I strongly oppose this project because of the following: Any and all emissions that will result from this incinerator cannot be guaranteed as safe by experts present at a recent meeting in Tarago. The nearest town water is Bungendore, Braidwood, Goulburn and Yass, all the residents that live in between these towns harvest their drinking water from their roofs. Will it be safe to drink and bathe in? We produce wool, grain and meat for human consumption and if a landholder has a trace-back with their produce they will be immediately shut down and unable to trade. This would obviously have devastating effects if this were to happen. I would lose my livelihood.
When Veolia first commenced use of the current tip, we were told that the tip would receive the household rubbish from the Eastern suburbs of Sydney only, however, rubbish is now transported to the tip from every direction, including burnt houses from Batemans Bay. Local residents have been complaining of the stink from the tip for many years now to no avail. It appears that Veolia do not care.
I know Veolia cannot be trusted. If this incinerator goes ahead we will have toxic waste/material from every state in Australia that they cannot burn anywhere else.
I understand that the proposal includes monitoring stations at surrounding locations.
My children and grandchildren live 4kms away on adjoining properties to the west and south of the location of the proposed project. The expert that I spoke to at the meeting in Tarago could not and would not guarantee the emissions as safe. By the time the monitor has detected any harmful emissions, those emissions have already been breathed in by my grandchildren. Would you be happy for your grandchild to breath in emissions that are unsafe?
I feel the reason for the proposed location of the project is because of voter backlash in Sydney. There are far fewer voters here in Tarago and surrounds than there are in Sydney. Why is the health and safety of the residents in Sydney more important than that of the health and safety of the residents of the Tarago district?

My name is James Harrington and I live at 1120 Taylors Creek Road Tarago. This address is a farm less than one and a half kilometers from the proposed Veolia waste incinerator .On this farm we fatten and turn off for slaughter an average of three hundred steers a year.
I strongly object to the Veolia's proposed industrial waste incinerator as the escape of toxic pollutants will over time poison our farm land an the air we breath.
Some of the reasons for my objection:
# The escape of toxins into the air from the industrial process and from the buried ash will accumulate in the soil and groundwater. This will affect our ability to produce chemical free beef. The majority of beef produced in Australia is exported. Many beef inporting countries favor Australian beef because of its chemical free reputation.

#The incinerator will contribute to climate change by releasing an estimated 140,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year.

#The extra carbon dioxide released by diesal locmotives hauling the waste 200 kilometers from Sydney.

#The potential negative effect on the health of the community ,especially children. Our grandchildren regularly visit and enjoy being at our farm, if the proposed industrial incinerator proceeds I would not be comfortable about further visits because of the potential long term health risks.

#I have no confidence in Veolia's ability to adequately administer any safeguards built into the incinerator proposal .For over a decade Veolia has operated a landfill on the same site. This is over a decade of broken promises and the escape of a vomit inducing smell which at times is so severe that it enters our sealed farm house.

#The "Energy From Waste Infractructure Plan" released by the NSW Government acknowledges that waste incinerators impact communities.To quote from the plan:"Populations can still experience health impacts when emissions are below the national standards, and for some common air pollutants, there is no safe threshold of impact".

#This proposal should not be approved for the same overall reasons that the 2018 Eastern Creek proposal was not approved. An industrial incinerator operated By Veolia would not be safe for the community or the environment.

I object to the project on the following grounds:A glossy brochure does not give details of the process.
Increased traffic in the construction phase will have an adverse effect on the local population.
Economic benefits so far have not outweighed the disadvantages.
We the local residents have been lied to from the beginning of this Woodlawn project and our consent was mainly based on the understanding the miners who had lost their jobs when the mine closed would receive their entitlements. We were assured that only putrescible waste would be received, now residual waste can be processed. The local community does not benefit to any great degree from the facility currently, which has over time increased its operations markedly.
There is insufficient evidence that the waste will be sorted/ repurposed before transport to the facility.
There is insufficient information regarding possible contamination of ground water.
Local residents have been subjected to severe odour problems for all of the 20 years of current operation, how will future odour issues be managed.
How will hazardous fly ash produced in the process be disposed of? buried? where?
How will toxic bottom as be disposed of safely.
What is the composition of the aggregate material produced and how will it be used? to say it can be used as road base doesn't mean it will be used in this way.
Already there is significant light pollution from the facility at night, which affects the movements of night flying wildlife such as bats and moths which can travel great distances and are attracted to light; our wildlife needs our protection in a time when many of our native species numbers are in decline.
This development, in my opinion, is a way of the NSW Government solving an escalating problem of waste at the expense of a small rural community who choose to live and derive much of their enjoyment from a natural unpolluted environment.

