Moss Vale Plastics Recycling Facility Proposal

Plasrefine
What is the proposed Plasrefine development?

This State Significant Development (SSD) application has been 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 -  

https://www.planningportal.nsw.gov.au/major-projects/projects/moss-vale-plastics-recycling-facility

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 here.

Who is assessing and determining the application? 

The development is being assessed as State Significant Development due to its proposed land use (waste management facility) and investment size.

SSDs are assessed by the NSW Department of Planning & Environment and in the case of the Plasrefine proposal will be determined by the Independent Planning Commission due to the number of objections.

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

Where is the assessment up to?

The State Significant Development assessment and determination process is summarised in the following diagram:

 State Significant Development SDD assessment and determination process 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 and Environment which will provide 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 exhibited from 23 February 2022 to 22 March 2022. Council also facilitated a community engagement session 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:

  • Inconsistency with the adopted Moss Vale Enterprise Corridor Development Control Plan
  • Inadequate provision of water and sewer infrastructure
  • Inadequate provision of transport infrastructure
  • Community health and amenity concerns
  • Lack of a Social Impact Statement

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, however, the Department has provided the following contact email for community questions or comments:

Current Exhibition - October 2023

The Amendment Report is now on public exhibition and submissions must be received by 1 November 2023. 

Exhibition and submission details may be viewed here.   

Plasrefine Community Information Session

A community information session is being held in the Civic Centre Theatrette on Thursday 16 November commencing at 5.00pm to provide an update on the Plasrefine development proposal. The session will be facilitated by Susan Stannard, Coordinator Strategic Policy. Michael Rayner, Senior Traffic Engineer, will also be in attendance. Access to the Theatrette will be through the Donkin Avenue entry. 

Reserve a spot to attend