Mega landfill binned
A CONTROVERSIAL proposal to be build a mega landfill in a former quarry at Leongatha South has been abandoned.
Eastern Victoria Region MLC Melina Bath was advised by French waste management giant Veolia the company had no further plans to continue with this $10 million proposal, originally mooted for Whitelaws Track.
The proposal, had it proceeded, would have resulted in up to 22 A-double trucks full of rubbish passing through Leongatha and Koonwarra to the tip daily. The rubbish was proposed to come from the Dandenong and possibly Mornington Peninsula shires.
Ms Bath and fellow Nationals MP, Gippsland South MLA Danny O’Brien, joined with community campaigners at the site last Wednesday to celebrate the fantastic news.
Mr O’Brien said neither the Gippsland nor metropolitan waste planning groups had accepted the need for the dump at Leongatha South, denting any credibility it had to proceed.
“We know we have to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill and Gippsland will accept the responsibility for dealing with its own waste, Melbourne should too,” he said.
“I am disappointed that having raised community anxiety about this issue, that it took follow up from us to confirm it was now dead.
“That is disrespectful to the community and Veolia’s behaviour in this case has been poor. It was a great effort by the community. A good community campaign is what did it.”
Ms Bath said the community petition signed by nearly 3000 people helped stop the proposal.
“Leongatha and Koonwarra’s concerns about the environmental effects really helped push forward our case,” she said.
Ms Bath said, as a Koonwarra resident, she was equally concerned about what the dump would have meant.
“I give great credit to the Dump the Dump group which pounded the pavement, collected signatures and prepared a significant campaign against the dump idea,” she said.
“I also pay tribute to the businesses that hosted the petitions and leant their support to the campaign.
“For Veolia to get the go ahead, there needed to be a need for it and there wasn’t a need.
“Now we will have good clean land for furthermore we hope.”
Mr O’Brien said the project “was sprung on the community by Veolia” and “presented as something of a done deal”.
“What the company didn’t anticipate was the fantastic community campaign that mobilised almost instantly to oppose the dump,” he said.
“I was please to table in State Parliament almost 3000 petitions against the proposal and the community campaign made it clear that South Gippsland did not want Melbourne’s waste.”
Dump the Dump spokeswoman Wendy Reed thanked the community on behalf of group members.
“A big thank you to Danny O’Brien and Melina Bath, as well as the local business and community who supported the signing of the petitions,” she said.
Leongatha South farmer Les White was delighted.
“If they ever come back again there will be a similar response,” he said.
Smiles all round: from left, Eastern Victoria Region MLC Melina Bath, Dump the Dump spokeswoman Wendy Reed, Gippsland South MLA Danny O’Brien and Leongatha South farmer Les White at the proposed landfill site on Whitelaw’s Track in Leongatha South, after hearing the good news a proposal to build a mega landfill for Melbourne’s waste would be abandoned.
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Posted by Tayla Kershaw on May 12 2017. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry
