NSW authorities to hold public meeting over recycling plant

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Residents in the New South Wales Southern Highlands will address their concerns regarding a proposed mega recycling plant. A three-day review of planning for Australia's largest plant has kicked off today, with most speakers expected to oppose it.

Transcript

00:00In Barrow today, the Southern Highlands community is being asked to respond to the State Government's

00:06decision to recommend for approval a large plastic recycling facility in Mossvale.

00:11The proposal itself would sit on about seven hectares of land, the factory itself on about

00:16three and a half hectares.

00:18It would rise four storeys in the air with a 22 metre stack and proposes to recycle 120,000

00:26tonnes of plastic each year.

00:28It's being pushed through the planning system under the State's Significant Development

00:32Application Pathway, which means it overrides the involvement of the local council.

00:37The State Government sees it as a critical development to help the State deal with a

00:42massive plastic recycling issue.

00:44So for four years, the community has been responding to concerns about the project.

00:49They've raised issues about truck movements, about air pollution and water contamination.

00:55The State Government's approval has led us to today in Barrow.

00:59The community has filled the local Memorial Hall and it's spilling out over the sides

01:03as you can see.

01:05They had a huge response to people wanting to speak at this inquiry.

01:10They at first suggested it would be online with only 50 speakers, 135 people registered

01:15and they were forced to hold two hearings in Barrow, the first of which is happening

01:19today.

01:20A bit earlier, we spoke to a member of Moss Vale Matters and a recently elected councillor

01:25to Winter Caribbee, Rachel Russell, about her significant concerns.

01:30This is simply not the right site.

01:33We have said all along, it is not that we are opposed to the industry itself, it is

01:39that we are opposed to the location.

01:41There is no buffer zone between residential areas containing childcare centres and schools

01:49and this hazardous industry.

01:51This morning we've heard from the proponent and the company, GHD, who were hired by Plasma

01:56Refine to complete the environmental studies supporting the project.

02:01The company suggested that the council should accept it because they've recently supported

02:06a concrete processing plant, something that the councillors outside were very distressed

02:11to hear and rejected on site.

02:13They also suggested the factory would be sympathetic to the landscape, which received

02:18jeered and angry shouts from the hall, at which point the commissioner had to step in

02:23and ask the crowd to be a little bit more respectful of the process.

02:27The mayor got up, the new mayor, Jesse Fitzpatrick, and said that the community was beyond disappointed

02:33with the project.

02:34They were in fact disgusted and furious and there were no circumstances in which the community

02:41would allow this to be built.

02:44We've also heard this morning about the stress of the last four years and the emotional toll

02:49this has taken on the community, who they say they work full-time jobs, they have families,

02:54but they've had to respond to these very technical, lengthy documents and mount an argument in

03:00opposition.

03:01So the hearing will continue today, there are 70 speakers, it'll sit till 7 o'clock

03:05tonight, so a long day for the commission and the community, and they'll return later

03:10this week.

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