Moss Vale Plastics Recycling Facility (Plasrefine) Proposal
Update - 11 October 2024
The NSW Department of Planning, Housing & Infrastructure (DPHI) has made a recommendation of approval, subject to conditions, to the NSW Independent Planning Commission (IPC) on 11 October 2024.
The NSW IPC is the determining authority for this State Significant Development proposal.
Council is very disappointed over the Department’s recommended approval for this proposal. Council’s Media Announcement can be found here.
Next Steps – October & November 2024
Speakers must register on the IPC website by 12pm 24 October 2024.
-
A report will be prepared for the Extraordinary Meeting of Council on 30 October 2024, where Councillors and community will be briefed by Council professional staff on the next steps, including all available options.
Background Information
What is the proposed Plasrefine development?
This State Significant Development (SSD) application was lodged with the State Government and proposes the construction and operation of a plastic waste sorting and recycling facility at Moss Vale.
The proposed location of the plastics recycling facility is 74-76 Beaconsfield Road in Moss Vale (Lots 10 and 11 DP 26490) which is on the south-eastern boundary of the Southern Highlands Innovation Park (SHIP).
According to the information available on the State Government’s NSW Planning Portal website, the proposed Moss Vale Plastics Recycling Facility would have the capacity to accept and process up to 120,000 tonnes of plastic waste per annum and would also manufacture plastic fibres and resins.
Amended Application & Report
On 17 May 2023, the Plasrefine Recycling EIS Project Team invited community members to attend a community update briefing about proposed changes to the Moss Vale Plastics Recycling and Reprocessing Facility proposal.
Following submission of the Response to Submissions report, Department of Planning and Environment requested that GHD and Plasrefine Recycling prepare an Amendment Report. The purpose of the Amendment Report is to document changes made to the proposal following submission of the EIS.
The Amendment Report includes further information on traffic, construction noise, biodiversity, aboriginal heritage, water & waste water, building heights and social impacts and may be viewed under the Amendments heading on the NSW Planning Portal.
Who is assessing and determining the application?
The development was assessed as State Significant Development (SSD) due to its proposed land use (waste management facility) and investment size.
SSDs are assessed by the NSW Department of Planning, Housing & Infrastructure (DPHI) and in the case of the Plasrefine proposal will be determined by the Independent Planning Commission (IPC) due to the number of objections, including Council’s strong opposition and representations.
Further information on State Significant Development
Further information on the Independent Planning Commission
Detailed information on the proposed development including technical reports, an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), submissions about the proposal, and submission responses can be found on the NSW Planning Portal website.
NSW Planning Portal Project Page
What is the SSD assessment process?
The State Significant Development assessment and determination process is summarised in the following diagram:
An Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was lodged with the NSW Department of Planning and Environment (the Department) in January 2022. The EIS and supporting technical reports and appendices were on public exhibition until 22 March 2022.
Following completion of the public exhibition phase, the proponent was required to prepare a Response to Submissions (RTS) which may be viewed under the Attachments & Resources heading in the Response to Submissions section on the proposal's NSW Planning Portal page.
This may result in requests for additional information, which may also be viewed in the same location.
The community are encouraged to review the information available on the NSW Planning Portal website.
What is Council's role in the assessment of the application?
The Plasrefine proposal has been deemed to be State Significant Development under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979. It is therefore being assessed by the NSW Department of Planning, Housing & Infrastructure (DPHI) which is tasked with preparing an assessment report and recommendations to the Independent Planning Commission, the authority which will determine the application.
The Department continues to liaise with Council throughout the assessment process and Council provides responses where required.
How can the community have its say about the proposal?
The proposal and accompanying documentation were originally exhibited from 23 February 2022 to 22 March 2022. A community information session was held on 17 March 2022.
A total of 346 submissions, including one from Council and advice from 8 NSW Government agencies was received by the NSW Department of Planning.
Of the 328 submissions received from members of the public, some 65 per cent were from Moss Vale.
Key concerns expressed by Council in its submission included:
Council also recommended to the Department that a thorough and transparent review of health and amenity concerns as well as noise and air quality concerns be fully undertaken prior to a final planning decision being made.
That concluded the exhibition process for the proposal and the opportunity for community comment.
October 2023 Public Exhibition
An Amendment Report was placed on public exhibition in October 2023 and submissions were received until 1 November 2023. Council also held a Community Information Session on 16 November 2024 to provide an update on the proposal and advise next steps at the time.