2020-08-26
Comments below attributable to Jo Clay regarding the CRS Waste facility:
The ACT Greens today called on waste company CRS to publicly clarify details of its proposed waste facility to address local residents’ concerns about leachate and other pollutants, congestion and the redirection of kerbside waste collection.
“The ACT Greens believe that all facilities should adhere to the conditions set by planning and environmental laws and should follow sound planning and community consultation processes. We need a well-resourced Environmental Protection Authority regulating waste and recycling facilities. Any new facility must engage in genuine recycling operations and must not stockpile waste or lead to leachate, air pollution or other pollutants.
“The ACT Government has created a problem for our community by leaving a policy hole in the waste space. Government has not conducted thorough analysis and is not issuing advice as to what types of proposals will and will not be accepted and where they should be located.
“Instead, proposals are being left to the planning system to resolve, when they are often waste policy issues. This is causing genuine angst in local communities as they feel that they must do the policy and impact analyses themselves.
“We want good recycling outcomes but this shouldn’t happen in a haphazard way. We need to plan it properly. Residents and businesses shouldn't have to pick through the planning process to work this stuff out.