Opportunities
Developing an advanced regional organic waste facility is a potentially significant opportunity for
the broader region. To be successful any applicant will need to be well advanced in their planning
as it is envisaged that competition for this type of infrastructure funding will be fierce when it
becomes available by the Queensland Government in March 2019.

The signing of the MOU will indicate to the government and other parties that the participating local
governments and Unitywater are serious in their intent to develop a regional solution to diverting
organic waste from landfill and using the diverted waste to create a circular economy with the
associated benefits to all parties and the community.

It also indicates that all parties to the MOU acknowledge that infrastructure of this type is best
provided at a regional rather than local scale.

Past investigations into an organic waste solution for Noosa (alone) have resulted in high indicative
capital and operational costs. This proposal allows us to consider sharing in these costs.

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