Monday, October 19, 2020

The new pool at Ashfield has been officially opened...

Main Pool
The new pool at the corner of Frederick and Elizabeth Streets Ashfield was officially opened last Saturday. 

The COVID restrictions meant it was a subdued affair with deserted pools until the public were allowed in at 11am.

The facility includes:

  • an Indoor Pool
  • an outdoor pool with a moveable floor for waterpolo
  • an outdoor 50m pool
  • an outdoor splash pool
  • a creche and multi-purpose room
  • a gym
  • three activity rooms
  • cafe and shop

 More at https://www.innerwest.nsw.gov.au/explore/aquatic-centres/ashfield-aquatic-centre

Water Polo Net

Lift

Steam Room

Sauna
Spa

Indoor Pool


Tuesday, October 13, 2020

No to Incineration of Inner West Waste


Grateful to Chis Hanson for coming to speak to the at tonight's Council meeting where Inner West Council emphatically resolved:
 
NOM: No to Incineration of Inner West Waste
From: Councillor Marghanita Da Cruz
 
Motion:
THAT Council:
  1. Adopts principles of avoidance, resource recovery and the circular economy in providing domestic waste services;
  2. Incorporate avoidance, resource recovery and the circular economy in our planning instruments;
  3. Include information for residents on website about recycling construction waste;
  4. Reports on the breakdown of materials used in our Capital Works projects as new, reused and recycled;
  5. Reports on the website where materials collected in our kerbside collections, parks and streets maintenance go;
  6. Prohibits council's contractors from channelling domestic and commercial (except medical) waste collected in the LGA to incineration; and
  7. Opposes the construction of incinerators euphemistically called “waste to energy” and “thermal treatment plant” in Matraville, Eastern Creek, Blacktown, Lithgow and Wollondilly, Portland and elsewhere in NSW.
With the addition of:
 
8 to include composting in the Multi-Unit Dwellings in the Planning Instruments

Background

Incinerators produce toxic emissions which reduce air quality, generates highly toxic ash residual and establishes a market for non-renewable waste as fuel stream.

Incinerators using waste as fuel produce more CO2-e than coal and gas.

Waste as fuel is non-renewable and plants elsewhere in the world have struggled to source a fuel stream which makes this technology unreliable as an energy stream and contradicts avoidance, reuse, recycling and a circular economy.

Sydney is basin shaped which means it traps pollution making it an unsuitable for Incinerators. The toxic emissions from incinerators include Dioxins, Furans, Heavy Metals and Nano Particulates. The business case for incinerators is based on 24/7 operation 30+ years!

There was a time when Sydney waste was simply barged out to sea, until it was discovered washed up on beaches.

Next burning the waste became popular. There is a Burley Griffin designed Incinerator on Blackwattle Bay in Glebe which is now a meeting room and interpretative centre. The Balmain Power Station included a large incinerator. The heat from burning the city's garbage was used to generate electricity. Leichhardt also had an incinerator but even in 1904, the council had difficulty sourcing garbage to burn and what to do with the "clinker" residual which did not burn.

The Waste Levy was intended to encourage recycling and resource recovery by imposing fees on material going to landfill. Kerbside Collection systems were established which relied on the consumer to separate out certain types of “recyclable materials” into Yellow, Blue, Green and Maroon bins. Householders dispose of the rest of their waste into the red “landfill” bin.

Despite billions collected nationwide in order to finance the recycling industry, most relevant levels of authority in Australia have strangled any chance for success in this space by diverting recycling levy funds mostly on other, totally unrelated matters. In fact in NSW, less than 20% of the levy goes to fulfil its original purpose. The result is the industry is driven to lowest cost solutions, and this has been aggravated by China's waste export ban. We are therefore seeing a genuine boom in the 'waste to energy' (a euphemism for incineration) industry.

In 2018, China set stringent “maximum contamination thresholds” and limited the number of import permits. A contamination threshold 0.5% means that China is no longer accepting material from kerbside collections with a 6-10% level of contamination.

Systems like “Return and Earn” could reduce contamination levels and produce more valuable materials. Though Coca Cola is still only aiming for 7 out of 10 plastic bottles from recycled material by the end of 2019.

Backyard burning and unauthorised incineration are prohibited at all times in all council areas in the Sydney, Wollongong and Newcastle regions, and in other NSW council areas listed in Schedule 8 of the Clean Air Regulation. https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/your-environment/air/open-burning- reducing-pollution

In July 2018, the Independent Planning Commission refused a proposal for an Incinerator at Eastern Creek finding:

•      predicted modelling was based on data that is not representative of the actual waste streams proposed to be treated at the EfW Facility;

 

•      insufficient evidence that the pollution control technologies are capable of appropriately managing emissions from the project and would be agnostic to the composition of the project’s waste stream

 

•      uncertainty in relation to the air quality, and the relationship between air quality impacts and water quality impacts in the locality,

•      uncertainty in relation to the human health risks and site suitability, 

•      was not satisfied that the project is consistent with those objects of the EP&A Act,

•      project was not in the public interest

The Next Generation Pty Ltd v Independent Planning Commission NSW, https://www.ipcn.nsw.gov.au/projects/2018/04/eastern-creek-energy-from-waste-facility-ssd-6236


Addendum:  Hobart City  Single-Use Plastics By-Law Information

"On Monday 9 March 2020, the Hobart City Council resolved to enact the by-law banning the provision of single-use plastic takeaway food packaging and related items(PDF, 2MB) .

Enforcement of the by-law will commence in 2021, following a period of trader and community education and awareness."...

 

https://www.hobartcity.com.au/Business/Food-and-beverage-businesses/Single-Use-Plastics-By-Law-Information

Emphatic No to Incineration of Inner West Waste

Pleased the NOM got up unanimously, with a nice addition of point 8 by amendment
C1020(1) Item 6            Notice of Motion: No to Incineration of Inner West Waste
Motion: (Da Cruz/Steer)
THAT Council:
1.   Adopts principles of avoidance, resource recovery and the circular economy in providing domestic waste services;
2.   Incorporate avoidance, resource recovery and the circular economy in our planning instruments;
3.   Include information for residents on website about recycling construction waste;
4.   Reports on the breakdown of materials used in our Capital Works projects as new, reused and recycled;
5.   Reports on the website where materials collected in our kerbside collections, parks and streets maintenance go;
6.   Prohibits council's contractors from channelling domestic and commercial (except medical) waste collected in the LGA to incineration; and
7.   Opposes the construction of incinerators euphemistically called “waste to energy” and “thermal treatment plant” in Matraville, Eastern Creek, Blacktown, Lithgow and Wollondilly, Portland and elsewhere in NSW.
8.   Investigate the implementation of onsite composting in new multi-unit dwellings in the upcoming LEP or DCPs.

Motion Carried
For Motion:                 Crs Da Cruz, Drury, Hesse, Kiat, Lockie, Macri, McKenna OAM, Passas, Raciti, Stamolis and Steer
Against Motion:          Nil
Absent:                        Crs Byrne and York
https://innerwest.infocouncil.biz/Open/2020/10/C_13102020_MIN_3757_WEB.htm

NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into Ability of local governments to fund infrastructure and services

Councils receive grants from Federal and State Governments as well as Charging Fees (e.g. for School Swimming Carnivals and Domestic Wast...