Moss Vale Plastics Recycling Facility

This proposal presents unacceptable Health, Safety and Environmental risks to the community of MossVale. My submission outlines the many reasons why it should not be approved.

I strongly object to the proposed Plastics Recycling Facility at Moss Vale.

My husband and I retired to nearby Bowral 12 years ago to enjoy a country lifestyle in the beautiful Southern Highlands. We are extremely concerned that our lives and those of all residents of surrounding areas will be severely affected by this enormous development. Not only the constant stream of traffic, but the pollution and noise as well as the eye saw of this huge complex.

Moss Vale is a totally inappropriate location for such a huge facility. Please listen to our community and reject this proposal.

This is not the right site for this development. I formally object to this facility being built on this site. There are many reasons to object to this project, these are just a few:
1. It is too close to the Moss Vale town centre, schools, animals (farms), it will disturb the peace of the neighbourhood (many of whom have young children) with trucks moving to and from the facility day and night every day.
2. It will also disturb the native animals in the area, We are trying to plant trees and flowers to encourage native animals to return to the area to nest, feed etc and this would drive them away. The impacts of this on the flora and fauna health would be catastrophic and contribute to global warming.
3. The roads in the area also are significantly under maintained and are not sufficient for car traffic so are definitely not sufficient for trucks and/or increased traffic in general.Also, to accommodate this you would force people from their homes or reduce their land size to accommodate roads, the proponent should be ashamed of this. Housing and land value will also decrease. There are other sites that are not so close to homes and farms that could be used.
4. It will also significantly impact tourism to the area, people come here and support local business as it is quiet, has open spaces with animals that provide fresh country air. This facility would pollute the air and water (plastic fibres and resins) and also create noise pollution which will negatively impact people moving to and visiting the area. If support of the local businesses is impacted there will be higher unemployment and people will be forced to move away from these communities to search for work. Many of these people work on the land and have a focus of developing the land to protect the environment and the native flora and fauna. If they can no longer do this, the negative impact will be felt for years and may not be able to be undone.
5. The proponent has admitted they only want this site because it was affordable and safe so by their own admission, this is not a site that is needed for this facility. The proponent also has no experience in recycling plastics, this should be a big risk to the government as there could be many long lasting impacts to infrastructure, housing, health is water and air is polluted.

The community has proven it is not the correct site. It would be very irresponsible for the government to move ahead with this facility on this site and not to listen to the community.

RE: Proposed Plasrefine Plastics Recycling Facility 74-76 Beaconsfield Rd Moss Vale NSW 2577
SSD Application No – 9409987

Please accept my submission in opposition to the above proposal.
I appreciate the opportunity to participate in this process.

My previous submission in response to EIS 1, spoke to my concerns as a member of the community.

Those concerns were carefully considered, comprehensive, heartfelt and valid. I consider them as foundational to this submission.
THIS TIME IT'S PERSONAL!

My home of the last 25 years is less than 200 metres down wind, and in direct line of sight to this proposed development.

Nothing in the 2nd EIS , apart from the site access amendment, convinces me of any resolve to seriously understand how inappropriate this site is for the proposed development.

So many of the issues of concern have been addressed with generic assurances that all will be resolved in " design details ", after approval.

In my experience, as a former architect of 30 years, conditional approvals are seldom policed.
But I trust the process.
Just know that I, and my close neighbours, will be devastated if this goes ahead. My physical and mental health has deteriorated over the last several years, as increasing anxiety over the possible loss of amenity and quality of life grows closer to being threatened .

A seven acre , 15 metre high building, of as yet indeterminate design, will obliterate a vast portion of my landscape. It will be the source of hitherto absent pollution . Noise , light, dust, smell, particulate of unknown risk and unacceptable fire hazard. All this will blight and assault my sanctuary and my reasonable expectation of a peaceful winter of my life. I'm sure I speak for my neighbours as well.

My home is my only real asset. My expectation has been to be able to realise that asset eventually to fund my aged care. Already my property has devalued in anticipation of what might happen If this project goes ahead , I will no doubt die earlier than I had expected; and in more dire circumstances than I would have hoped.

What is particularly galling, is that I imagine this will be partly Government subsidized . I was called up during the Vietnam war, before I was even old enough to vote. I hope my Government can be a little more supportive of me in this.

