WORK is expected to begin in earnest on Tuesday to remove tonnes of decaying garbage from the shoreline at Stockton Beach.
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On Monday an excavator arrived at the site, near Corroba Oval, where mounds of rubbish bulged underneath a layer of geo-fabric.
“A specialist contractor arrived on site at Stockton today,” a Hunter Water spokeswoman said on Monday.
“Work to prepare the site got underway and equipment was delivered, ahead of excavation work which is expected to start tomorrow.
“The work should take approximately one to two weeks to complete.”
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The work will involve the removal of rubbish to 10 metres behind the high-tide mark, with the waste to be stockpiled on site until a long-term plan is devised for its disposal.
The old landfill – last used in the 1970s – was uncovered as powerful swells pounded the coast last month, bringing the suburb’s erosion woes to crisis point.
Keith Craig of the Stockton Community Action Group said residents were anxious to know how authorities planned to fill in the void left behind by the removal of the rubbish.
“That’s the question now we need answered by the Environment Protection Authority or Hunter Water, where to from there,” he said.
“It’s going to be critical they fairly quickly put something in there.”
