SITA Australia has lodged a planning application with the Shire of York for the proposed Allawuna Farm landfill.
"The proposed state-of-the-art, engineered landfill at Allawuna Farm is important in managing the region's future waste needs," SITA Australia's WA general manager Nial Stock said in a press release.
"The proposed landfill will replace SITA's South Cardup landfill facility which is nearing capacity," Mr Stock said.
The planning application is the latest step in a robust regulatory process being undertaken for the development of the proposed landfill.
In early March last year SITA referred its proposal for the Allawuna landfill to the Environmental Protection Auth ority (EPA) which determined it did not require a full assessment as the potential impacts were not considered significant.
Appeals following the EPA decision are before the appeals convener.
Proceeding with the planning application would enable the Shire of York to carry out its required assessment of the proposal, Mr Stock said, while a decision on the appeals would also be expected well within this time.
The proposed landfill, at St Ronan's on the Great Southern Highway, accounts for less than 4 per cent of the 1516-hectare Alla wuna Farm which will remain a working farm.
"Allawuna Farm is the most suitable location for the facility with the location off the Swan coastal plain, and offering separation from ground and surface water and houses," Mr Stock said.
Rigorous planning underpinned the proposal and independent experts has completed the full range of environmental studies for the site, he said.
"Comprehensive environmental assessments found the proposed landfill does not pose any significant risk to the environment, and a separate traffic impact study concludes the Allawuna development would have negligible impact on users of the Great Southern Highway."
The $7 million landfill development would deliver positive benefits for the local economy and the broader York region, he said.
"The Allawuna Farm landfill will boost local employment by creating at least 24 new fulltime positions at the landfill facility and within the waste haulage operation.
"It will also create flow-on economic benefits during construction and through the facility's ongoing operations," Mr Stock said.
"For example, independent modelling concludes that local businesses will also benefit from direct and in-direct expenditure related to Allawuna of $9 million annually," he said.
Information about the proposal could be found at sita.com.au, he said.
