Melbourne Regional Landfill (MRL)

Melbourne Regional Landfill (MRL)

Status: operational

Status: Operational

Community Benefit Fund

Round 5 NOW OPEN – Closes 12 April 2024

Cleanaway is calling for funding applications from not for profit groups located in the Caroline Springs, Deer Park and surrounding areas.

Our Guidelines provide more details on eligibility, criteria and key milestones.

If you have an initiative that will make a difference to your local community or the environment within the Melton and Brimbank areas, then you can apply using this Application Form.

If you would like to discuss your application and or eligibility, please contact Olga Ghiri on 0478 316 237 or email olga.olga.ghiri@cleanaway.com.au.


On 1 March 2015, Cleanaway took ownership and operational responsibility for the Melbourne Regional Landfill (MRL), adjacent to the Boral quarry on Christies Road, Ravenhall.

The landfill accepts waste as defined by our EPA licence number (12160). This includes domestic or household waste from kerbside collection, putrescible waste, commercial and industrial waste, construction and demolition waste, low level contaminated soils, green garden waste and clean fill. The landfill is also licenced to receive and dispose of asbestos waste.

We work hard with our customers to ensure the site only receives waste permitted in our licence and our customers and waste contractors have a good understanding of our site procedures and waste regulations.

In September 2017, Cleanaway completed major infrastructure upgrades to the renewal energy plant at the Melbourne Regional Landfill (MRL), boosting waste-to-energy capacity from 4.4Mw to 8.8Mw, and generating enough electricity to power more than 13,000 homes each year.

As waste decomposes at the MRL, it releases landfill gas – a potent greenhouse gas. This gas is collected through an extensive network of pipes and transported to the onsite Biogas Plant. The flammable components of the gas, especially methane, are then disposed of, usually by ‘flaring’ the gas. Learn more about turning landfill gas to power in our detailed article here.

Cleanaway recently installed landfill gas generators that combust the gas, destroy the methane, before converting it into electricity to be sent to the national grid. They have an uptime rate of 90%, which means we’re providing renewable energy into the electricity grid 24 hours a day, all year round.

Nationally, Cleanaway collects 120 million cubic metres of landfill gas every year, which is converted into more than 130 million kWh of renewable energy, enough to power an average of 27,000 homes.

Cleanaway is committed to investing in renewable energy technologies to ensure that even residual waste can still be a valuable resource. Visit our Sustainable Future hub to learn more.

Application for Asbestos Abatement

Cleanaway is seeking approval from the Victorian Environment Protection Authority (EPA) to amend its licence to permit asbestos abatement at the Melbourne Regional Landfill.

Asbestos abatement involves removing asbestos from the waste soils within designated cells, which were brought into the landfill for disposal.  The landfill is licenced to receive asbestos waste.

The abatement process will allow the reuse of soils on site, thereby reducing the volume of incoming soil loads and reducing the number of trucks transporting the soil to the site.

More details are provided here – QAs Asbestos Abatement

 

Community Information Webinars

You can register to attend an online webinar about this application to ask us any questions.

Webinar 1: Wed 4 October 2023 from – 7pm to 8pm (online)
Webinar 2: Thu 5 October 2023 – 7pm to 8pm (online)

You will receive an online meeting link when you register using the contact details below.

To find out more or to register please contact Olga Ghiri – Stakeholder and Community Engagement Manager by email olga.ghiri@cleanaway.com.au or by phone 0478 316 237

 

Application for Steepening of Landfill Batters

Cleanaway is seeking approval from the EPA to steepen the contours of the landfill batters at the Melbourne Regional Landfill.

The purpose of our application is to steepen the perimeter side slope batters of landfill cells from a 1in5 slope to 1in3 slope. This will enable us to maximise the airspace within each landfill cell, without any visual impact and no change to the peak height of the landfill.

A 3D visualisation model was provided to Melton City Council’s planning department to assess the visual impact of our application. Council has determined our application to be “low risk (insignificant)” as the peak height of the landfill remains unchanged.

Our Community Information Webinars were cancelled due to lack of registrations.

