In 2012, Albury Council signed a long-term, multi-million dollar waste collection contract with Cleanaway which was extended to the Wodonga, Corowa and Indigo council areas.

A key plank of the deal was the creation of a compost site.

An initial attempt to establish the facility on farmland at Gerogery bombed and a second go on the edge of Howlong is in danger of also being derailed by a strong community-driven campaign.

Cleanaway was given an extension by Albury Council to build the compost plant and that arrangement expires on June 30 with the waste company no closer to getting a start on the facility.

The council will discuss the next step in a confidential session of council on Monday.

No doubt, Cleanaway has asked for another extension, but the immediate path forward rests in the hands of nine Albury councillors.

One of them, Cr Darren Cameron, has already laid his cards on the table and wants the Howlong proposal dropped and regional composting done at the Albury tip.

He argues, as the head council in the deal, it must have the courage to step in and provide a circuit-breaker.

As was the case with the Gerogery proposal, a joint regional planning panel will sit in judgment on the development application for the compost plant lodged with Federation Council late last year.

But no date has been set for the hearing and then there is the prospect of an appeal being lodged in the NSW Land and Environment Court by the losing party.

The Howlong Community Committee, formed with the intention of stopping the facility proceeding, has been relentless in achieving its end goal.

Something has to give.

The NSW Environment Protection Authority has recently completed its assessment of the development application and concluded, in part, the facility still presents an odour risk even though it ticks all boxes.

From the outside the odds appear to be stacking up against the Cleanaway proposal ahead of the JRPP hearing.

The pragmatic path forward and potentially least expensive is abandoning the Howlong site.