Moss Vale Plastics Recycling Facility

I object to the project. Please see attached letter for details.

Please find the attachment which outlines a number of objections, several comments and a few of suggestions.

I object to the plastics recycling plant being built on Beaconsfield road moss vale there are many reasons.
1. The shape of the road itself isn’t great with the increase in traffic the plant brings with it the road will deteriorate further.
2. I have 3 small children one who attends the daycare on Beaconsfield road. We walk everyday she attends the school so she can see the horse across the road (named Banjo) she likes to see the cows just down from our house there are 4 and not to mention the bunnies that run through the fields. We are able to walk safely so she can enjoy these things because there isn’t a lot of traffic. There are no paths on Beaconsfield road so we walk on the road itself. We won’t be able to do this safely if there are trucks driving up and down the street constantly with no pathways in place.
3. I’m concerned about the possibility of pollution increases in the air. All 3 of my children and myself suffer from asthma and I’m worried about how this will affect our health in future.

These are only 3 reasons but they are big reasons for me. Not only are they a concern but on the financial side of this what about property prices on the street? Seems that no one will want to buy on a street that is so close to a plastics recycling plant. That will affect all the home owners on the street.

Is there not a better site for this plant? Somewhere away from towns and houses? Surely somewhere with better access straight off the highway somewhere would be a better idea?

I beg you to reconsider putting this recycling plant in this location. Please.

This development will increase the amount of heavy vehicles coming into our area - we are still a small country town and don't have the infrastructure to support what should be in a industrial area with the correct infrastructure.
The water and air quality will also be affected which is bad for health, enviornment and defeats the purpose of recycling when it causes so much damage to the environment.
I honestly do not want to be watching chimneys blowing out toxic waster from my residential street whilst we are breathing the toxic fumes.

Please see attached letter in objection to the proposed Plasrefine Facility at Moss Vale.

As a rural community, Moss Vale and Bowral are small communities which are surrounded by rural pastureland. The relatively small population are mostly sustained by rural projects and people who have moved here for peace, solitude and the quiet rural life. There are also areas of protected natural forest in the area (the Southern Highlands Shale Forest and Woodland) which are very fragile and need to be sustained. The roads in the area are NOT suitable for large amounts of traffic. Tourism is another of the most viable financial intakes in the area and NO-ONE coming to the area wants to be confronted by the heavy truck traffic, odours and environmental destruction caused by this project, let alone the local population who DO NOT want heavy traffic, nor the smells and industrial outlook, for which reason I left the city in the first place. This environment is extremely fragile I am vehemently OPPOSED to this development in every way.

This proposed factory is a ludicrous idea. Here are the reasons:
1. The noise, pollution, vibration from the trucks entering and exiting the site, plus from the machinery used to shred and powder the plastic waste, is detrimental to the Garvan Institute which is a few metres from the proposal. This Institute breeds experimental mice and is the only supplier of such mice in Australia. It employs a lot of locals and will not be able to continue to operate should this plastic factory go ahead. The Garvan Institute does not damage the environment, nor cause any ill effect to locals or the area.
2. Microplastics are becoming a massive global issue. This will be the largest factory of its kind in Australia, and its located a few hundred metres from homes. The toxicity to residents in our area and to grazing land and waterways is unthinkable. The three largest schools in our region are in the pathway of the winds blowing straight across from the proposed factory. Very definitely the wrong location !
3. This region is a huge tourist area. The amount of dollars that flow into our community through the tourism industry is significant. Many are employed in tourist benefited businesses. The intended site of the factory is in one of the most picturesque spots in our area. Having worked in the tourism industry for 30 years, I cannot understand why our council or government body would choose to destroy the highly lucrative tourism industry with its high employment ratio, for the sake of heavy industry which employs very few due to its highly automated nature. These types of builds need to be situated in unattractive regions where there is not a resident population or other established industries (such as agricultural, tourism, etc) to suffer from the effects.
4. It is now established fact that recycling plastic waste is more detrimental to our environment than putting it in landfill. Plastics can only be recycled a few times before they end up in landfill anyway. In addition to this, the technology proposed to be used by Plasrefine has a lifespan of 10 years. This is simply not an adequate benefit for the damage that this factory will do to our residents, our grazing lands, our agricultural industries such as wineries, olive groves, production of local honey, etc, and our tourism industry.
5. The owner is a Chinese national with experience in toxic chemicals such as formaldehyde production. He was prosecuted in Beijing for polluting. I object to an owner with no experience in recycling, setting up this factory on the banks of the Wingecarribee River which supplies water to 4 million Sydneysiders. I object on the basis that he is inexperienced and could present a possible threat to National security.

