Compost plans on the nose

By Bridget Brady
COMMUNITY group leaders fear a proposed compost plant near the Hallam Road tip site will be double trouble for residents.
They say residents who live nearby should not have to endure the odours from another waste site.
SITA Environmental Solutions, the company that owns the Hallam Road tip in Lyndhurst, plans to build a $40 million compost plant near the site.
Casey council approved the planning application in August last year, but the proposal is still subject to Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) approval.
Council has also approved a retirement village about 350 metres from the site.
Treasurer of the Hampton Park Progress Association, Tony O’Hara, said he was wary about SITA’s promise of an odour- free plant.
“I don’t have a problem with SITA in general. But I don’t believe they are taking into consideration the interest of nearby residents quite as much as they should,” Mr O’Hara said.
“If the site was not near housing it would be the ideal site. The advancements (in compost waste) I think are fantastic but it is too close to people.”
But SITA’s general manager of marketing and communication Michael Ritchie said the plant was an exciting and leading development in waste management, and a direction the metro waste strategy supported.
“They offer excellent environmental outcomes and this technology is a significant move forward in terms of sustainability,” Mr Ritchie said.
“They are the future of waste management in Australia.”
Mr Ritchie said the plant would have a “totally odour controlled system”.
“It (waste) is put into what is effectively a large factory building that has negative pressure.”
The plant takes organic materials and household waste that would otherwise be destined for landfills and turns them into compost that can be sold back into the market as compost material.
Mr Ritchie said the technology could recover at least 70 per cent of materials that would otherwise go to landfills.
But Cranbourne Residents Association president David Banner said residents had reason to be worried about the compost plant given complaints about the current Hallam Road landfill.
“What they (SITA) intend to do sounds wonderful but my concern is when there is adverse weather like there has been recently, what is going to stop the foul stench that has impacted on the whole area?
“If they say it is odour free, how do they get the material into that fully enclosed place? And the material has to be relocated at some stage.”
Mr Ritchie said he was worried about the management of the compost plant.
“On paper it seems quite adequate. But I can’t say I have had any of my concerns diminished at all.”
The EPA said SITA was required to obtain a works approval from them before public submission would be sought and a decision made.
“EPA believes composting facilities are a great recycling option, providing they are designed and operated to prevent any impacts on both the environment and the community,” EPA media liaison Ruth Ward said.