Energy-from-waste facility sparks health, pollution and Aboriginal cultural heritage concerns
A plan to burn 600,000 tonnes of Sydney waste in central west NSW has faced fierce opposition from farmers, families and traditional owners who say the proposed $1.5 billion incinerator threatens their health and jeopardizes their livelihoods.
With Sydney predicted to run out of landfill space by 2030, the state government last year awarded a contract to a private consortium to build and operate a waste-to-energy facility near Parkes, famous for its Elvis festival, astronomical observatory and film about its role in the 1969 moon landing.
The proposed facility will produce steam by burning non-recyclable waste at 1000 degrees and run turbines to generate electricity.
Emissions from the process pass through a filtration system to remove toxic particles.
The company, Parkes Energy Recovery, has told the community that all emissions will be safe and within legal limits, but residents are upset about the burning of household waste within miles of homes, schools and prime farmland.
“If it continues, [and] We are contaminating our products… where do we go?” said Graeme Somers, whose farm borders the proposed incinerator.
The third-generation farmer said he delayed necessary improvements to his home and farm because of the uncertainty surrounding the project.
The state government has the right to buy Somers’ land as part of the Parkes “special activation zone”, a business hub that will draw power from the waste-to-energy plant. The 66-year-old man said he would have the option of leasing the land back but would not stay in the area if the incinerator went ahead.
“I’m at retirement age now, I have three sons and none of them care that much [in farming this land]”So I’ll go,” he said.
The NSW government has legislated a ban on all waste-to-energy facilities in 2022, except for four sites: Lithgow, Goulburn-Mulwaree, Richmond Valley and Parkes.
The proposal promises to create 50 permanent jobs, fund projects in the community and generate enough electricity to power 100,000 homes a year.
More than 200 local people marched in Parkes on Saturday to support pressure from local Wiradjuri groups to stop the project.
“I’d put it in Point Piper, I’d put it in Penrith, I’d put it in Parkes… emissions will be safe.”
Edward Nicholas, director of Parkes Energy Recovery
A cultural heritage assessment conducted in the area in 2019 identified injured trees, cultural artefacts and a quarry, but concluded that no Aboriginal objects or intact archaeological features would be damaged by the project.
Peak Hill’s traditional owner, Aunt Frances Robinson, said the potential impact on the health of her community and land was not worth the economic benefits of the project.
“If one person gets sick from the fallout, that’s one too many,” Robinson said. “I don’t have to worry about tomorrow, I have my grandchildren to take care of my Country… we don’t need this.”
2020 systematic review found that modern incinerators had fewer adverse health effects than older technologies, but warned that many had not operated long enough to gather strong evidence for or against construction.
Parkes Energy Recovery director Edward Nicholas said the state government had chosen the site but was confident the technology was safe regardless of location.
“I’d put it in Point Piper, I’d put it in Penrith, I’d put it in Parkes,” he said. “We’re not saying this is zero emissions. We’re saying emissions will be safe and within license limits.”
The $1.5 billion project is backed by a consortium that includes investors in Abu Dhabi and Swiss company Kanadevia Inova, a pioneer in waste-to-energy technology.
Dozens of waste-to-energy plants operate around the world, including 63 in the UK and three in central Paris, Nicholas said.
Australia’s first, the $700 million Kwinana Energy Recovery facility south of Perth, was opened by Western Australian Premier Roger Cook last month.
Construction of the Parkes incinerator is planned to start in 2027 and open in 2030.
An Environmental Protection Agency spokesman said the company had not yet submitted a development application. Such a proposal would need to be supported by community feedback and rigorous environmental assessments, taking into account air quality, health, agricultural risk, traffic noise, water issues and social impact.
“Emission limits in NSW are among the strictest in the world,” the spokesman said. “[The proposal] “It will need to meet stringent regulatory settings consistent with global best practices.”
The NSW parliamentary inquiry into proposed waste-to-energy plants at Parkes and Tarago, south of Goulburn, received more than 1,400 submissions.
Later this month, the inquiry will begin investigating proposed technologies at the two sites and their impacts on human health and agriculture, as well as alternatives for reducing and managing waste in Sydney.
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