Weddin Shire Council provides regular updates on the current closure of the Caragabal and Quandialla Waste Facilities through Council Business Papers, with the most recent report provided to the Ordinary Council Meeting on 21 August 2025.
Council is aware of the impacts the closure of the facilities has had on local residents of Caragabal and Quandialla, with Council staff holding monthly meetings with the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) and undertaking a number of joint inspections at each site with the aim of finding a financially viable solution for their remediation.
Recently Council received advice from the EPA and their technical team that the option of encapsulation of asbestos at each site may be permitted subject to appropriate soil testing investigations being undertaken and a detailed engineering design being provided for approval.
An appropriate soil testing contractor has been engaged to commence this work as soon as possible in order to establish if the soil at each site is suitable to allow encapsulation of the asbestos contaminated material.
It is anticipated that if investigations identify that sites are suitable for encapsulation and the detailed engineering encapsulation design is approved by the EPA, works can commence quickly to undertake the remediation works at each site.
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Council has a range of obligations under the Protection of the Environment Operations (Waste) Regulation in relation to the operation of its waste facilities.
This will mean that if the facilities can re-open, the management of these facilities will need to change and improve, to meet these obligations.
Since the closure of the sites, Council has already removed a large amount of stockpiled chemical and oil drums, tyres and steel from each site.
However, Council has experienced incidents of illegal dumping of waste including asbestos, tyres and dead animals at the facilities, which further delays the remediation works and adds unnecessary costs to Council.
Council has recently installed new surveillance camaras and fencing at each facility in order to provide security against uncontrolled access to each site, which is a requirement of the Regulation. Council also encourages anyone that witnesses illegal dumping or suspicious behaviour around the facilities, to report these to Council for investigation.
