The NSW Government proposes a priority waste-to-energy incineration precinct 35km from the ACT.
A proposed incinerator at Tarago will burn 380,000 tonnes of Sydney’s waste each year, including plastics, municipal and industrial waste. It will operate 24 hours a day for 30 years.
The NSW Government plan says these facilities are unsafe for Sydney, reporting for some common air pollutants, there is no safe threshold of impact and citing research concluding “contamination of food and ingestion of pollutants is a significant risk pathway for both nearby and distant residents”.
Emissions modelling demonstrates pollutants will spread throughout the ACT and surrounds.
The ACT Government banned waste-to-energy incineration and proposes legislating the right to a healthy environment. The proposed incinerator jeopardises these moves to protect Canberrans from climate change and ensure everyone can access clean air, water, healthy food and nature.
Your petitioners, therefore, request the Assembly to:
- publicly oppose the proposal and any waste-to-energy incinerator proposed near the ACT;
- ban ACT waste from being used as feedstock for waste-to-energy incineration;
- call on the Act Government to liaise with NSW Government counterparts to ensure ACT opposition is heard;
- call on the ACT Government to lodge a submission to oppose the proposal during the public exhibition of the Development Application and Environmental Impact Study;
- call on the ACT Government to conduct an awareness campaign to ensure Canberrans are informed and know how to object.