OPPONENTS of a planned SITA landfill site that will see hundreds of thousands of tonnes of Perth rubbish dumped in the Avon Valley have organised a special meeting in York on February 11.
Organiser and chairman of the York Landfill Action Coalition Denis Hill said the 6.30pm gathering at York Town Hall would provide residents with an opportunity to voice concerns over the project.
“It will provide an opportunity for Avon Valley residents to send a clear message to York Shire Council to do all in their power to prevent the landfill proposal from proceeding,” he said. More than 400 people attended waste management company SITA’s community information night at York Town Hall in November to discuss the proposal.
SITA had intended to use the meeting to disseminate more information to residents but angry locals used it as a platform to voice their strong opposition to the project.
Since then, the Action Coalition has been formed and numerous signs have sprung up around York to raise public awareness of the proposal.
Still, SITA remains confident it can win over the public on the landfill project.
SITA WA state manager Nial Stock invited interested locals to visit the proposed site for the project at Allawuna Farm, 18km west of York, on February 15.
“Part of our community consultation process is to inform local people who are interested,” Mr Stock said. “A great way to explain in detail is to show them the small, central part of the farm where the site and its related facilities will be located.”
Mr Stock said SITA would submit to the full regulatory process on the project but remained convinced the proposal was “absolutely safe environmentally and will have benefits for the local community”.
He conceded it was unlikely SITA would now have the landfill site up and running in late 2013 or early 2014, as earlier predicted.
“Making a thorough submission to the EPA is very important to us,” he said.
Locals opposed to the project say the landfill site would result in a big jump in the number of heavy trucks using regional roads. They are also worried about the potential impact on tourism, the environment and house prices in the area.
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