2018-07-19
NSW Greens energy spokesman Jeremy Buckingham today said the decision by the Independent Planning Commission to refuse the proposed western Sydney waste to energy incinerator was a huge win for the residents of western Sydney and the lungs of all the people in Sydney. He called on the government to back the Greens bill to ban such incinerators within 15km of residential areas to secure clean air into the future.
The Independent Planning Commission found that “the project is not in the public interest because there is uncertainty around:
- The project’s impact on air quality due to the uncertainty around the project’s emissions and the results of the applicant’s predicted modelling;
- The project’s impacts on human health;
- The suitability of the site; and
- The relationship between air quality impacts and water quality impacts.”
“This is a fantastic win for the residents of western Sydney and the Greens, who have been fighting this toxic proposal for years,” said Greens MP Jeremy Buckingham.
“I am concerned that the Commission has made it clear in their determination that under the current planning process the level of public opposition to the project was not a relevant consideration in the determination and therefore there is still the possibility that a new amended application could be approved.
“The government should now back the Greens Bill which will ban large waste to energy incinerators within 15 kilometres of residential zonings to end this uncertainty permanently.
“Incinerating waste is not green energy. We should be seeking to reduce, reuse and recycle waste rather than create a large incinerator and permanent waste stream to feed its boilers,” he said.
The Greens have introduced the Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment (Waste Incinerator Facilities-Residential Exclusion Zones) Bill 2017 to ban large waste to energy incinerators within 15 kilometres of residential zonings.