In July 2017 Veolia acquired a business, Ellwaste, which included Patho Landfill in Northern Victoria.
Veolia is a multinational firm that specialises in the waste, water and energy sectors, which has extensive operations throughout Australia and Victoria.
Residuals Disposal
Veolia owns and operates the Patho Landfill, a regional landfill that is available for disposal of residual waste that cannot be recovered for beneficial re-use. The Patho Landfill is located in a rural area approximately 3.5 km south of the Murray Valley Highway. The site is licensed by EPA Victoria to receive putrescible waste, solid inert waste, domestic asbestos and Reportable Priority Waste. The facility has over 25 years of disposal capacity and Veolia operates the facility to Best Practice in accordance with requirements of EPA Victoria.
Key Site Update: Updating Patho Landfill’s Site Contours
The Patho Landfill is located in the Shire of Campaspe and is approximately 3.5 km south of the Murray Valley Highway. The landfill services the local region and is licensed by Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA) to receive putrescible waste, solid inert waste, domestic asbestos and prescribed industrial waste asbestos.
Veolia took over management of the Patho Landfill in 2017 and is delivering a scope of works to improve site compliance. A key scope of these works requires an administrative update to the sites landfill contours, enabling the final capping of cells one to four.
During this process Veolia will also seek to maximise the provision of landfilling without increasing the site's footprint by adjusting contours to increase the available airspace at the site. The proposed contours would not increase the overall height of the landfill. The scope of the change addresses the slope angle from the top of the cells to the edges of the landfill.
Making this adjustment requires engineering analysis and an application by Veolia and approval by the EPA. During this review process the EPA assess a variety of criteria to ensure that the proposal appropriately manages any potential impacts to the health of community and environment.
If you have any questions about this change and application process please reach out to our project team by 30 April, 2026, as Veolia intend to submit this application for EPA review in early May 2026.
Contact:
[email protected]
Community Notification:
Updating Patho Landfill's Site Contours
Posted: 30 March, 2026
Licensed by EPA Victoria to receive putrescible waste, solid inert waste, domestic asbestos and prescribed industrial waste asbestos
Over 25 years of disposal capacity
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is the landfill located in Patho and how is it licensed?
In 2017 Veolia acquired a business, Ellwaste, which included Patho Landfill in Northern Victoria.
The landfill is licensed to accept putrescible waste, solid inert waste, domestic asbestos and Reportable Priority Waste.
As a part of this licence, Veolia remains responsible for the restoration of the land and environment during the aftercare period (estimated to be 30 years) from the licence end date. The aftercare period is an estimate, as the aftercare will continue until an independent Environmental Auditor and the EPA are satisfied with the site's remediation.
What type of waste is accepted at the landfill?
The Patho site provides responsible environmental management of waste that cannot yet be reused or recycled from households, businesses and industry. Waste types accepted:
Solid Inert Waste: This waste category contains hard waste that has a negligible activity or effect on the environment. The waste may be either a municipal or industrial waste. It includes solid materials such as demolition waste that has been determined as not appropriate for recycling. This waste has a low organic content.
Putrescible Waste: This waste category is commonly referred to as household waste, or kerbside waste collected by Councils. It includes material that has a higher organic content that decomposes over time and generates landfill gas.
Domestic asbestos: This is distinguished by the source of the bonded asbestos coming from residential / domestic premises and quantity limits.
Category C Reportable Priority Waste: This waste is defined by thresholds determined by the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) and must be transported to the landfill under an EPA issued waste Transport Certificate. Details of Reportable Priority Waste can be found on the EPA website here.
What are landfill cells?
Engineered landfill cells are constructed to encapsulate waste, leachate and landfill gas within a contained system.
Landfill cells are constructed in accordance with the Environment Protection Authority’s Best Practice Environmental Management (Sitting, design, operation and rehabilitation of landfills - Publication 788.3), which provides guidelines and legislative objectives. During the construction and capping stages, landfill cells are third party auditor verified and approved by the EPA before filling can commence.
What are contours?
When waste is deposited at a landfill over many years, it builds up into a mound. Landfill contours are simply the mapped outline of that shape – showing how high the waste mound is, how steep the sides are, and what the overall form of the landfill looks like from different angles. There are approved contours provided from the EPA and local council for each cell and the overall landfill form.
How is landfill gas managed?
Landfill gas is managed by placing horizontal wells in the waste mass of the landfill cell during each strategic lift as waste is placed in the landfill cell. Once the cell reaches height additional vertical wells are drilled. The onsite gas capture system draws the landfill gas under vacuum and the combustible methane is flared to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigation of odour.
What is leachate and how is it managed?
Leachate is liquid generated from the waste mass within the landfill cell, or any liquid that comes in contact with the waste mass.
The design of each landfill cell allows for leachate to be captured and pumped by the leachate collection system to the onsite treatment facility.
How is stormwater managed?
The site has a stormwater management plan which has been established to plan the capture of rainwater in catchment ponds for use on site. The plan identifies the flow of water to ensure stormwater and leachate is kept separate.
How is the site prepared for fire?
The landfill has a fire risk management plan that identifies potential fire risks in and around the landfill as well as the infrastructure and procedures for addressing these risks. Veolia seeks input from the local fire authority to inform the fire risk management plan.