The Advanced Energy Recovery Centre would be built on the existing landfill site pictured. Photo: Veolia ANZ.
The NSW Nationals have announced they will be pushing for an inquiry into waste incineration when parliament next sits in August.
MLCs Nicole Overall and Scott Barrett will put forth the motion following continued plans to process nearly one million tonnes of garbage at regional waste incinerators in Parkes and Tarago.
The proposed inquiry would investigate several areas, including how waste incineration has been used internationally, the potential spread of pollutants, and the impacts on agricultural and human health.
Mrs Overall said the inquiry would be about being transparent with communities affected.
“The NSW Nationals are going to call for an inquiry, put forward a motion for an inquiry into the Tarago and Parkes proposed waste incinerators because of the ongoing concerns around both of those proposals from community members.
“We’re still not receiving any facts and answers around this … They are concerned and frustrated that questions, concerns, issues that they are putting forward … they feel that they’re not being heard, and they’re not being addressed.”
Mr Barrett said an inquiry would allow the community to be heard.
“There’s a bit of a feeling out there amongst a community, that they [aren’t being] listened to by the people that are making the decision,” he said.
“A parliamentary inquiry to take the decision-makers out into these areas, out to places like Parkes will give local people an opportunity to have their questions put to the people that make the decisions and also have their concerns heard by the people that make the decisions.”
With Sydney’s landfills predicted to reach capacity within a decade, the state has been progressing with the controversial plans to expand waste incineration, recently releasing a waste infrastructure plan involving regional incinerators.
Residents of Tarago, which sits halfway between Canberra and Goulburn, have been vocal in their efforts to stop the proposed $600 million incinerator facility being built in their area.
The residents have also attempted to gain support in the Canberra community, warning that the pollution from the incinerators could affect parts of the city.
Ms Overall said the government hadn’t been addressing their concerns.
“Some of the areas of concern and issues raised with me by community members have essentially been around the matters of emissions, the potential toxicity, agricultural and health implications, concerns about water, the opportunity for leaching into waterways,” she said.
“Those general areas are the conversations that I’ve continued to have with community members, both in the Tarago broader region and in the Parkes area as well when they have contacted me about this issue.”
Liberal Member for Goulburn Wendy Tuckerman, who has strongly opposed the Tarago proposal, welcomed the push for an inquiry.
“This incinerator is a serious issue for our region. Local residents have raised genuine concerns around the environmental and health impacts. If it’s safe enough for Sydney – then it should be built there, so I strongly support an inquiry to give our communities a voice.”
The motion for an inquiry will be moved on 5 August when NSW Parliament next sits. According to Mr Barrett, the Nationals were already seeing some support from the Crossbench.
“I just can’t see why anyone would oppose this,” he said.
Ms Overall summed up the feelings she had seen in the region.
“They have a right to ask the questions of if it’s good enough for the regions, then why isn’t it good enough for Sydney and particularly Western Sydney,” she said.
A Veolia spokesperson previously told Region energy generation from waste technology did not pose a danger to the community.
“The NSW Government has set the highest health, environmental and operational standards in the world for this technology and they will only approve projects that can meet them. There will be no unsafe impact on local communities and this will be verified in the environmental impact statement.”
The draft NSW Waste and Circular Infrastructure Plan is available on the NSW EPA website.
