Moss Vale Plastics Recycling Facility

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How will the toxic wastes from this project be dealt with?

go ahead it would have catastrophic effects on the socioecological nature of the Wingecarribee Shire, and our Southern Highlands. There are infinite points of opposition to the DP, some of which I have included in the document attached. I have also included an image of the intended site. You will see how inappropriate a development of this nature and scale is, this close to residents, the town and the sensitivities of the ecological environment on the site, not to mention inadequate infrastructure to support the facility without severe detrimental effects to the immediate and wider community

The Plastic recycling centre is too close within the are that I utilise for bushwalking.
Also the pollution of plastic is within an area near were I work and are maintaining an eco friendly, agricultural environment for our school children.

I wish to correct my previous submission, SUB-37413350, as follows:
Point 4 - Heavy Vehicle movements - the 200 per day number was gathered from the Scoping Report. Though this has been reduced to 100 per day in the EIS, the number is still huge therefore my deep concerns regarding residents' safety and amenity etc. remain unchanged.
Point 7. I have since learned that the new director is an Australian citizen so I withdraw this point entirely.
Thank you

If the DP were to go ahead it would have catastrophic effects on the socioecological nature of the Wingecarribee Shire, and our Southern Highlands. It is an inappropriate development of this nature and scale this close to residents, the town and the sensitivities of the ecological environment on the site, not to mention inadequate infrastructure to support the facility without severe detrimental effects to the immediate and wider community.

The entire project is extremely detrimental to the local and wider environment.

The location of the proposed plastics recycling complex will be hugely detrimental to the people who live in this and surrounding areas. my reasoning as follows:
(i) air contamination and quality will be assuredly worsened.Experience from the UK clearly shows that chemicals so emitted are harmful to humans and this comes with a strong warning: DO NOT BELIEVE ANY ASSURANCES TO THE CONTRARY as put out by local authorities/involved developers/regulators. Once the complex is operational and air samples are taken IT IS TOO LATE to prevent the emissions continuing.
(ii) the traffic in this area is already straining the road network - with a large number of new housing developments coming to fruition shortly. The road network was not designed to address the present volume of traffic, and the foreseen volume will result in huge congestion and economic damage. The proposed volume of traffic with waste plastics coming to the area will result in long bottlenecks and congestion with inadequate relief.

I am happy to devote some of my time and professional experience to further engage on these two major issues.

My Objection is primarily on the basis of the unsuitability of the only access road to the proposed development which is Beaconsfield Rd Moss Vale. I am a resident on this road. Please see the attached submission for further details of my objection.

I am gravely concerned about the environmental, social and health implications of this project on our small town.

I do not support this project for the following reasons:
I am concerned about safety with hundreds of heavy haulage truck movements along residential streets which are not designed for these kinds of industrial truck movements. Already there are daily traffic jams along Argyle Street, Moss Vale without this kind of facility as the local infrastructure struggles to cope with the flow of vehicles. The areas in which these trucks will have to pass through have pre-schools and primary schools and I am concerned about the children's safety as they travel to and from school. Similarly there are many elderly people in the area and such trucks will pose a danger to them in the streets of Moss Vale.
Added to the safety issue will be the disturbance to residents because of constant heavy truck movements 24/7 and the associated noise with the operation of the facility
I am very concerned that Plasrefine has no track record of operating anything like the scope and scale of the proposed development. In fact the owner has a record of environmental breaches in China. I believe that this clearly indicates the applicant does not have the capacity to develop and run this kind of facility and is not the kind of person we would want in charge of such a facility.
The planned operations will also have significant environmental effects on the air and water quality in the area. It should be of great concern as well that the area is is within the Sydney drinking water catchment area.
The proposal is also inconsistent with the existing scenic rural landscape.
I am also concerned that even though Wingecarribee Shire Council and other community representatives have requested a Social Impact Assessment be prepared, the applicant has NOT undertaken this kind of assessment.
Although Plastic Recycling is a desirable process, developing such a facility in the midst of a residential area is definitely NOT an option. Therefore I am objecting to this project in the strongest possible terms and urge the Government to reject this proposal for Moss Vale completely.

I am in staunch objection to this project going ahead at this site or anywhere near the township of Moss Vale. This proposed facility will leech toxic waste into the township and the fumes themselves will directly impact on my home (which is very close as the crow flies) and my health, as well as the homes and health of all Moss Vale, Buradoo & Bowral residences. I object to this facility being at the current site or anywhere near Moss Vale town - it will impact on the health of residents, our protected wildlife, and the SYDNEY WATER CATCHMENT and drinking water. It is being built mere metres away from residential homes. It should be re-located to another site far away Moss Vale, or any town for that matter and preferably not in the southern highlands at all - as with the proposed environment and health impacts of the facility plus the impact on road infrastructure with an increase in heavy vehicles - on our already overloaded and poor quality roads. This is an unacceptable proposal and I wholeheartedly object to this project proceeding.

I am strongly against this project for the following reasons:
- First is the air pollution a plastic recycling facility will produce, this is especially important as the facility is close to a populated area, only a few minutes by car from Moss Vale's town centre, and on the same road as a child care centre with a primary school just another street away.
- Secondly, the road condition is not well maintained and is worn, which will be further deteriated at a faster pace by trucks. As it is a residential area, there are many cars parked on the street, making the road narrow and dangerous for trucks and their driver to navigate through. Another hazard is that children regularly walk and ride bicycles on the street, including travelling to and from school.

