By Shelby Brooks and Cam Lucadou-Wells
Cardinia Shire Council has signed on to a controversial advanced waste project which could see a waste-to-energy incinerator built in the South East to address the impending landfill crisis.
The shire is the seventh municipality in the East and South East to officially opt in for the South East Metropolitan Advanced Waste Processing Project, which is expected to include a waste-to-energy plant and incinerator.
Knox, Bayside, Yarra Ranges, Casey, Whitehourse and Kingston shires have signed on to the project while Glen Eira, Monash and Boorondara councils recently decided not to commit to the 25-year contract.
Behind closed doors, Stonnington and Manningham have discussed the project, though the outcome of their vote is unknown.
No decision has been confirmed from Maroondah, Dandenong, Frankston and Mornington Peninsula.
Cardinia Council’s general manager of Infrastructure and Environment Peter Benazic said the shire had been working with other councils and the Metropolitan Waste and Resource Recovery Group (MWRRG) to deliver an advanced waste processing facility.
“An expression of interest process has identified three shortlisted applicants, who are participating in the final tender process,” he said.
“We are pleased to be moving forward with this project, and to have reached this milestone.
“The council and the community will be updated on future key project milestones at a council meeting in the coming months, throughout the tender process.”
Mr Benazic said the work the shire had done “aligns to the commitments the council made in its Waste and Resource Recovery Strategy (2017–26) to address the issue of landfill availability, increase resource recovery, and achieve long-term, secure landfill arrangements by reducing landfill and seeking alternative landfill treatment options.”
“As landfills in the South East of Melbourne are filling up and there are no plans to build any more, we must work together to find a smarter solution for handling household waste,” he said.
“Whilst securing long term waste disposal services, we will also reap environmental and social benefits, and align ourselves to international best practice.”
Community members will be consulted in the design and planning phases of the project, Mr Benazic said.
“A preferred or proposed site or technology has not yet been determined. Any facility would need to be appropriately located, constructed, and operated according to strict EPA regulations,“ he said.
By signing up for the consortium, each council is required to produce a minimum tonnage of waste for 25 years.
During a Glen Eira Council meeting on 22 February, councillors shared their concerns at the lack of community consultation, toxic emissions and a possible gate fee significantly higher than current landfill charges.
Against the motion, Cr David Zyngier said the contract would bind Glen Eira to forgoing newer technologies for a dated 40-year-old system.
It would also block opportunities to increase recycling and the council’s net zero carbon emissions by 2030 target.
The by-product would be “large amounts of toxic waste” that would have to be transported and disposed, as well as emissions in the atmosphere.
According to a Glen Eira council report, the SEMAWPP gate fee payable by 2026 would be up to $235 a tonne.
