No Richmond Valley Toxic Waste Incinerator

To the Richmond Valley Council, General Manager and Mayor,

Residents Against the Richmond Valley Incinerator represents hundreds of community members and our numbers are growing daily. We write to bring to your urgent attention the NSW Government’s Energy from Waste Infrastructure Plan which identifies the Richmond Valley Jobs Precinct in Casino as one of four regional NSW locations to build a ‘waste to energy’ incinerator.

The reason we bring this to your urgent attention is that the NSW Government intends to bring legislation before the Parliament before the end of the year to designate these locations for waste incinerators. This means decision making will be taken out of the hands of local councils and communities. We will be left with meaningless community consultation about an incinerator we fundamentally do not want.

We are concerned about the very real risks of pollution to the air, land, water and community health for present and future generations. We are also aware of the many businesses that benefit from the clean air and green image of this area. With an incinerator releasing dangerous pollutants such as dioxins, furans and mercury for decades, this region and its produce would be stigmatised.

A clean environment is paramount to cattle growers, dairy farms, chicken farms, fruit and vegetable producers, farm stay businesses, tourism ventures and any of us who grow our own food. Subsidiary businesses that are economic powerhouses of the Region and various farm machinery supply and maintenance operations, to name just a few, exist because this area has a reputation for high quality product.

The Northern Rivers has produced food for national and international markets for decades. The inevitable pollution emitted from an incinerator, no matter how ‘state-of-the-art’ it is, would destroy growing niche markets for clean, green produce. An incinerator would be disastrous for existing and burgeoning businesses that rely on the quality assurance of a pollution-free environment.

We are aware of, and appreciate the hard work and complex decision making entrusted to councillors and Council staff. The Residents Against the Richmond Valley Incinerator implore you to reconsider your decision for a waste incinerator and instead investigate other means of dealing with waste such as Zero Waste, that embraces recycling and reuse that fits within a genuine circular economy and does not contribute to the climate crisis.

Sydney rejected it on Public Health Grounds.

We, the undersigned, call on the Richmond Valley Council to reject this toxic incinerator.