I write to lodge an objection to Veolia’s proposed incinerator for Tarago. I live in the ACT and am the local member for Ginninderra. I lodge this objection personally and on behalf of the ACT Greens. Please do not allow this facility to be built in our region.

The ACT Greens have long opposed thermal incineration. It is too risky for health and the environment. Incinerators have a long history of polluting our air and water. Testing is always a concern. Burning waste is also a waste of resources. It is also an unnecessary way to generate electricity. The ACT is powered by 100% renewable electricity, primarily sourced from solar and wind. We do not need incineration.

The ACT Government banned incinerators in the ACT in 2020. The ACT Government has committed to introduce the human right to a healthy environment. We would not allow this facility within our borders. We do not want to see one just across our border.

I am concerned for the residents of Tarago and Canberra and for future generations. This facility might impact on the clean air and water in our region. It might also impact on our regional food growers, winemakers and other primary producers.

I sponsored a community petition opposing this proposal. 919 Canberra residents signed it. It is attached to this letter. Residents in Tarago are even more concerned.
Communities Against the Tarago Incinerator demonstrate predicted air pollution on their website using modelling developed by the US EPA. This predicts pollution from the incinerator could reach Canberra, Queanbeyan, Yass and the whole region.

I released the ACT Greens’ Vision for a Circular Economy in August 2022. The ACT Government is now consulting on a Circular Economy. A genuine Circular Economy means we should think about what we need and come up with a sustainable way of meeting those needs. Incineration is not part of that story. Can I discuss this with you as a better alternative to incineration?

I am based in Canberra, ACT but I have a farm in Lake Bathurst, NSW where I spend at least 50% of my time.
I strongly object to Veolia’s proposed incinerator being built in Tarago.
I believe that Veolia’s toxic industrial waste incinerator will poison the local area and destroy my ability to farm here and my property values.
I also believe that it will contribute to climate change by emitting greenhouse gasses and that it is false for Veiola to claim that incineration is better for the environment than landfill when landfill is done properly the way they already do it.

We object to the proposal for all the reasons outlined in our attached submission. This project has no social licence to operate and is at odds with a number of NSW and federal waste management, climate and environmental protection policies. The project represents a major threat to the health of the community and their agricultural and tourism industries in the region as well as representing a toxic air pollution, hazardous waste ash pollution and climate pollution threat to Australia and the Oceanic region.

I live in Goulburn. I strongly object to Veolia’s proposed incinerator being built in Tarago.

I believe that Veolia’s toxic industrial waste incinerator will destroy the quality of not only my life, but my entire family who live within the local vicinity of this proposed incinerator. 230
If this proposal goes ahead we will be subjected to the emission of toxic air pollution throughout our region from our nations capital Canberra, though to Yass, Goulburn, Braidwood, Gunning, Marulan, Murrumbateman and Bungendore, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for the next 25 years.
There are many reasons for my objection, such as
The incinerator toxins will lead to food contamination known to cause a multitude of health concerns like cancer, respiratory impairment, infant death, heart disease, reproductive issues and miscarriage. These are not minor issues, they have a devasting impact on the person suffering the conditions caused by the incinerator toxins, as well as their extended families.
In these days of changing rules and obligations to reverse climate change it beggars belief that such an incinerator would even receive consideration. The emission of 140,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases each and every year, for the next 25 years is a complete contradiction of the NSW government commitment to Net 0 emissions by 2030.