Ipswich City Council has put its tough talk on waste into action, rejecting a proposal for a new landfill at Ebenezer while supporting a proposed waste transfer and resource recovery facility.
Wanless Recycling Park had sought approval to establish a new landfill and waste transfer and recycling centre.
The proposal anticipated 1,000,000 tonnes of waste would be processed at the facility, with 550,000 tonnes ending up as landfill.
The Officer’s recommendation was for a part refusal of the application for the landfill and partial rehabilitation of a mining void and a part approval of the application for the Reconfiguring a Lot and recycling centre components.
Ipswich Mayor Teresa Harding thanked residents for making their views on the proposal clear.
“Our community expects the highest standards of scrutiny of any new landfill proposal in Ipswich, and rightly so,” Mayor Harding said.
“It is our residents who have worn the negative impacts of the waste industry time and time again.
“Thank you to the 60 community members who lodged submissions on the proposal, and made it clear that the application did not meet the expectations and targets of the State Government and Council.”
In moving the vote, Mayor Harding highlighted the inconsistencies between the application and Council’s current planning and policy framework, including the Waste and Circular Economy Transformation Directive.
“The Directive seeks to protect the residential amenity of our city,” Mayor Harding said.
“We are Queensland’s fastest growing city, and as Ipswich’s population continues to grow, it is no longer sustainable for Ipswich to be the site of choice for private landfill sites.
“(This proposal) is certainly not consistent with Council’s Waste and Circular Economy Transformation Directive, nor to its principles,” Mayor Harding said.
The Mayor and Councillors voted to support the Officer’s recommendations and refuse the landfill and partial rehabilitation of a mining void, with the exception of Cr Tully who abstained from the vote.
Council’s decision aligns with the recommendations of the Independent Decision Review Panel (IDRP) which held a public hearing on this application in August.
The purpose of the IDRP is to provide an independent technical review of an application to promote community confidence and accuracy in decision making.
