The independent review conducted by the NSW Chief Scientist and Chief Engineer on the proposed NSW EPA energy from waste policy which will allow waste incinerators to discharge 7kg/hour of dust over our homes and into our water supply. I am not only concerned but mortified that this is even being considered forTarago and its surrounds. Why on earth would I support an incinerator or any operator plans to install where they are legally able to discharge more than 7 kg/hr of dust 24/7 over Tarago homes and the surrounding district?
Waste incinerators generate large amounts of highly toxic ash and other materials such as spent activated carbon which, despite what the waste to energy industry says, can’t be remediated and must be disposed of as hazardous waste. Currently any attempt at immobilising pollutants focuses only on heavy metal contamination and nothing is done to immobilise persistent organic pollutants such as dioxins and dioxin-like compounds. In addition, if undoped activated carbon is used to filter mercury from the discharge stream any mercury collected will not be retained and will leach out of the spent activated carbon. To effectively filter and absorb mercury from the discharge stream activated carbon doped with sulphur is required so that mercury sulphide is formed and is retained.
There are no requirements specifying how the immobilisation of heavy or bottom and fly, baghouse ash, spent activated carbon or other reagents should be carried out. Given the hazardous nature of the waste ash and other reagents this is essential to prevent toxic pollutants leaching into the environment prior to, and after disposal. Currently, proponents are only required to measure a very limited number of pollutants being emitted in stack gases under steady state plant conditions. Testing on modern waste incinerators currently operating in Europe has shown that this performance measure is deeply flawed as the highest concentrations of pollutants are emitted during start up, shut down or stack bypass events. It doesn’t surprise me that in other countries persistent organic pollutants are now being found in the environment, food chain and people from waste incinerators. So why should we believe for one minute that the incinerator proposed for Tarago will comply 24/7 with environmental orders? Veolia’s track record to date speaks for itself - they have a history of non-compliance while operating Woodlawn – who’s to say history wont repeat itself if the ARC is developed.
I do not support Veolia's proposal to build a waste-to-energy (WTE) incinerator near Tarago, in the NSW Southern Tablelands

My name is Sandra Gerber.I live in Croydon Sydney. I strongly object to Veolia's proposed incinerator being built in Tarago.
My daughter's young family live in Tarago. I am greatly concerned that Veolia's waste incinerator will have a detrimental affect on their health and well-being. They grow much of their own food and their water supply is collected in tanks. Both are highly vulnerable to toxic air pollution.
It is well-documented that Veolia has often failed to comply with licensed conditions. The Tarago community has absolutely no reason to believe this would change.
In 2018 the Eastern Creek incinerator in Sydney was rejected based on a list of public health and safety reasons. The proposed Tarago incinerator should also be rejected based on similar reasons. Surely the people of Tarago and its surrounds are as worthy as the population of Sydney for a safe and healthy living environment.

I have a concern for the people who live near it and how it may damage their health and the environment. As well as lowering the value of the land around the area

I object to this project as the area is subject to very frequent high winds ( as evidence by the number of wind turbine in the area), which would spread pollution and harmful substance far and wide, there is a number of farms and hobby farms in the area and it would affect property value. This kind of project was rejected for Sydney in 2018 so why propose it in our region

My name is Annette Carter and I live in Collector. I am strongly opposed to and vehemently object Veolia’s proposed incinerator being built in Tarago.

I believe that Veolia’s toxic industrial waste incinerator will be extremely detrimental to the health of those living in the area. We are proud of being in an area where we harvest our own water and grow our own food. There are many farms in the area. Our child goes to the local school, and it will impact our property prices. There can be no compensation for the health of the local children and the viability of our drinking water and the food we grow. If it’s safe to do, as we are being told, then why is the waste not being burnt where it is being manufactured/made? This would also mean that extensive transport is not needed and therefore better for the environment.

There are many reasons for my objection, such as the health and wellbeing of our community (both physically and mentally) and the environmental impact.

Recent reports, include those send to the NSW Minister for Environment, have concluded that “there is insufficient evidence to conclude that any incinerator is safe” and, in particular “contamination of food ingestion of pollutants is a significant risk pathway for both nearby and distant residents”.

The increased anxiety and other mental health impacts have already had a detrimental negative impact on our community. How would you feel if you harvested your own water and grew your own food and there was a looming threat of those being polluted? This will only be exasperated if the proposal goes ahead.

Unfortunately, Veolia’s overseas incinerators often exceed safety standards. We have been “assured” this will not happen here but the track record of failing to comply to local regulations at the current facility means that we cannot trust that they will follow the required operating conditions.

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

Veolia’s proposed toxic industrial waste incinerator will be seriously impact my health, that of my local community and of the environment. The acid gases, toxic heavy metal particulates (mercury, lead cadmium) and persistent organic particulates (dioxins, furans, PCBs, PFAS) generated by the proposed incinerator will pollute the air I, and my community, breath, contaminate the water I, and our rural community collect for domestic and stock consumption, pollute the Sydney Water Catchment, and contaminat the soil of our rural, food producing area.
I do not want the vegetables, fruit and meat I grow contaminated by Veolia’s proposed toxic industrial waste incinerator. I live in a rural area to minimise the impact of pollution on my health! The NSW Government acknowledges in its own Energy from Waste Infrastructure Plan that waste incinerators impact human health stating, “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”.
In July 2018, the NSW Independent Planning Commission rejected the Eastern Creek waste incinerator in Sydney as not being in the public interest. The reasons included concerns about safety, insufficient evidence that the pollution control technologies would be capable of managing emissions, concern about the relationship between air quality impacts and water quality impacts, the possibility of adverse environmental outcomes, and concern about site suitability and human health impacts. The NSW Government has banned toxic waste incinerators in Sydney due to the risk to human health, risks have not changed since this decision.
Industrial waste incinerators aren’t safe for Tarago if they aren’t safe for Sydney!

I would like to lodge a very strong objection to Veolia’s proposed incinerator being built in Tarago.

My health, that of my local community and of the environment will be seriously impacted by Veolia’s toxic industrial waste incinerator. I do not want acid gases, toxic heavy metal particulates (mercury, lead cadmium) and persistent organic particulates (dioxins, furans, PCBs, PFAS) generated by the proposed incinerator in the air I, and my community, breath nor contaminating the water I, and our rural community, collect for domestic and stock consumption or entering the Sydney Water Catchment, nor contaminating the soil of our rural, food producing area.
I grow my own vegetable, fruit and meat and do not want these contaminated by Veolia’s proposed toxic industrial waste incinerator. I chose to live in a rural area to minimise the impact of pollution on my health! The NSW Government acknowledges in its own Energy from Waste Infrastructure Plan that waste incinerators impact human health stating, “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”.
In July 2018, the NSW Independent Planning Commission rejected the Eastern Creek waste incinerator in Sydney as not being in the public interest. Concerns about safety, insufficient evidence that the pollution control technologies would be capable of managing emissions, concern about the relationship between air quality impacts and water quality impacts, the possibility of adverse environmental outcomes, and concern about site suitability and human health impacts were the reasons included. the NSW Government has banned toxic waste incinerators in Sydney due to the risk to human health, risks have not changed since this 2018 decision.
If industrial waste incinerators aren’t safe for Sydney, they aren’t safe for Tarago!