Exasperated by the NSW goverment's approach to new waste-to-energy technologies, the project being driven by Tenterfield Shire Council chief executive Terry Dodds to devise a country council-sized plant to address mounting waste disposal issues is now looking north of the border.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Mr Dodds and mayor Peter Petty are joining forces with Southern Downs Regional Council representatives to tour a Brisbane W2E plant next month which its state government paid to be constructed as a demonstration site.
The cross-border collaborative effort then has its sights set on the abandoned Wallangarra Meatworks as a potential $12 million W2E processing plant. It would deal with waste from both councils, providing employment in a district left bereft when Thomas Foods centralised its abattoir operations in Tamworth.
READ MORE:
There are many hurdles to overcome before that eventuates, although surmounting NSW legislation won't be one of them with the Queensland government seen as much more progressive in this instance.
At the last council meeting Mr Dodds presented a review of the current NSW Energy from Waste Policy Statement, produced in 2015, conducted by himself and colleague Angus Witherby. Mr Witherby is Moree Plains Shire Council's planing & community development director and a partner in the W2E-for-councils initiative.
Mr Dodds described the statement as prescriptive rather than outcome-focused, almost guaranteeing it to be out of date as fast as it's written.
"Apart from restricting technologies that could be used to reduce landfilling in NSW, the regulation as it stands at present also fails to take into account wider global market economics, the tyranny of distance, and international risk management standards," he said.
"Having a policy that effectively thwarts EfW (Energy from Waste), especially in rural NSW, will continue to force local government to landfill."
Mr Dodds said Queensland policy is outcome-driven, whereas the NSW version is so prescriptive that modern technologies can't use best practice because they've got to be proven in Australia, and the policy won't allow it.
He anticipates a council W2E plant would deal largely with level 4 waste (municipal solid waste) which excludes sorted recyclables, suspecting that plastic stockpiles will continue to grow.
