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5 JULY, 2023
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Painting a grim future By Jennifer Pittorino
12533599-HC07-22
Noise, chemicals, odours and health risks are some of the issues a West Footscray family says it will have to deal with if a hazardous waste processing facility is approved 30 metres from its home. A Paintback facility, which will involve the crushing of paint cans and the release of post-processed fumes into the surrounding area, is proposed for Graingers, Road West Footscray. Resident Ashley Norris said the facility poses a threat to public health and safety and will impact residents. “The proposed use is unequivocally an inappropriate use of this part of the property and will cause significant adverse impact to the amenity of the neighbourhood,” he said. “Everyday we see people walking down the street with prams, dogs, children to and from school, it’s not good for the area.” Mr Norris and his family resides on a street with five other homes which is deemed as industrial-zoned land. According to Environment Protection Authority (EPA) guidelines, an ink, paint mixing, or processing plant should not be within 500 meters of residential land. “However the noise limits for a residential zone land are different to an industrial zone land, which display high levels of expected noise in the planning documents,” Mr Norris said. Paintback chief executive Karen Gomez said the company was set up by the paint industry to recycle unwanted paint that would otherwise end up in landfill. “Paintback is committed to the highest environmental standards and to meeting all EPA and council requirements and to being a good neighbour,” she said. “The site is totally appropriate as it is an existing paint manufacturing facility and we are intending to re-use an existing building rather than build a new one, consistent with our recycling philosophy. “All along the process we have followed EPA and council guidelines and gone beyond where we can to ensure a state of the art recycling plant. This is about a circular economy where the products we use are reused and do not end up in land fill, facilities like these are hugely important in a modern society.
Ashley Norriss and Tania Quinlan live within metres of a proposed paint waste processing facility. (Damjan Janevski) 342556_02
“Noise and odour will be kept within the very strict EPA rules. Truck movements have been kept to a minimum and will not use residential streets.” Mr Norris is most concerned about the fact he felt there was no community consultation about the facility. “The initial shock came from seeing the public notice by chance walking past the facility,” he said. “Once we found out what it was going to be, we were astonished that there wasn’t any notification to the surroundings at all. “Something like that really should’ve been broadcast and made to have community consultation.” In a statement the EPA said the application was advertised for community feedback in Star
Weekly and on the Engage Victoria website on Wednesday, May 3, with submissions closing Thursday, May 25. “EPA also informed the Brooklyn Community Representative Group, who published the link to the Engage Vic website on their Facebook page on Friday, May 12,” the statement said, “The applicant subsequently conducted a doorknock/letterboxing in the area on Tuesday, June 6, although this was not a requirement of the EPA consultation process. “EPA can accept late submissions on proposed development licences, particularly if they raise significant issues or are from individuals that are potentially going to be directly impacted by the proposal. “The decision to accept late submissions
is considered on a case-by-case basis, and the process is designed to be fair to both the applicant and anyone wishing to make a submission.” Footscray MP Katie Hall requested that residents have the opportunity to put in their objections. “Residents should have every opportunity to participate in these processes and I was pleased to advocate on their behalf for late submissions to be accepted,”she said. Mr Norris and other community members have submitted objections to the facility and have been in contact with Maribyrnong council, the mayor and other local parliamentary members. Details: permissioning.engagement@epa. vic.gov.au
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