New Albury SMART Centre doesn't waste chance to be sustainable

The SMART Centre at Albury Waste Management Centre will be a hub for school children to learn about waste, sustainability, energy and water conservation.

Standing for Sustainable Management and Resource Training, the $600,000 building includes resource and training aids, a composting garden made from recycled timber and a bee house to encourage pollination of native plants.

Albury youth mayor Eli Davern, 16, said the facility would make a positive impact on the community and appeal to children, particularly those who might struggle in the classroom.

"They're hands-on, they're getting involved and it's really creative the way they've set it up so I think it's awesome," he said.

"Young people can come out here, learn about the things that matter and make those changes at home."

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Holy Spirit School, Lavington, students visiting on Wednesday were surprised to find out how Styrofoam could be recycled and to see a unicorn made out of plastic bottles.

Albury team leader, resource recovery, Andrea Baldwin said the multi-purpose facility, a six-month construction project, was quite unusual for a regional landfill space.

The education centre would have four staff on site and could be booked for events like meetings and workshops.

"We're using glass in our paths, we've got compost set-ups outside, we've got a bee hotel as well," she said.

"As time moves on, the aim is to include other sustainable-type small projects that we can incorporate into the facility and just showcase that."

Ms Baldwin congratulated residents for their support of council's "fairly ambitious target" to change the way waste and recycling was managed in this region.

"The community have had to go through a fair bit of culture change and they've embraced that," she said.