That this proposal ever got off the ground at all is ridiculous. It's the wrong location, the wrong industry, the wrong owner.

Our property borders this proposed development site.
After spending 4 years seeking the perfect rural lifestyle property in the southern highlands, we bought our property (54-56 Bulwer Road, Moss Vale) in 2016. As a family we have been enjoying the amazing rural landscape, bird life and general environment to raise our 2 young sons. We also have planted a vineyard (2 acres of Pinot Noir) and have wishes for this to be a multi-generational project to enhance to quality of fine wine being produced in the southern highlands region. My 6 and 3 year old sons are already spending most weekends with me in the vineyard; learning work ethic, enjoying the fresh outdoor environment and building a connection to a long-held family tradition. To say that this proposed development will significantly impact all aspects of the above is an understatement. I would not allow my children to spend time outside - within a few hundred metres of the proposed 6 hectares of buildings; given the significant impacts to the air and water environments. There have been dozens of studies surrounding micro plastics and the impact on human health and by nature of the proposed transport of waste plastic into this micro environment multiple times daily (let alone the pollution impacts from the proposed recycling facility itself) the environment for humans and wildlife will be severely impacted. Additionally, in growing grapes for wine production - with the porous nature of the grapes; the risks associated with any form of altered Air quality, in the proximity we are in, are severe. All vineyards and wine businesses (as well as many other primary producers) in the wider Southern Highlands region will be affected.
Everything about this proposal just does t make any sense in the proposed location.
We have rare bird species (red tailed and yellow tailed cockatoos as a few examples) visit our property regularly; in addition to a number of other wildlife species.
The data provided for this proposed developments’ water usage and subsequent pressures on the local sewer systems are also of major concern.
Having recently heard about a reputable global recycling company submitting a proposal for a similarly large scale plastics recycling facility (in Parkes, NSW) it simply amplifies and solidifies all rational reasons for why this proposed recycling facility should not be approved. Best regards, Michael Kean

Not the right site! The project in question is less than 3km from our town centre, and a mere 250 metres from established residential properties (a daycare included amongst these residential properties)! The residential streets (particularly Beaconsfield Road) have the potential to be severely affected by traffic flow with an estimated up to 100 trucks to be using said roads daily, impacting residents by way of road safety, noise pollution, road damage, vibrations, traffic noise, and vehicle emissions.

Pollutants: There is risk of our air and water quality being affected by the project which will be placed within the Sydney water catchment area, and air pollution produced by the plant has the potential to affect not just Moss Vale, but all of the Wingecarribee area.

Property values: If this project goes ahead, there is no doubt that properties surrounding the site will drop in value dramatically. For many of us, our homes are our nest egg and/or retirement plan, and this has the potential to severely affect the value of our properties in the future.

Contaminated waste disposal: the contaminated waste produced by the proposed project has been earmarked for disposal at both Bowral tip or Anderson's waste, neither of which to my knowledge are licensed to take on this kind of material. The nearest licensed station to my knowledge is Lucas Heights in Sydney.

The rural and residential areas of Moss Vale are beautiful and peaceful, and the site for this project is visible from public roads which will have a major impact on what draws so many to the Southern Highlands, turning Moss Vale from a beautiful rural town into an unsightly industrial area.