I am in complete agreement with the need for green initiatives, such as recycling . I would implore the Department to encourage, and even assist in the realisation of this kind of enterprise, but on a more appropriate site. I would hope this current exercise could go a long way toward establishing a template for a more considered proposal ON ANOTHER SITE!

Yours Sincerely

Chris Makeig. 79 Beaconsfield Road, Moss Vale. N.S.W. 2577
Phone. 48 69 4246

I am making a submission in opposition to the above-mentioned State Significant Development by Plasrefine Recycling Pty Ltd.
I live in Avoca in the Southern Highlands and I'm very worried about the proposed Plastic Waste RecyclingFacility at 74-76 Beaconsfield Rd Moss Vale.
I object on the grounds that there is not enough information provided that ensures the health and welfare of our community.
To begin with there is a significant lack of details available pertaining to the impact of the planet on the local community and environment.
Surely, this information should be considered prior to approval and not after!
For example, and most importantly, my main concern is the impact of toxic residue - including wastewater, and its impact on the local river system AND SYDNEY WATER catchment area, not to mention the demands on processing capacity of the Moss Vale sewage system. Also, how will the air quality in surrounding villages be impacted by plastic dust, chemicals and fumes? How will this impact our community health, including cancer clusters, respiratory, eye, skin disease?
My concern is exacerbated by the fact that the corporation proposing this facility has NO experience in plastics recycling, and yet has a long history of environmental sanctions in China, and has no connection or accountability in our WSC?!
I find it unbelievable that this proposal would be approved without first addressing and satisfying the necessary safety and protection of the health and wellbeing of our community and environment.
This is where we and our loved ones live, work and play and we must protect our Wingecarribbee Shire as if our life depends on it, because it does.

See attached

See attached

Whilst I support the concept of plastics recycling, this proposed factory is in the wrong location. Because of the large number of truck movements per day, it should not be located in a suburban area. There is ample rural land between Moss Vale and Berrima for it to be located there or south of Berrima without subjecting the residents and the streets of west Moss Vale to all those trucks. The trucks should be able to come off the freeway to the factory without subjecting residents to the noise and pollution of the many truck movements.

See attached

See attached letter

The GHD report is completely inadequate in regards to:
1) The experience of the proponent in Australia
2) The business case - plastic refining is a low profit, high volume industry - Wingecarribee Shire is a high cost operating environment, if this proposal is approved, gets built and fails on its business case, the Shire gets left with a white elephant - as this is a single purpose industrial facility, it would be very expensive to repurpose
3) The GHD proposal assumes that there is an infinite supply of raw material for the factory - wrong! It mentions Visy and Suez as competitors for that resource but it does not mention Pact Group, whose operation in Albury/Wodonga will be sourcing more raw material from its northern catchment as their new operation in Melbourne scales up - this is a major oversight.
4) There is no detail on how Plasrefine intend to collect their raw material, in fact the GHD proposal is naive in this regards, yes there is a lot of plastic goes to landfill, it's the cost of collecting it and putting it into trucks that is glossed over - the environmental impact of the proposed collection system should also be addressed.
5) The global price indices for plastic resin (Chemorbis, spglobal etc) show it to be a very volatile market in regards price - has the proponent the financial capacity to cope with periods of falling price? Further, globally, Asia/Pacific is the lowest price market for plastic resin - this is a competitive business in Australia already and major players, Pact, Visy etc are already looking at the need to import raw material from the Pacific region for feedstock security for already operating facilities.
6) The Ethos Urban report is completely inadequate in that it does not mention that Wingecarribee Shire already has a "crisis" situation with regards Childcare facilities - Plasrefine would need to guarantee that it can bring in non-family workers, otherwise we'll have all the proposed 120 to 150 staff driving in from Sydney every day as there is no prospect of a quick solution to the lack of childcare in the Shire
7) Has Plasrefine factored in the cost of housing in Wingecarribee? in a low cost - low profit industry, presumably many of the workers will not be paid the sort of salary needed to buy or rent in the Shire.
8) The proposal does not factor in the Shire Council's current inability to manage its existing workload efficiently - how will it also supervise a major construction project without further delays to other ongoing projects and the requirements of residents?

I believe this development is not right for this site. This area is primarily a residential area with a daycare & 2 schools within 3kms of the site. There is multiple subdivisions already built & others currently in development. Even though this land is categorised as industrial this development is not suitable so close to so many family homes. The toxic fumes has the potential to affect children & the elderly’s health detrimentally.

