Clutha District Council has put forward three, stepped, options for an upgrade to its Mt Cooee landfill on the edge of Balclutha in its latest long-term plan, out for public consultation until May 11.
The options range in cost from $300,000 to $1million, which would go towards establishing a transfer station to retrieve and sell on reusable items, alongside health and safety improvements at the site.
The most expensive option would also include an education facility to teach students about recycling and environmentally friendly waste management.
Funding for the upgraded facility would be derived 50:50 from the Ministry for the Environment, subject to its approval, and increased user charges of between 5% and 13%.
"Doing nothing" was not an option for the council, group manager service delivery Jules Witt said.
"Mt Cooee doesn't strictly meet modern standards for a lined landfill, so we need to take steps now to create a working environment that will give us a better chance of extending our operational resource consent beyond the current 2023. It's not good practice to have landfill users at the tip-face, so by establishing a recovery centre and transfer station of some sort, we can improve user experience, health and safety standards, and work towards our waste reduction targets."
About 9200 tonnes of waste were disposed of at the landfill annually, which the council aimed to reduce by 2000 tonnes by 2028.
Council solid waste officer Steve Clarke said the new facility would be a major step towards "transforming" waste management for the area.
"This is an exciting initiative to transform the way we reuse and recycle unwanted household items in the district. There are so many other things we can look at down the track in terms of improving our activities around waste reduction, reuse and recycling, so I hope this project will help open that conversation and act as a springboard," Mr Clarke said.
Landfill users contacted by the Otago Daily Times appeared supportive of the council's plans for 50% "user pays" project funding, which would increase costs by between $5.70 and $14.90 on a base charge of $125 per waste tonne.
Balclutha small business owner Antony Groenewegen, of Antony Groenewegen Builders, said paying for responsible waste disposal was simply a "reality" nowadays.
"We already do our bit to try and separate out reusables, so if the costs are going towards improvements in that area, those sorts of figures don't seem ridiculous. At the end of the day, the waste has to go somewhere. So if we can keep our local site open by making some improvements, let's do whatever's necessary."
Balclutha excavation and haulage firm Andrew Haulage managing director Colin Calteaux said any waste disposal cost increases would typically be passed on to the client.
"Across the sector, with things like fuel and other overheads, the end user pays. We don't cart that much to Mt Cooee because, like other businesses, we have a choice where to go to try and get the best price. But wherever it goes, it has to be paid for one way or another."
Mr Witt said the council believed "user pays" delivered the fairest outcome for the district.
"We want to hear back from people about their priorities in this area. There will be a cost, but the more waste we produce, the greater the need exists for a solution."
