The State Planning and Assessment Commission is the final arbiter on development plans and it is presently considering the building of a $ 700 million waste incinerator at Eastern Creek. This is a very large project and it is proposed to burn 1.4 million tonnes of waste that would otherwise go to a landfill - and at the same time use the resulting heat to generate enough electricity to serve thousands of homes.
As expected, this new innovation is not welcomed by residents living in Eastern Creek and so far it has generated more than 950 objections, with just two submissions favouring the scheme. Eastern Creek is thirty-five kilometres from the Sydney CBD and is classified as a mixed residential/industrial suburb. The proposed incinerator is of modern design and it will blend in with surrounding gardens. The submission suggests that there will be little in the way of released residue to disturb its neighbours.
Angry Eastern Creek residents claim that the State Planning and Assessment Commission is merely a rubber stamp that approves ninety-six percent of the matter that appears before it. They have mounted a major information campaign to have the matter serve as a political weapon. This seems to have spooked the state government with the Premier commenting that even if the Commission gives it the nod she may intervene and consider all options.
This tends to make something of a joke of public money expended on review facilities such as the Planning and Assessment Commission. We have a problem is this state because existing landfills are rapidly reaching capacity and any new sites will experience this same rejection as the waste incinerator. At the same time, we have an electricity crisis and bringing online a new generating source would be very welcome.
A waste incinerator that also generates electricity is a badly needed innovation - and it has to go somewhere ! There is little doubt that if an entirely new site is chosen, it will result in exactly the same NIMBY reaction that we are seeing at Eastern Creek. Sadly, this rejection is based more on perception than on fact. The nay sayers are depicting it as an ugly, dirty monstrosity that will blight their suburb with toxic waste and lower the value of their homes. In reality, it will be modern design set in pleasantly blended garden facilities and the engineering promises efficient incineration with very little released effluent. If it goes ahead, it will probably quickly become a valued source of employment for the area.
The danger is that if it is rejected at Eastern Creek, it may languish and never find a site where it is acceptable. We will persist in putting our waste into holes in the ground and they will become further from the city, pushing up the costs and ignoring technology in keeping with this twenty-first century. The company backing this proposal has promises that must be kept. It should go ahead and be closely monitored. If it fails to meet the promised standards it should be forced to take remedial action - and total closure and removal is a final option in the hands of the Commission.
Otherwise, it could share the same fait as the facility to store our nuclear waste. Forever denied a site where it can be established because of safety concerns and that ever present NIMBY issue.
No comments:
Post a Comment