I also feel uncomfortable that the organisation lodging this submission that has no experience or expertise in the plastic recycling business is going to be in charge of ensuring the environmental safety of the Southern Highlands.

The building will completely take over the landscape of the area. A 5 story high unit covering 8 acres will be among small suburban blocks & family acreages & will completely destroy the amenity of these family homes.

In closing I oppose this development, I believe this in not a suitable site, it’s not the right organisation to be undertaking this development & I believe the toxic gases will have a detrimental effect on many local families.

I object to the proposed Plasrefine Plastic Recycling Facility in Moss Vale.

The proposed development should be refused due to the following items and many many more!!!!

*The proposed recycling facility is a potentially hazardous industry

*The real facts and data about the environmental, social and economic impact of the proposed development are not properly addressed.

*There is no mention of any assessment of microplastic generated by the proposal and its impact on human health, air, drinking water, groundwater, soil

*The proposed facility has a very high demand for town water

*There is a high risk of fires in any plastic processing plants and the proposed development is surrounded by residential and general industrial of Moss Vale and Burradoo and Bowral and other town.

*Microplastic in wastewater will be released into our sewerage

*The traffic study undertaken during school holidays ( 3 December 2020) is irrelevant and misleading
The extra traffic on our already extremely busy roads will be dangerous particularly to our schools that are nearby

*The emitted gases from the stack are toxic and harmful to humans

This is the wrong position for this development.

Moss Vale Plastics Recycling Facility Amended
Application (SSD-9409987)

I object to the above project. I feel that the impact that the plastic recycling factory will have on both our health and our environments health will be detrimental. We, along with many of our friends, moved to the southern highlands for a healthier lifestyle and this project will directly impact that. I feel that we have not been given adequate details on the project either.

Please see my letter attached

This project is too close to a residential area & development. It is within close proximity to schools, including daycares. The amount of additional traffic & pollution generated by this project is an ongoing concern. It should absolutely not go ahead on that site.

I believe strongly that this is absolutely the WRONG SITE for such a facility. In particular I am concerned about:
1. that it is far to close to homes and schools. Moss Vale is a rural community, not part of a large metropoulous and should be allowed to retain its rural community.
2. the huge expected increase in trucks on the roads. Moss Vale is already having trouble with congested road and the proposed 24/7 truck movements and other increased traffic will be extremely detrimental to the residents of Moss Vale. Already Council is unable to keep up with adequate road repairs and these heavy trucks will only make it worse. I know the applicant needs to provide a fee for road set up but what happens when that runs out. Residents will have to pay the road repairs. There are already too many roads without footpaths which will make it even more dangerous for pedestrians.
3. Moss Vale relies heavily on tourism and the extra traffic will have a considerable impact on such essential tourist traffic and consequently our economic success.
4.I am particularly concerned that more details will only be given once the application is approved. That is not good enough. We need to know what the effects on our community might be BEFORE planning is accepted.
5. that the toxic waste water flows directly into the Wingecarribee River and thus the Sydney water catchment. This is not good for either us or Sydney.
6. I don't want to live with the threat of plastic dust and am concerned that the supervisory bodies will not be vigilant enough
7. I am concerned that the whole project is experimental on the part of the proponent. It appears that he has no experience in this field and that it is the largest propopsed facility in Australia.

I am making this submission to DEFINITELY OPPOSE the above mentioned State Significant Development by Plasrefine Recycling Pty Ltd.

The site for this project is very near a highly populated residential area. Moss Vale already has major traffic issues and the proposed bypass has been stopped which means that our traffic problems will be compounded by the vehicles bringing in the waste.
Also, Moss Vale has the Wingecarribee river flowing through it and is in the water catchment area for Sydney.
Moss Vale also has at least 1400 new homes to be built out on the Yarrawa Road called Ashbourne, which will add at least 2,000 cars onto our congested main street.
Please find another area that is not so close to such a built up area.
Thank you
Lynda Porter

I am opposed to this project proceeding as the company have no experience in this field and the project is an environmental risk that the community should not have to face.

The roads infrastructure is not adequate and this will have a major local impact on businesses and families alike.Local schools and housing communities health are likely to impacted due to toxic air and water pollution which hazardous and may have long term affects.

This is not a project suited to the southern highlands and I recommend that you support the local voice in this matter of no plant to be built on this site.

Please see objection letter attached.