Hume City Council faced fresh calls this week to rule out sending household rubbish to a proposed waste-to-energy incinerator in Bulla, and send a signal to the government that it doesn’t support the proposal.
At Monday’s (22 September) council meeting, a resident asked whether it would pledge not to enter into any supply agreement with HiQ, the company behind the controversial Sunbury Rd incinerator and power plant.
The question noted community opposition to the plant, which has not yet received planning permission. It also raised concerns that council could be tempted to divert its 55,000 tonnes of annual household waste to the facility if it gets the approval of planning minister Sonya Kilkenny.
Those with knowledge of waste-to-energy operations estimate the cost to the council could be in the region of $200 per tonne of waste burnt – around $11m annually.
Acting director of infrastructure and assets Danielle Prentice said: “The future method of waste disposal will be subject to the decision of a future council when determining the contracts awarded.”
She said council currently has landfill disposal contracts in place – including with HiQ’s Eco-Hub at 570 Sunbury Rd – that run until 2027, with options to extend to 2029.
She said any future waste disposal agreements would have to go through a public tender process and be assessed under council’s procurement policy.
The exchange highlights ongoing community concerns about the proposed plant, which would see waste trucked in and incinerated for energy production. Opponents fear the plant could impact air quality and lock Victoria into waste-burning over recycling.
A group opposing the incinerator and power plant has a Facebook page here.
HiQ’s proposed WtE Plant– quick facts:
- Waste-to-energy plant would be built by Hitachi Zozen Inova. It has built around 1,600 such facilities worldwide during the past 30 years
- Construction at Bulla would require hiring 600 people
- Day-to-day 24/7 operation would create jobs for 50 to 80 people
- Emissions stack would be 60m tall
- Power plant will require 180,000 litres of water a day
- Electricity output would be 29,000kwh
- It would burn up to 750,000 tonnes of waste a year in a 24/7 operation
- It would be built at HiQ’s Eco-Hub, Sunbury Rd, close to two housing estates
Read all our previous reports on the proposed plant here.