This project, in its current form, can not be allowed to proceed.
It is the right project in the wrong spot. The proponents have attempted to make the project fit the location, rather than try to find a location that suits the project.
There are a large number of reasons why this project should not continue.
The first is the fact that it is located remote to plastic collection facilities. For expedience, and to reduce emissions, the sensible approach would be to locate recycling facilities adjacent or within waste collection depots. Even the NSW Waste and Sustainability Materials Strategy 2041 assumes that plastic recycling will occur at the Materials Recovery Facilities - not packaged and then sent by diesel truck to a facility hundreds of kilometres away.
Instead, this proposal has been designed to rely on semi-trailers carrying the plastic waste to the facility, and then a separate semi-trailer will collect the plastic pellets and truck them away to a manufacturing plant.
The EIS estimates a conservative figure of 91,000 tonnes of CO2 being produced by the facility in a year. This is an underestimate as their vehicle figures are clearly underestimated. But even based on this figure, this facility provides no environmental benefit to NSW.
The NSW Waste and Sustainability Materials Strategy 2041 estimates that for every tonne of plastic recycled, there is a reduction of CO2 by around 1.2kg. As a result, using these figures, the plant will produce more Carbon emissions than it saves until it is recycling over 75,000 tonnes of plastic, which is greater than any other plastic recycling plant in Australia.
The other major mistake in the EIS is the estimate of truck movements. This figure has been changed several times, and it has now even been suggested that the number is now reduced below the EIS submission. The number of trucks has moved from 200, to 100, to 50. The issue is that the EIS points out that the trucks delivering the plastic will need to be different to those that take away the plastic pellets, and also those that take away the plastic waste that can't be recycled. So the actual truck movements number needs to be at least doubled. And our local roads cannot handle truck movements of that number.
But the main reason that this proposal should not be approved is that the local community does not want it.
We do not want the increased noise, the increased traffic, and the risk of enviromental pollution.
There is a very high risk of fire - one report estimates that 40% of waste recycling facilities catch fire every 12 months. There are severe fires in plastic recycling facilities every year - there have been recent ones in Wales in 2021 and in South Australia in 2020 and in Greece in 2020. In all these cases, the recycling plant was much smaller than the one proposed for Moss Vale. But in each case, the toxic pollution emanating from the fire caused ongoing concerns for local residents. The Plasrefine site is located within a strong breeze of many parts of Bowral. This is not just a concern for some NIMBY residents in Moss Vale - all of the Highlands is concerned with this.
As we have seen at previous plastic recycling plant fires, it is difficult to reduce or prevent fires. But a major concern for local residents is that access to the facility is poor for fire crews. It is is not worth the risk to our community to allow this facility to be built.
And as we have seen from other recycling plants, such as the one in Kilburn in South Australia, there are odours and microplastics released from these facilities. The EIS claims this will not happen, but previous experience from all the other plants shows that it is not possible to prevent pollution and the release of microplastics. Even just the fact that the roller doors on the factories will need to be constantly open and closed to allow the trucks to enter would indicate that there is a high potential for pollution to be released. The EIS makes the magical claim that through ' technology' this will be mitigated, but with trucks coming and going so regularly you would expect that the roller doors will remain up and open.
There is no economical benefit to our community, as there will be minimal jobs for locals, and the cost of road maintenance will increase.
There is no social benefit to the community, as our roads will be congested with semi-trailers and tourism will be impacted.
There is no environmental benefit - as I have already shown that the carbon emissions produced are greater than any savings made by recycling plastic.
Our community does not want this facility. There are other communities that would be happy to have such a facility built - Parkes in one example.
This facility should be located in Western Sydney, closer to the waste facilities that receive the plastic. The Western Sydney Aerotropolis is the natural home for such a facility, but they won't allow it to be built there. That should tell you enough to ensure that this proposal is not approved in Moss Vale.

I object to the project on the basis that the Moss Vale region is being rapidly developed without due planning for the additional strain on local roads. The Plasrefine reprocessing complex will require a massive number of truck movements through an already congested road system which is in a bad state of repair in many areas.
In addition to the burgeoning housing developments, industrial development should only come AFTER proper allocation of road infrastructure. The towns and villages of the Southern Highlands are sandwiched next to railway lines so there is no room for major expansion of through roads. To allow the type of trucks that such a development as Plasrefine will need to use on local roads, many of them residential, would be highly detrimental to an already strained road system. The Department of Planning needs to generate a major plan for better road infrastructure throughout the district as bottle necks and traffic jams are already commonplace, and not just in peak times. I am also concerned that there is no known track record for the company that made the proposal for the facility and that a Social Impact Assessment has not been undertaken.

I have young kids, the less chemicals in the air and water around us the better. Also, moss vale doesn’t need any more traffic clogging the flow - it’s bad enough as it is.

The location of the proposed development is not suitable for a country town. Our town and country roads will be clogged with large heavy truck movements day and night. Our small Council already has difficulty keeping up with road repairs. Our rate base is small compared to other locations. We cannot afford road repairs now.
The proposal, if approved, will destroy the amenity of residents. Many new residents have moved to Moss Vale during the Pandemic to obtain a safe, clean, rural environment for their families to enjoy. A major polluting industry, threatening our water and air quality is completely in the wrong location. I am aware of a similar project In Parkes NSW and that project has been approved because it is socially, economically and environmentally sensitive to its location. This proposal fails on all levels. No Social Impact Assessment has been undertaken because it would fail on every level. Please do not approve this proposal. It fails on all levels of amenity to our community. It's visual impact, the polluting impact on air and water quality and the adverse impact of heavy vehicle traffic on small country roads will have an detrimental affect on lives and aspirations of our residents and community.

