Recently, the Waitaki District Council has constructed a new road to a new tip face, removing it from the eastern end of the landfill site so it can be capped.
Water services and waste manager Martin Pacey said green waste would be stored and shredded on the top portion of the landfill and used as a mulch layer over the cap.
This first stage is expected to cost about $200,000 and be completed in about six weeks.
No date has yet been set to stop dumping at the landfill, but the resource consent expires in April next year.
''We will likely continue to receive green waste and possibly capping material for some time following the eventual landfill closure to assist in the capping operation,'' he said.
No definitive decision had yet been made by the council on what it would do with the landfill site once it was closed.
One of the town's first landfills was turned into the Centennial Park sports complex.
A partnership agreement has been approved by the council with Waste Management NZ and the next step is to make sure an Oamaru transfer station and disposal of the waste outside the district is in place.
That will also include the involvement of the Waitaki Resource Recovery Trust, which operates the Waitaki resource recovery park in Chelmer St.