If you would like to find out more about this application, please contact Olga Ghiri – Stakeholder and Community Engagement Manager by email olga.ghiri@cleanaway.com.au or by phone 0478 316 237

 

Asbestos Waste Management

In 2022, Cleanaway received approval from the EPA to receive and dispose of asbestos waste within engineered landfill cells only.

More details are provided here – QA’s Asbestos Licence Amendment

Cleanaway hosted Community Information Webinars in November 2021 to enable community members to ask questions about our asbestos management practices.

We also distributed a letter drop to over 45,000 households to inform the broader community and to encourage registrations to our information webinars.

If you would like to know more, please contact Olga Ghiri – Stakeholder and Community Engagement Manager by email olga.ghiri@cleanaway.com.au or by phone 0478 316 237

Supporting our local community

Since purchasing the Melbourne Regional Landfill in 2015, Cleanaway has provided over $300,000 of sponsorships and grants to diverse community groups and welfare programs that have enhanced connectivity, sustainability, waste reduction and sports participation across Melton and Brimbank.

It’s our way of helping to make a sustainable future possible.


Melbourne Regional Landfill – Community Benefit Fund

 

Melbourne Regional Landfill Community Benefit Fund $50,000

Cleanaway’s $50,000 Community Benefit Fund was launched in 2019 and is provided annually to fund sustainability projects that support environmental regeneration, recycling programs and community well-being.

We know that great communities are connected to each other and the environment that they live in. The biggest difference we can make is to empower local communities to take care of their environment, encourage resource recovery and promote sustainability.


Our Previous Grant Recipients

All grant recipients are assessed against a range of criteria and selected on the merits of their project and benefit to the local community.

Cleanaway is proud to award $50,000 of grants to seven community groups across the West of Melbourne, funded through our Melbourne Regional Landfill Community Benefit Fund – Round 4….

Launched in 2019, our annual grants support a range of community well-being projects in the local area enabling welfare support, community connectivity, waste reduction and sports participation.

Congratulations to our Round 4 grant recipients:

  • Aintree Scout Group
  • Burnside Heights Football Club
  • Caroline Chisholm Society
  • Caroline Springs Cricket Club
  • Caroline Springs Football Club
  • Fareshare
  • Western Emergency Relief Network (WERN)

The recipients were selected by a review panel consisting of Councillors from Melton City Council and Brimbank City Council and Cleanaway’s Stakeholder and Community Engagement Manager, Olga Ghiri.

Olga said of the fund: “Cleanaway is delighted to provide funding for local initiatives that enhance community health and well-being. These community groups have a tremendous positive impact in their local area and we’re proud to support them to enable them to continue to support their local community through a range of programs.”

Aintree Scout Group – The Aintree Scout Group provides services to youth aged 5-15 in Melton, Taylors Hill and Caroline Springs. Our funding will support the secure storage and IT infrastructure costs required to safeguard their equipment inside their new hall after construction is completed.

Burnside Heights Football Club – Burnside Heights Football Club, also known as The Bears, is a community-based Australian Rules football club with a strong emphasis on junior player development. Our funding will enable them to run off-season fitness and training programs to keep youths active beyond the usual footy season, over summer.

Caroline Chisholm Society – Caroline Chisholm Society provides support to pregnant women and parents of young children. The Society provides a range of programs for families in need, including counselling, housing, material aid, and maternal and child health assessments.

Cleanaway’s funding for the Caroline Chisholm Society will go towards running costs, practitioners, clinical supervision, and providing material aid to vulnerable women and children.

Caroline Springs Cricket Club – Funding will support the club’s development of the next generation of female cricketers and aims to increase the success of their 2022-2023 season with the best possible resources and assistance for their young female players.

Caroline Springs Football Club – Our grant will enable the club to upgrade its sound system to improve capacity for larger community events and club functions, as well as hosting community fund raising events for Breast Cancer and the Big Cancer Morning Tea.