I am strongly opposed to this development for a number of environmental, social and safety concerns. The proposed site has serious detrimental environmental issues specifically related to the amount of heavy vehicle traffic movements through residential streets, close to a child care centre and numerous schools and the centre of a small rural town. The existing roads, proposed to be used by the plastics recycling facility are not suitably paved nor wide enough to accommodate the large volume and size of heavy vehicles. There are no footpaths along these roads meaning residents and pedestrians have no alternative but to walk on the roadway which already poses significant risk of personal injury which will only be further increased if heavy vehicles are using these roads. Although there is mention of construction of a proposed access road there is no detail of this within the planning document and no costings provided. Additionally there is no current agreement with Local Council as to the required corridor road.
The proposal does not address multiple site unsuitability issues such as noise impacts, scale of the buildings on such a small site, there are no architectural drawings of the factory complex only a basic concept plan and no discussion regarding amenity of the area. There is a major discrepancy within the EIS - table 7.1 states"processed wastewater- about 10 kiloliters ( 10,000 liters) per year for disposal to sewer" however, Section 7.5.7 "Process wastes" states:" The balance effluent from wastewater treatment" up to 10 kiloliters per day, would need to be discharged to sewer". There is an enormous difference between 10 kiloliters per day and 10 kiloliters per year. The sewage system within Moss Vale is already overloaded and the riparian water way on this site flows directly into the Wingecarribee River eventually linking to the Sydney Water Catchment. In terms of air quality there are a number of concerns including odour from plastic waste, emissions from the 200 heavy vehicle movements per day, there are no modelled emissions from machinery specified in the document. I am very concerned regarding the potential release of toxins into the environment from the factory and from my understanding other factories built by this owner in overseas locations have sanctioned due to the release of toxic waste. The potential impact from toxins may not be known for years but may have direct negative and irreversible impacts on the health of residents of the Southern Highlands. The entire Highlands area is a well known tourist destination for its renowned rural beauty, clean environment, heritage and recreational activities - the impact on tourism that this factory could have has not been explored or discussed and yet has significant negative potential on future tourism and employment within the tourism industry. In summary I am strongly opposed to the building of this facility in this location so close to residential property , the local town area, a 24 hour per day operation and with disregard of these impacts for the residents of the Southern Highlands.

This development is completely inappropriate for the Southern Highlands. The size of the buildings is out of scale with its surrounds and the EIS does not even appear to contemplate vegetation screening.

The small towns of Moss Vale, New Berrima and Berrima are already congested with local traffic without adding an additional 200 trucks per week.
The company operating the facility has previously shown disregard for the environment and safety of community in operations in Beijing - our little country town is pristine and should not be subject to pollution by a company with such a poor track record in that area - particularly where watercourses will need to be diverted to accomodate the operation. Surely there are sites elsewhere in Australia which would not require a company with no interest in the local environment to touch water courses!

The EIS notes that the operation will adversely impact local amenities and will place further pressure on our water system (which is already forecast to be under pressure by 2026). The area is already experiencing a huge influx of residents and traffic due to the large numbers of people relocating to the highlands from city areas. This facility will exacerbate those impacts further. Our current infrastructure cannot support it and the addition of an access road will not address this issue sufficiently.

The EIS also notes that the facility would be impacted by 1 in 100 year floods. We are seeing “1 in 100 year floods” happening in the southern highlands at least once every five years. The potential for this to contaminate our environment and impact our health is just too serious to risk considering how many people drink our water.

This facility will operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We are a small regional town and the noise and vibration impacts will impact a large number of people. This isn’t a city location which has significant background noise which might disguise the noise from the refinery - this is a quiet location. The impact will be huge.

Please don’t ruin the town we love by approving this facility operated by a company which lacks an understanding and appreciation for the area. I have lived here my whole life and it would be heartbreaking to think of our area being subject to all of these concerns for the profit of a small few.

Please see my attached submission.

It should not be allowed that close to residential or environmental sensitive areas.
Why should there be two recycling facilities in the same area,degrading our environment & township.
If the New South Wales hierarchy were to get off their butts &have a look,they may see what we are complaining about.

I object to this project on the following grounds:
Environmental impacts on both ground and air quality.
Impact on Moss Vale residents from vehicular movements
Loss of visual amenity of open countryside
Impact on tourism to the area due to the project being totally inappropriate to the Southern Highlands as an area of rural beauty with clean air.

As a long time resident of this Shire, with children and grandchildren living nearby, I write to object to the Plasrefine proposal. This plastics recycling activity would seriously compromise the clean air which is one of our most precious assets. A facility of this scale needs to be situated far from residential areas. It needs access to roads in all directions with heavy and noisy traffic flowing outside residential areas.
This may well be a useful industry startup. However, for two major reasons it should not be allowed:
1. The Southern Highlands is the wrong area for this. It is already too populated, too important as a pure air and water area close to Sydney, and too reliant economically on tourism. Health would be compromised and jobs lost.
2. This is a foreign owned company without a responsible track record.
As has recently been agreed in relation to Posco's proposed coal mine near Berrima, the Southern Highlands is a precious environment which needs to be protected for future generations, as well as current residents. Any damage to air and water would have serious flow on effects for the community and the economy; in the case of waterways and groundwater, any contamination would be irreversible.
I urge all concerned with these permissions to have the courage to protect what is valuable, for now and for later.