![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/8db6431aefb73b49f15e7eb540f2d03d60e9ca27.jpg\")
Camera IconA satellite image of the Tamala Park landfill site, taken in July 2026. Credit: Google Earth<\/p>\nThe Mindarie Regional Council has voted to appeal two regulatory decisions made by the State\u2019s environmental regulator last month.<\/p>\n
Last week, in a closed-door meeting, the council moved to formally appeal the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation\u2019s decisions to issue the Tamala Park Landfill operator with an Environmental Protection Notice and refuse a works approval application.<\/p>\n
The refused works application was for a proposed piggyback liner, which the council believes is necessary to bring the landfill to its final profile before closure.<\/p>\n
Chair of the MRC, who is also Town of Cambridge mayor, Gary Mack, said that while the landfill site is coming close to the end of its life, there is still essential work that needs to be done.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just not a case of shutting the gate and walking away,\u201d Mr Mack told 6PR radio.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe actually have to make sure that the topography of the site is really good. That there\u2019s no pooling water.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe also have to make sure there\u2019s a capping, there\u2019s subsoil, topsoil, and vegetation. Because it\u2019s within the urban area, we\u2019ve got to make sure this is aesthetically pleasing, as well as eliminating gas and odour.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Tamala Park landfill had been expected to reach capacity and close in 2028-29.<\/p>\n
Camera IconA satellite image of the Tamala Park landfill site, taken in July 2026. Credit: Google Earth<\/p>\n
Despite the appeal, a spokesperson for the MRC said the council remained committed to carrying out the investigation and planning work requested by DWER in the Environmental Protection Notice.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe appeals are intended to preserve potential outcomes and options while that further work is done,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWork under the EPN is continuing, including the leachate management plan already submitted to the Department.<\/p>\n
\u201cMRC\u2019s priorities remain protecting the environment and closing the landfill at Tamala Park in line with best practice environmental requirements.\u201d<\/p>\n
The decision to appeal comes as it was recently revealed that leachate levels at the landfill site were nearly 400 per cent higher than previously estimated, at about 2.07 million cubic metres in October 2025 – enough to fill about 828 Olympic-sized swimming pools.<\/p>\n
Often referred to as \u201cbin juice\u201d, leachate is the contaminated liquid produced when rainwater and groundwater pass through decomposing waste in a landfill.<\/p>\n
As uncertainty over the landfill\u2019s future continues, the council also voted last week to give five of its member councils the option to send household garbage to a waste-to-energy facility in Kwinana.<\/p>\n
These councils include the Cities of Perth, Stirling and Vincent, and the Towns of Cambridge and Victoria Park.<\/p>\n
The City of Stirling has confirmed with PerthNow that it plans to transition its waste disposal from the Tamala Park landfill site to the waste-to-energy facility, although the exact timing is yet to be confirmed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are expecting to start taking our general waste to the Kwinana Energy Recovery facility this year,\u201d City of Stirling CEO Stevan Rodic said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe waste-to-energy facility will provide a more environmentally and financially sustainable solution for our general waste.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt aligns with our strategic objectives to be a waste-wise city by diverting waste from landfill and improving resource recovery.\u201d<\/p>\n
The two member councils not involved in the Kwinana waste-to-energy plans are Joondalup and Wanneroo, which have both been calling for the earliest practicable closure of the landfill in response to long-running odour complaints from the local community.<\/p>\n
City of Joondalup Mayor Daniel Kingston said the city had concerns over the decision to allow member councils to send waste to the Kwinana waste-to-energy facility.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe city is disappointed by the Mindarie Regional Council\u2019s decision to allow member councils to direct waste to the Kwinana Energy-from-Waste facility, as it believes this arrangement may prolong the life of the Tamala Park Landfill,\u201d Mr Kingston said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe City does not support any proposals, infrastructure investments, works approvals or operational changes that would facilitate, prolong, expand or extend landfill operations at Tamala Park beyond what is necessary to achieve its earliest practicable closure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Mack said Joondalup and Wanneroo would continue using the landfill for now, \u201cbecause there\u2019s still a part of it that actually needs to be filled again to get the correct topography.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also believes the Kwinana facility isn\u2019t the final solution to all waste management needs, and there will still be a need for landfill.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really important that people understand that there\u2019ll always be a need for landfill because not all waste can be incinerated,\u201d Mr Mack said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor example, asbestos, building waste, contaminated soils, and metals can\u2019t be dealt with down there because it\u2019s an incinerator, not a furnace.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Mindarie Regional Council has voted to appeal two regulatory decisions made by the State\u2019s environmental regulator last…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":86934,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[2676,2673,335,2682,464,2674],"class_list":["post-86933","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-perth","tag-joondalup","tag-north","tag-perth","tag-stirling","tag-wa-news","tag-wanneroo"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86933","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86933"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86933\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/86934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86933"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86933"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86933"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}