Move to clear the air

By Glen Atwell
A COMMUNITY committee has been established by the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to clear up confusion surrounding the Lyndhurst toxic tip.
The Community Engagement Steering Committee, headed by independent facilitator Bruce Turner, comprises 20 members and will aim to improve communication between SITA Environmental Solutions, the operator of the Taylors Road tip, and the local community.
The committee, which visited the site for an inspection last Friday, is made up of industry, community and statutory representatives, including managers and directors from City of Casey and Greater Dandenong. Casey councillor Rob Wilson and Dandenong councillor Jim Memeti are also involved.
Mr Turner contacted the News after an article published last week revealed Lyndhurst had been listed as one of the worst places in Australia to buy a house on a property report, thanks to its 180-acre toxic waste dump.
Mr Turner said improving the quality and accuracy of information to local residents was an important job.
“If there is an information vacuum, people fill it with concern, so we’re going to work with the community and the EPA to communicate what is happening at the landfill and answer questions,” he said.
The committee will consider a range of activities to ease community concern, including:
• Holding community open days at the toxic tip, giving residents the opportunity to take a guided tour of the landfill.
•Issuing information bulletins to regularly update local residents about activities at the landfill.
• Hosting public forums to allow members of the community to ask questions and vent their frustrations.
Local environmental group Residents Against Toxic Waste in the South East (RATWISE) has a member on the committee and labelled early meetings as a step in the right direction. RATWISE secretary Thelma Wakelam said it was an opportunity to gain information about the landfill.
“There are plenty of issues but this steering committee will give us a chance to find out more and, in that sense, it’s a good thing,” she said.
RATWISE chairperson Geraldine Gonsalvez was appointed to the committee to represent to the broader community, and said the proximity of the landfill to residential estates was her greatest concern. “We’re talking about 500 metres from the doorsteps of residents,” she said.
“This committee is a great avenue to present our issues and I hope it results in some positive action.”
The committee is not a decision making body, but, according to the committee’s nomination form, is expected to play an important advisory role to ensure the inclusion of broader community views in decisions about the landfill.
The committee will meet monthly.