A proposal to build a waste-to-energy plant near homes in Bulla is to be the subject of a council investigation.Hamley
First-term Sunbury councillor Kate Hamley (Emu Creek) raised the issue of Hi Q’s (formerly Hi-Quality) plans for its site in Sunbury Rd in the council chamber on Tuesday 10 June. She called for more information and a formal council response to rising public unease over the firm’s plans.
“There is a situation on our doorstep and it stinks,” Cllr Hamley said. “You may not be aware, but the company Hi Q is planning to build a giant garbage incinerator.
“These facilities are marketed as waste-to-energy, and operate by loading contents of our red bins into an industrial furnace and lighting it up, generating heat and steam that turns turbines and makes electricity.”
While acknowledging the technology has advanced, Cllr Hamley raised alarm over its implications for people’s health, the environment, and traffic.
“The technology has come a long way since the backyard burner of the 1970s. But there are still a number of risks and concerns related to these facilities,” she said.
Click here to read our previous reports on Hi Q
Among her concerns are that local control is limited, with the planning application decision in the hands of the Victorian government.
She’s worried about emissions from the incinerator’s 60m smoke stack, traffic increases – with an additional 400 to 800 trucks a day expected to visit the site if the plan gets the green light – and community trust in the operator.
“At full operating capacity the facility will bring hundreds more trucks onto Sunbury Road, and over the already very dangerous Buller Bridge,” she said. “This could make it much, much worse.
“This development will include a huge exhaust column releasing invisible gases into the air within one kilometre of homes, farms, and Emu Creek.
“And Hi Q’s record of EPA breaches…There is very little trust from the community the facility will be maintained at standards to prevent harm.”
HiQ has previously stated the annual waste capacity for the proposed plant will be 300,000 tonnes. Hume City Council collects about 10,000 tonnes of rubbish a year.
She added that Sunbury had already shouldered an unfair burden in the past, saying the community is concerned that “we will again be treated like Melbourne’s dumping ground”.
“We’ve taken the contaminated soil that nobody wanted. We’ve done our fair share already,” she said.
To respond to growing concern, Cllr Hamley introduced a Notice of Motion requesting a report from council officers on Hi Q’s proposals.
“This notice of motion asks for a report from council officers on this proposal, to bring everyone up to speed and consider our options on how to help inform our community and advocate on behalf of them as well.”
The motion received support from Cllr Carly Moore, who recalled a similar issue in Craigieburn.
“I can remember very clearly all of the angst within the community, the questions, and the uncertainty and the worry about what this might mean for the future,” she said. “I think everybody needs to really understand what this means.”
Council staff will produce a report providing an overview of HI Q’s project, its potential impacts, and options for community engagement and advocacy. It will include:
- Background information on the proposal
- Council’s options for engaging in the permit/application process
- Options for Council to advocate on behalf of the community
