Cleanaway Lucas Heights Resource Recovery Park

Overview

Cleanaway Lucas Heights Resource Recovery Park is a drop-off and disposal site. We provide drop off for pre-sorted loads of paper and cardboard, steel and scrap metals, limited quantities of sump oil, vehicle batteries. This site also houses the Lucas Heights Organic Resource Recovery Facility, which collects and pre-processes organic material for recycling into compost.

Proposed Western Extension Project 

Cleanaway is aiming to extend its existing Lucas Heights Resource Recovery Park landfill, providing much-needed additional capacity and associated critical waste infrastructure. As the only putrescible landfill site in the Sydney basin, an extension of the Lucas Heights facility is crucial to the management of NSW’s looming landfill shortage. According to the NSW Government’s Waste and Sustainable Materials Strategy 2041 NSW Waste and Sustainable Materials Strategy 2041, available landfill in NSW is forecast to be at capacity by 2030. While the Strategy includes plans for responsibly reducing, reusing, repairing and recycling the waste we generate, according to the NSW Government, we still need additional landfill capacity.

Read more about the project here and the FAQs here. 

You’re also invited to learn more about the Lucas Heights Resource Recovery Park expansion at our Information Session this Thursday 11 December 2025.

What’s proposed

With Cleanaway’s existing landfill forecast to reach capacity by 2030, once approved, the Western Extension Project at Lucas Heights Resource Recovery Park will allow Cleanaway to maintain its current processing of Sydney’s red bin waste at a rate of up to 970,000 tonnes per year until at least 2040.

The site extension area is expected to be operational in 2031. The proposed extension would make use of existing environmental control infrastructure and allow the Lucas Heights Resource Recovery Park to continue to generate electricity for around 25,000 homes via its onsite methane collection and renewable power generation system.

In addition to addressing Sydney’s impending waste issue, the proposal will generate both direct and indirect employment opportunities and the rehabilitation and landscaping of the site will result in new open recreational space being created that will see authority over the area transferred to Sutherland Shire Council.

Get involved

Over coming months, we will continue to keep the community informed about the project. Transparent and open communication with the community remains our priority.

The NSW Government issued the requirements (Secretary’s Environmental Assessment Requirements or SEARs) for the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in December 2024, which guide both the technical studies and the community engagement for the project. You can view the SEARs document and project details on the NSW Major Projects Portal.

Opportunities for feedback

Community feedback is important to us; we will host information sessions and other consultation opportunities during 2025. For information on these, please visit this website regularly, or call us on 1800 213 753 or via email at community.NSW@cleanaway.com.au

Stay informed

We encourage you to visit this webpage regularly for updates and announcements. Your input and involvement are important as we develop a resource recovery solution that benefits both the community and the environment.