Image: Members of the No More Incinerators group celebrate the banning of the Matraville Incinerator. Photo: Facebook.
By AMBER GRIFFIN
Plans for the widely contested Matraville Incinerator can no longer go ahead after newly introduced regulations prohibit the use of waste to energy technology within the Sydney basin, if more sustainable options are available.
The plan for the incinerator by Veolia and the controversial Opal Papermill in Matraville to burn tonnes of non-organic waste and materials in order to generate power for the mill has officially been scrapped.
This comes as a result of a community wide fight to ban the incinerator, after a groundswell of opposition arose from residents.
MP Michael Daley calls for Veolia to withdraw application
MP Michael Daley has stood with the cause from start to finish, sharing with City Hub that the proposal to build an incinerator generating emissions and with a huge exhaust stack so close to people’s homes was destructive to residents.
“People shouldn’t have to wake up every day wondering whether they’ll have an incinerator burning waste so close to their homes, schools and playgrounds” Daley said.
“The community and elected representatives all banded together as one to fight this proposal.”
Daley says that now the community and those involved are waiting for Veolia to withdraw their application for the incinerator.
The new laws implemented by the NSW Government prohibit industries in the Sydney basin from using waste to energy technology if they’re already using more environmentally friendly fuel sources.
The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has previously confirmed that since the Opal paper mill uses natural gas – which is considered more environmentally friendly than burning waste – the regulations would render the plans ineligible.
Consequently, Veolia’s unpopular proposal to burn waste to power the Opal paper mill cannot legally proceed as it does not meet the environmental threshold required for incineration in Sydney.
A win for the community
For years the ‘No More Incinerators’ group has been handing out flyers, holding information sessions and circulating a petition opposing the burning of waste at the plant, which is directly adjacent to a residential area in Randwick.
MP Michael Daley took to Facebook to announce the win, saying that it was ” a direct result of our collective fight”.
“Our community can now breathe easier with the NSW Government implementing new laws which would ban the proposed Matraville Incinerator.”
