COUNCILLORS have remained tight-lipped about where the city's $15m organic waste recycling plant will be built.
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In a closed council meeting on Tuesday night, councillors voted in favour of pursuing the purchase of a 117-hectare property about 20km from the Tamworth CBD.
However, when asked by the Leader, acting mayor Phil Betts said negotiations were still under way with the landholder and, at their request, details such as location and price would be kept confidential until the deal was finalised.
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Tamworth Regional Council's bid to establish a food and organic waste recycling plant has been in the works for almost three years.
But, the project hit a major snag in late-2017 over its initial location.
Residents living near the originally proposed site on Duri-Wallamore Road kicked up a stink about potential issues which could arise, including odours and the risk of increasing bird strikes at the airport.
The council ended-up withdrawing its own development application as it went back to the drawing board to look for a new spot.
With a new site singled-out, councillors were optimistic about the project's prospects.
The facility will process up to 35,000 tonnes of waste once it's built and potentially convert material including food and garden scraps, and waste from the city's abattoirs into a fertiliser product.
The project is expected to cost $15.2 million with $3 million in NSW Government funding already secured.
The council wants to have the new facility up-and-running by the middle of 2021.
This time around, Cr Betts was "as confident as one could be" the new site wouldn't hit any hurdles encountered in the initial plans.
"We're very excited, this will fulfill a number of issues that confront us as a society," Cr Betts said.
"It allows for far better recycling of waste products which will end-up becoming a fertiliser which can generate some economic value."
He said it would also reduce the amount of waste going into the Forest Road tip and extend the life of the current facility.