The proposal of a rubbish tip in Melbourne’s outer suburbs has received strong protest by members of the community. Andrew Antipas, Stop the Tip committee member, claims that this proposal made by Boral to the Melton City Council for the expansion of the Western Landfill at Deer Park, may be a cover for a bigger plan by the company.
“We believe it’s part of a bigger plan for Melbourne’s waste management system,” Mr Antipas tells Neos Kosmos.
If the proposal goes ahead, Boral plans to extend its existing tip by 179 million cubic metres of tipping space – equivalent to 105 MCGs of garbage, asbestos and contaminated soil piled 15 storeys above ground level.
The Stop the Tip campaign – launched two months ago to protect the community from this expansion – says the tip would raise a number of detrimental issues for the people who live in the area, and would burden any plans to develop the area further. The campaign rallied on Tuesday to Stop the Tip.
Mr Antipas says that if this application is approved, it would be a disaster for the community and would impact heavily on homes, jobs and economic opportunities in the area.
“We’ve called the council on a couple of occasions and we aren’t getting any responses – they’ve basically gone into hiding,” he says.
For more information, visit www.stopthetip.com.au or https://www.facebook.com/stopthetip