I have made further enquiries with GHD about the proposed road to be located on the Garvan land. There is no survey information provided by the applicant. GHD have made vey little effort to engage with council as to the acceptable design for the road - which is surprising given that the SEARs was issued in October 2020. Correspondence from council has now been received confirming the contact made with Michael Park at council with dates and items discussed. GHD have suggested a 13m wide road corridor would be acceptable which is below the standard of 20m. Other paper roads in the area are 20m wide. The topography requires the construction of major retaining structures on the Garvan land as there is a steep embankment beyond the intersection of Beaconsfield Road. The now established screening trees on the Garvan land would also need to be removed. For the Eastern section there would be a major cut to achieve 5% grade for the trucks and this would also impact trees on the adjoining land to the South (at the boundary).
I believe GHD have made no real effort to demonstrate how the road can be built - and they have conceded that as of 10 March they have no consent for use of Garvan land. We hope to meet with Garvan in the next few days to present our findings.

Regards

I object as development is too close to residential areas that are still expanding . Significantly increased heavy vehicle traffic 24/7 on access roads through residential areas and where schools and daycare centres are located, increasing noise and air pollution . Will affect quality of living of residents and property valuations in a negative way.
Alternatively a suitable locations would be the industrial area near Medway and where Ingham factory is located for example, which is closer to the Hume highway.

I like this project, it is very good for the enviroment.
I hope everyone supports this project, without this factory, more and more plastic waste will go to landfill.
We should use less plastic and use more recyclable things, keep a low carbon life style.

The proposed Plasrefine site is in our residential street that is totally unsuitable for heavy vehicles. Within 400metres of the proposed site is a fully serviced new industrial area with heavy duty road and rail access. Plasrefine should be constructed within the existing industrial area.
Residential areas are for its residents to enjoy and live peacefully and we do not wish to put up with the hazards and noise of industry and heavy vehicle movement. We are totally opposed to the proposed facility.

The proposed Development is therefore not suitable use under the State Environmental Planning Policy 2011 No 511 and includes the Chapter 6B of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation 2001 for the following reasons:
The proposed development is located:
· Less than 2 km from the Town Centre of Moss Vale.
· Less than 1 km from the residential suburbs of Moss Vale.
· Less than 200 m to the first residences.
· Directly adjoining Primary Production Small Lots area.
· Less than 1 km from Early Childhood Learning Centre.
· There are a number of archaeological sites including Aboriginal Sites of heritage values.
· There are only local roads and no any major thoroughfare easy accessible.
The Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) does not address adequately any possible hazard:
· No buffer zone for air quality and odour.
· No buffer zone for noise and vibration.
· No buffer zone for fire hazard
· No plan for evacuation in case of any accident including surrounding residences as well as future employees.

Figure 12.4 and 12.5 Noise Contour is modelled on the way to avoid residential suburbs. There is no natural barrier Or any other barrier, so obviously that contour on both maps intentionally modified.
Instead of identified hazard zones, the LES stated as the potential cumulative hazard (page 284):
· Noise and vibration - 1.6 km radius surrounding the proposed plastic and reprocessing facility site,
· Air Quality and odour – 1.2 radius surrounding the proposed plastic and reprocessing facility site,
· Landscape and visual – 2 km radius surrounding the proposed plastic and reprocessing facility site,
· Aboriginal and cultural heritage – 10 km radius surrounding the proposed plastic and reprocessing facility site,
· Biodiversity – 10 km radius surrounding the proposed plastic and reprocessing facility site.
Please note that the significant residential areas within the Moss Vale and the surrounding rural residences as well as Early Childhood Learning Centre and other facilities will be significantly compromised if the proposed plant will be approved.
Based on the requirements of the SEPP 33 the proposed development is potentially hazardous in nature as it involves plastics and polymers for reprocessing. While the plastic products prior to recycling or final products may not be hazardous and toxic there are some stages in the reprocessing of each of those plastics are hazardous and toxic as discussed below.
Section 7.5.1 of the EIS
This section lists 6 types of plastics and polymers which will be crushed ( powder will be in the) , melted at a high temperature and molded into new plastic products. I cannot find anywhere in the EIS how the proponent is going to address this. The Material Safety Data Sheet (MSD) for each of those plastic is discussed below. Two of plastic proposed for recycling are potentially explosive in the powder form. Other byproducts like plastic sludge is deadly to the environment ( water, wildlife, humans, soil) and cannot be disposed of just anywhere like in Bowral waste facility as GHD report suggests. The GHD Project Manager David Gamble could not answer any of my questions nor the Director of Plasrefine, Nanxi Zheng from China present at last week's meeting with the community in Exeter.

