North-west of Melbourne is a suburb known as a mix of both country and city, providing young families with affordable housing 40 kilometres from the CBD.<\/p>\n
But Sunbury residents are concerned a waste-to-energy (WtE) facility proposed on the outskirts of their suburb could cement its identity as the “dumping ground” for the state.<\/p>\n
HiQ plans to build a plant that would burn landfill waste, transforming it into energy such as electricity and heat, at its site on Sunbury Road in Bulla.<\/p>\n
It is only a kilometre away from a Sunbury housing estate that Alison Medforth moved to in 2023.<\/p>\n
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Locals gathered in Southbank last month to protest against the project. (Supplied: Facebook)<\/p>\n
The 32-year-old said she was devastated to hear about the WtE proposal and felt that HiQ had not listened to the community.<\/p>\n
“We all bought here and moved here really excited to be here \u2026 and then to find out there’s a waste incinerator proposed just down the road, it’s heartbreaking,” Ms Medforth said.<\/p>\n
HiQ already uses the site for landfill management, and according to its website, the growing volume of municipal waste requires new solutions as the population of Hume increases.<\/p>\n
It further explains that WtE is more efficient when located close to where waste is produced.<\/p>\n
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HiQ is proposing a waste-to-energy plant on its Sunbury Road site in Bulla, among other waste management facilities. (Supplied: HiQ website)<\/p>\n
Recycling Victoria granted a cap licence to HiQ in August, marking it as one of the state’s key WtE sites and permitting it to process up to 750,000 tonnes of residual material.<\/p>\n
Ms Medforth is one of the organisers at No Sunbury Waste Incinerator, who are campaigning against the proposal, concerned about its effects on health, the environment and traffic congestion.<\/p>\n
She also said it was unfair that people living in outer suburbs across Melbourne had to choose between potentially risking their health and an affordable home.<\/p>\n
“It’s a widely felt sentiment here in Sunbury that if Melbourne doesn’t want it, it comes here,” she said.’Very little information being provided’<\/p>\n
About 1.5 million cubic metres of soil from the West Gate Tunnel Project were moved to the same HiQ site near Sunbury until 2023.<\/p>\n
Energy from waste debate <\/a><\/p>\n Energy from waste is common around the world, and there are almost a dozen plants now in operation or being proposed across Australia \u2014 but with the opportunity comes other problems.\u00a0<\/p>\n The company has also lodged a development licence application to construct a soil-washing facility to process up to 250,000 tonnes of soil annually at the same site.<\/p>\n “Even the city council over here has been bypassed in all these [WtE] discussions and the community is just rightly tired of being seen as the dumping ground for waste,” Sunbury Residents’ Association president Graham Williams said.<\/p>\n “It’s difficult to quantify [the perceived health risk] because there’s very little information being provided.”<\/p>\n Graham Williams says the community needs to be properly informed about the project. (Supplied)<\/p>\n In a statement, Hume City Council said it was “disappointed not to have had the opportunity for earlier engagement, particularly given the strong community interest in this matter”.<\/p>\n HiQ is preparing applications to the Environment Protection Authority and the Department of Planning, which will need to be approved before the project commences.<\/p>\n The council said once the applications were lodged it would review the proposal in detail and suggest planning conditions to achieve the best outcomes for the community.<\/p>\n Mixed messaging from the Victorian government<\/p>\n A Victorian government spokesperson said WtE was part of its waste and recycling plan and could play an important role in creating jobs and boosting the economy.<\/p>\n But it did not answer the ABC’s questions about the conflict in messaging after three of its MPs opposed WtE projects either in or nearby their electorates.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n