At Council’s planning meeting on 13 November 2025, former mayor, Jan Barham, asked the following questions: ‘Could advice be provided about how waste is managed in Byron Shire? ‘Where does it go? How much is collected? How much is recycled? How much is attributed to visitors as opposed to residents? And how much does it cost as Byron Shire Council has the highest waste charges in the region?’
In summary, staff replied that after the three yellow, green and red bins are collected and delivered to the Byron Resource Recovery Centre (BBRC) in Myocum, they are then trucked out of the Shire to different facilities.
Landfill waste (the red bin), for example, goes to a facility in South-East Qld.
According to staff’s reply, 5,969 tonnes from red bins were disposed of at the Ti tree Bioenergy, Willowbank in the 2024-25 financial year.
In the same year, nearly the same amount of organics (6,026 tonnes) was collected and driven to Phoenix Recyclers in Yatala.
And staff say that comingled yellow bin recycling (4,521 tonnes) headed to a facility in Chinderah.
Qld waste targets
Yet according to a 2 February ABC report, Qld is generating waste at a faster rate than its population growth, with hundreds of thousands of extra tonnes of rubbish added in the past year as the state government vows to boost recycling. To address this, the Qld government said it was ‘already working with local councils and industry to boost recycling’.
The Echo asked Council staff, ‘Given our waste goes to Qld, and the Qld government says that their own waste targets are not being met, has Council got a contingency, or is it working on one for waste?’
‘What plans are there to manage waste in Byron in the coming years?
‘Plans for a bio-energy facility seem to have stalled, as has Council’s solar farm plans near the Myocum tip.
‘How far away is the BRRC from hitting capacity?’
A Council spokesperson told The Echo they have contracts in place with its current transport and disposal of residual waste contractor until at minimum 2030, ‘with an optional three years to 2033 in South-East Qld’.
Regional solution
‘We are working collaboratively with other Northern Rivers councils on a regional waste management solution, under the Northern Rivers Joint Organisation Residual Waste Steering Committee, to address a Northern Rivers- focused solution to deal with both residual waste and other materials streams.
‘The BRRC is a transfer station, and there has been no active landfilling there since 2013.
‘Therefore, as materials come in, are sorted and then go out for further processing and recovery, it is not nearing capacity.
‘It should be noted that Council offers residents two $50 waste disposal vouchers per annum for bulky waste at the BRRC, while others do not and therefore the fee structure may differ.
‘Council also allows materials in good condition that can be resold via the Re-Market (tip shop) to go there directly, at no charge.
‘This encourages source separation and recovery of materials and saves residents disposal costs’, the Council spokesperson added.
While Byron and Ballina councils do not accept asbestos waste, Lismore City Council does. Tweed Shire Council only accepts asbestos from Tweed Shire residents.
Waste management by other councils
A Lismore City Council spokesperson told The Echo they expect to be returning to processing their hard rubbish in Lismore by the end of March, after restoring their facilities following the 2022 floods.
Yellow bin recycling is transported to the Re.Group Materials Recovery Facility at Chinderah, say staff.
‘Food and garden organics (green bin) waste is currently transported to Qld through a contractor where it is processed into compost products. Council explored options for local processing facilities; however, existing organics facilities in the region are currently unable to accept additional volumes’.
According to Ballina Council’s website, ‘Everything put in the red lid landfill bin is transported to the Ti Tree Bioenergy waste disposal facility, located in Willowbank, Qld’.
According to Tweed Shire Council’s website, landfill waste is sent to the Stotts Creek Resource Recovery Centre located on Leddays Creek Road, in the small Tweed Shire town of Eviron.
‘Organic household organic waste (green bin) is processed into compost at the on-site Tweed Organics Processing Facility, operated by Soilco’, the website says.
‘Mixed recycling (yellow bin) is processed at a separate facility in Chinderah and does not go to the landfill’.
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Officially opened on March 6, 1926 the Mullumbimby hydroelectric power station now lies dormant and almost completely untouched on land off Wilsons Creek Road.
For decades, this remarkable piece of infrastructure formed the backbone of the region’s electricity supply, keeping the lights on in Mullum, Byron, Bangalow and other local towns.
Third scheme in Australia
‘At the time it was just the third municipal hydroelectric scheme in Australia,’ Susan Tsicalas from the Brunswick Valley Historical Society told The Echo last week.
‘When they put it in, it was because it was the cheaper option out of wood and coal,’ Ms Tsicalas said. ‘It was designed by William Corin, who also worked on plans for the Snowy Mountains Hydroelectric Scheme.’
The idea for the project dates back to 1909, when land along Wilsons Creek at Lavertys Gap was reserved to develop a water supply for Mullumbimby.
Local councillor W. E. Selwood, who later became Mullumbimby’s Mayor, proposed that the water scheme could also be used to generate electricity.
In 1923, the Mullumbimby Municipal Council engaged Corin to design a hydro-electric power project that would harness the flow of Wilsons Creek.
Construction began in 1924, with water from the creek diverted through a race and tunnel and then carried down a pipeline to a power station located further downhill.
From there, it drove Pelton turbines that generated electricity.
Electric lights powered by the scheme were first switched on in December 1925, and the station officially commenced operation on 6 March, 1926.
Having initially powered Mullumbimby unassisted, the plant was later supplemented with power from diesel generators during periods of low water flow.
The system was gradually expanded, and by the late 1950s the station’s combined hydro and diesel generating capacity had increased to roughly 3.15 megawatts.
The facility was also connected to the wider electricity grid in 1938, allowing it to operate as part of a broader regional power network. ‘It was an important piece of local infrastructure,’ Ms Tsicalas said.
A power station worker. Photo supplied
Source of income
‘The Mullumbimby Municipal Council ran it and it was the Council’s main source of income because the other council’s had to pay a fee for the right to use the power.’
But as the decades passed it became increasingly clear that the power station simply wasn’t keeping up with demand.
‘There wasn’t enough water moving through the Wilsons River to generate the power needed as the grid expanded to accommodate growth,’ Ms Tsicalas said.
Heritage listing
Hydroelectric generation largely ceased during the 1960s, and the station was eventually decommissioned in 1990. Despite ongoing discussions about returning the station to active use as a source of sustainable and renewable energy, the facility is now essentially a historical artefact.
A heritage listing put in place in 2014 means that it cannot be demolished or significantly changed. But the owners – Essential Energy and Byron Council – forbid anyone from going beyond the large metal gates and fencing which surround the facility.
‘Robyn Gray and Ray Musgrave managed to get it heritage listed, but you can’t go and bloody see it!’ Ms Tsicalas said.
‘We’re told that there are community safety issues – asbestos etc. I understand that. But what’s the point of it being state heritage listed if you can’t go and see it?
‘I’d like to see it being opened up a couple of times a year under controlled circumstances and with the proper maintenance. You could have bus trips a couple of times a year. There’s a couple of guys who worked there who are still around who could guide the tours.’
But for now, at least, the gates of the old power station remained closed, leaving this grand old relic to sit in silence the world continues to power along all around.
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