Furthermore a the proposed waste facility has a definite stigma and would affect property values.

Below links to support my concerns.
https://www.epa.vic.gov.au/about-epa/news-media-and-updates/media-releases-and-news/epa-issues-prohibition-notice-on-manufacturer
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-humber-59413339
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/mar/18/recycled-plastic-bottles-leach-more-chemicals-into-drinks-review-finds?fbclid=IwAR35K3JnqybmAEuklAT8mzOygymDcdFH7rcyDAuzC6lKlqQ5QyRYlOUv7pI

I moved to Moss Vale in 1948 and have seen what has happened to the area with it's lack of infrastructure to cater for the increasing population lot alone industry. The reason I continue tolive here is the fresh air and clean air. An industry such as the proposed plastic refinining plant with only further pollute the air and water of the Southern Highlands.
I am not opposed to the recuycling plant per sae, BUT the location requested is ridiculous for the following reasons:
It is within a very close distance to Moss Vale town centre
It is going to infiltrate the Sydney Water Catchment
It is Totally unsuitable to be located next to housing
The size of the building(s) is ridiculoously large - 5 storeys. There is nothing between Cambelltown and Canberra of this size and I do wonder if there are many, if any, 5 storey buildings in the Campbelltown area.
Air polution and smell will create problems when the westerly winds blow, not only across Moss Vale but well over Bowral and the affluent suburb of Burradoo.
Traffic will create even more problems than we have now. At times it takes 15 minutes to drive through Moss Vale as there is no by -pass of the township.
The suggested access roads to the plant are in appalling condition now, what will they be like with some 100 truck movements each day going in and out.
Noise is another problems, 24/7 operation will be abominable, we all now how noise travels at night let alone on a clear frosty night. It will be heard for miles and miles
around.

As a freehold owner this project will violate my right to peace and quiet, I should be protected from the nuisance of the substantial and unreasonable interference from the air,
noise and light pollution.
I believe the location of this facility is wrong, it is within the Moss Vale town boundary, with unacceptable noise impacts, poor road access, overdevelopment of the site due to its small size, and the visual intrusion of the rural landscape and only meters from the Garvan institute, the country side is beautiful and should be enjoyed by people not industry
Transport access is uncertain and unacceptable, their estimate of 100 truck movements per day with no set route and no control over drivers who will take the fastest route, There is no accounting for the additional vehicle movements of the planned 140 staff who will be shift workers and unlikely to use public transport,because of the timing of their shifts.
Road access is not suitable for heavy vehicles, narrow roads with no footpaths within the vicinity of two schools and a child care centre,the roads are already not up to standard
Road maintenance will become the responsibility of the council ratepayers after the initial very small one  off contribution from the developer with no consideration of the further deterioration of the local roads from the heavy vehicles.
The developer speaks of a new access road yet does not even own this land and it would still need to be fed from the local road system, their traffic impact assessment was
undertaken during covid and pre the covid migration to the Moss Vale area, not giving a true and current impact assessment, leading to increase traffic on local roads, increased traffic related noise and inadequate existing road infrastructure.Having the area rezoned light industrial will only bring more industry to the area and the surrounding roads are not equipped to handle this vehicle movement.
I believe my health and safety will be substantially impacted from the toxic residues,toxins in the plastic dust,odour from the plastic waste bales, the large use of town water and the contaminated water entering the overloaded sewage system and also no mention of where the residue sludge and waste goes to, as our current waste sights are already overloaded.The surrounding soil will become contaminated
The Southern Highlands has always been an area of natural beauty giving a comfortable travel time for residents from Sydney and Canberra for respite and tourism this project will severely effect tourism and the future enjoyment of this beautiful natural area.Im sure other areas around Goulborn that have a existing railway line and infrastructure might be better equipped to roll out this development.Im not sure that the developer who only has one other plant operating in the world  is the ideal person to be given this opportunity,Beijing has a shocking pollution problem I know as I have been there
This site should never have been rezoned as a result of a decision from a council that has now been placed in administration.