FareShare Kitchen in Derrimut – FareShare runs Victoria’s largest charity kitchens in Derrimut and Abbotsford. They collect donations of surplus nutritious food from businesses and their chefs supervise more than 150 volunteers to cook thousands of appealing healthy meals. The meals are distributed for free to many charities supporting people who are unable to cook meals for themselves and their family.

Western Emergency Relief Network (WERN) – The WERN community aid program is run by Rotary Clubs across the West of Melbourne, collecting and redistributing second-hand furniture, bedding, electrical and whitegoods to assist refugees, victims of domestic violence, homelessness and mental health.

WERN assists an average of forty families each month and has more than 360 accredited case managers dedicated to delivering support services to people in need.

If you have a great initiative that will make a difference, please contact Olga Ghiri on 0478316237 or email olga.ghiri@cleanaway.com.au to find out how you can apply for Round 5 funding in 2023.

Caroline Springs Community Garden – a local residents groups will convert a barren plot of land in Caroline Springs into a Community Garden and provide educational workshops to encourage community participation in tree planting, composting, garden and greenhouse construction.

Hillside Football Club – our grant will subsidise the purchase of uniforms for two new female teams in 2022 and encourage more female participation and development in AFL football.

Lions Club Taylors Lakes – the club will construct a new Community Garden in Taylors Lakes and will call on local residents to volunteer to learn about garden construction, local fauna, planting and sustainable horticulture.

Refugee Migrant Children Centre – an education program for teachers to help them engage with recently resettled refugees, migrants and asylum seeker children aged 5-7 years, to encourage parents and guardians to participate in the school community and their children’s learning.

Western Region Football League – co-funding a Multicultural Development Hub targeting Vietnamese, Chinese, Maltese and Indian youth aged 10-16 to join AFL football. The program will replicate a successful multi-cultural AFL program rolled out in the City of Greater Dandenong.

Caroline Chisholm Society – provides support to pregnant women and parents of young children. The Society provides a range of programs for families in need, including counselling, housing, material aid, and maternal and child health assessments.

Western Emergency Relief Network (WERN) –This community aid program is run by Rotary Clubs across the West of Melbourne, collecting and redistributing second-hand furniture, bedding, electrical and whitegoods to assist refugees, victims of domestic violence, homelessness and mental health.

Western Emergency Relief Network (WERN)

The WERN community aid program is run by Rotary Clubs across the West of Melbourne, collecting and redistributing second-hand furniture, bedding, electrical and whitegoods to assist refugees, victims of domestic violence, homelessness and mental health.WERN assists an average of forty families each month and has more than 360 accredited case managers dedicated to delivering support services to people in need. The program was also one of the recipients in the 2019 MRL Community Benefit Fund.

Burnside Heights Football Club
Burnside Heights Football Club, also known as The Bears, is a community-based Australian Rules football club with a strong emphasis on junior player development.

Due to the shutdown of sport during the COVID-19 pandemic, the club has suffered a lack of income that would normally come from registrations and canteen and merchandise purchases. The grant money will enable The Bears to purchase uniforms for volunteers and provide jackets for players to wear while on the bench.

Caroline Chisholm Society
Caroline Chisholm Society provides support to pregnant women and parents of young children. The Society provides a range of programs for families in need, including counselling, housing, material aid, and maternal and child health assessments.

Cleanaway’s funding for the Caroline Chisholm Society will go towards running costs, practitioners, clinical supervision, and providing material aid to vulnerable women and children.

George Cross Football Club
Established in 1947, George Cross Football Club is a soccer club for players of a variety of ages. The club plays in Victoria’s State League Division 1, a regional, semi-professional league.

The club aims to achieve a better balance of male and female participation in soccer by introducing new female teams. The funding will support upgraded facilities, a new strength and conditioning program, and fully accredited coaches.

Caroline Springs Cricket Club
Caroline Springs Cricket Club was established in 2003 by local parents wanting to support the growing number of junior players looking to play cricket. Since then, the club has grown to include 180 members across six senior teams and 12 junior teams.

Cleanaway’s funding will enable the club to provide specialist coaching programs for its coaching staff.

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