Country towns rubbish plans to process city’s waste
A family moving to a small town for its affordable homes, vibrant community and quiet tree-lined streets fears a proposed waste-to-energy plant could end their country dreams.
A fifth-generation Merino farmer thinks it is “extremely ironic” that a natural fiber such as wool is at risk of contamination from the proposed incinerator for Parkes in central western NSW.
The two teenagers say they are already worried enough about climate change without having to worry about a similar operation being planned near their home in Tarago in the Southern Downs.
“Decisions like this can leave young people feeling like their future doesn’t matter,” one of them wrote to the parliamentary committee tasked with examining the proposed facilities.
The NSW inquiry has received more than 120 written submissions and will soon hold hearings on the development of waste-to-energy plants, an issue that has pitted the two communities against each other.
The majority of applications express the sentiment that rural towns should not have to shoulder the burden of the city’s garbage problem.
As Sydney’s waste storage capacity is rapidly decreasing, waste-to-energy facilities in the regions are seen as a promising solution.
Developers of the Parkes project say their advanced technology will use closed incineration to burn household rubbish transported from Sydney and generate steam to generate electricity.
According to the project description, 99.9 percent of the emissions will be air, steam and water vapor, and all kinds of by-products will be recovered to be used in construction materials.
While similar facilities operate in Sweden, Denmark, Japan, Singapore, Vienna and China, Australia’s first facility in Western Australia will divert 460,000 tonnes of rubbish to produce 38 megawatts of energy per year.
But promises of clean, green circularity have given little credence to those in NSW towns who point to the state government’s ban on waste-to-energy plants in Greater Sydney.
The state government changed planning rules in 2022 to designate four regional areas for waste processing, partly to maximize the use of existing industrial infrastructure.
Monash University environmental engineering researcher Jenny Zhou said society’s concerns about emissions and pollution needed to be taken seriously.
Monash’s analysis of 600 sites in China showed that while waste-to-energy is promising, the increase in plastic litter is increasing carbon emissions.
While the facilities contributed to reducing landfill emissions, the effectiveness of energy from waste varied depending on the composition of the waste and advanced technology.
“This is not a magic bullet,” Dr Zhou told AAP.
“First of all, we must prioritize waste reduction and recycling.”
However, he said some international operations were boosting public confidence by providing real-time data on their emissions and using cutting-edge technology such as sophisticated flue gas purification to effectively remove toxins.
A facility on the edge of Copenhagen’s CBD is doubling up as public infrastructure, complete with an artificial ski slope and hiking trails, in part to demonstrate its safety.
“Nobody wants their backyard to be a dumping ground, it’s a difficult problem,” Dr Zhou said.
“People need to trust the technology.”
The citizen-created NSW inquiry will listen to community concerns and explore alternatives.
“This investigation is a chance to explore fair, informed and inclusive solutions,” said Chairwoman Nichole General.
