Since 2021, CEM has been supporting communities in Western Sydney impacted by the waste industry by providing communications, information and air quality monitoring support. The waste facilities impact not just on the actual sites but also on the communities living on the land of the Dharug people who have lived on the Cumberland Plain for more than 40,000 years. The largest waste facility in Western Sydney, the Eastern Creek Waste Facility has a major impact on those living and working around the landfill and recycling facilities. It has failed to adequately manage the landfill in recent years. Beginning in 2020 and becoming much worse after heavy rain in 2021 and 2022, decomposing waste resulted in terrible hydrogen sulphide odours that badly impacted on residents and workers. CEM has been working to support these communities with research and reporting on who is accountable for these failures and what can be done, and with air pollution monitoring and other analysis. On top of these problems, Western Sydney communities have been fighting to stop one or more large waste to energy incinerators being built close to their communities.
Project updates:
Finally, Malouf throws in the towel on his Waste to Energy incinerator in Western Sydney
TNG Pty Ltd’s challenge to the validity of the NSW Waste to Energy regulation that ruled out waste to energy in the Greater Sydney Basin has failed. With the validity proceedings over, the focus shifted back to Malouf’s appeal to NSW Land and Environment Court against the Independent Planning Commission’s refusal to approve his incinerator…
NSW Court of Appeal upholds validity of Waste to Energy regulation -but Malouf still not down and out.
The NSW Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal by Ian Malouf’s The Next Generation (TNG) Pty Ltd against the NSW Land and Environment Court’s finding that the NSW Energy to Waste regulation is valid. Background The Independent Planning Commission (IPC) refused TNG’s application to build a Waste to Energy Incinerator at Eastern Creek in 2018.…
Bingo finally accepts guilt for odours that damaged health of Western Sydney residents.
On June 2, a Bingo Industries subsidiary Dial-a-Dump (EC) Pty Ltd pleaded guilty to allowing odours to escape from its landfill premises into surrounding suburbs. This is an offence under Section 129 of the NSW Environmental Operations Act. Between March and June 2021, Bingo allowed emissions of a rotten egg gas (hydrogen sulphide) to escape…
NSW Court of Appeal reserves decision on validity of Waste to Energy regulations
Ian Malouf’s The Next Generation (TNG) appealed against the decision by the NSW Land and Environment Court that the NSW Thermal Waste to Energy regulation is valid. You can read earlier reports on the case here and here. The NSW Court of Appeal heard the appeal on March 6, 2023 and reserved its decision on…
Malouf still pushing Waste Incinerator in Western Sydney
Ian Malouf’s The Next Generation Pty Ltd (TNG Pty Ltd) has not given up on its proposal to build a waste incinerator at Eastern Creek. Despite a seven year long community campaign opposing his plan and a new NSW regulation gazetted in July, which many believed would stop the project, he continues to push his…
Malouf’s TNG challenges validity of new NSW Waste to Energy regulation
Ian Malouf’s The Next Generation Pty Ltd (TNG) has challenged the validity of a new regulation that prohibits waste to energy in the Greater Sydney basin. The regulation that was made under the powers of the Protection of the Environment Operations (PE0) Act was gazetted in July. TNG’s case against the NSW government will be…
Environment Protection Authority v Bingo’s Dial-a-Dump landfill at Eastern Creek
Criminal Action finally underway In May 2022, the NSW Environment Protection Authority began criminal proceedings against Bingo Industries’ subsidiary Dial-a-Dump Pty Ltd that operates a huge landfill at Eastern Creek. The Land and Environment Court proceedings finally got under way on September 16. The official name of the case is 2022/00135414 Environment Protection Authority v…
NSW Environmental Protection Agency pans Bingo’s Environmental Impact Statement
The post highlights weaknesses and gaps that the NSW Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has identified in Bingo’s Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for its Eastern Creek Waste Facility.
CEM objects to the massive expansion of Bingo’s Eastern Creek Waste Facility
In CEM’s submission for Eastern Creek REP Throughput Increase, we request that this application is assessed in the real world in which this facility operates. Not in a context of out-of-date and inaccurate data.
CEM briefing note on Bingo Industries licence changes
On September 11, the NSW EPA issued an updated licence with new conditions. From a lay perspective the changes seemed complex. For this reason, CEM research director and environmental scientist Charlie Pierce has prepared the following briefing note for the community. It reviews the changes and their significance.