Community engagement - feedback welcome

Public Environmental Review

The Public Environmental Review of the proposed resource recovery facility was released by the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) for an eight-week public comment period (23 July 2012 to 17 September 2012). During that time, EMRC held two community information sessions about the PER's results and the submission process in Gidgegannup and Mundaring. The PER was widely distributed to government agencies, councils and community organisations. It was also displayed in local and state libraries. Newsletters were sent to libraries, councils and to the local community close to Red Hill Waste Management Facility, to encourage community members to review the document.

Frequently Asked Questions

A Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) webpage was launched in March 2012. The FAQ page features commonly asked questions, and also enables you to submit your own. 

Want to learn more?

EMRC can come to your community group to speak about the resource recovery project. Contact the Manager, Project Development to request a briefing on the project by emailing stephen.fitzpatrick@emrc.org.au or phoning (08) 9424 2222.

Community Partnership Agreement finalised

Following the public comment period (March-May 2011) on the draft Community Partnership Agreement (CPA), the Community Task Force revised the CPA. It was endorsed by EMRC Council on ... The CPA will be an important way for community expectations about the proposed resource recovery facility to be included in the future tender, construction and operation of the facility. For more information, visit the Community Task Force webpage. 

Community talk on anaerobic digestion technology

A community talk on anaerobic digestion technology was held at EMRC's Ascot Place office on Friday, 24 June 2011 and was attended by approximately 40 members of the community.

The forum was addressed by visiting overseas consultant, Mr Gerald Tetchner of Enertech in the UK and Professor Dongke Zhang, Foundation Professor of Chemical Engineering and Inaugural Director of the Centre for Energy at the University of Western Australia.

For a copy of the presentation, please go to the Resources webpage.

WMCRG meetings

The Waste Management Community Reference Group met quarterly and focused on the Resource Recovery Project and waste education activities.

Other activities

A project display was held at the Gidgegannup Agricultural Show. Periodic project updates were advertised in local papers, and newsletters were distributed to libraries, councils and to mailboxes in close proximity to Red Hill Waste Management Facility.

Community Task Force

In August 2010, EMRC established a Community Task Force (CTF) to guide the creation of a Community Partnership Agreement which will document the community's requirements for how the Resource Recovery Facility will operate so that its impacts on community amenity are minimised. Further information on the work of the CTF can be viewed at the Community Task Force webpage.

Doorknocking campaign

In July 2010, a doorknocking campaign was undertaken with residents living within 1km of the Red Hill Waste Management Facility. The campaign was important for several reasons. Firstly, these residents live closest to the site of the proposed facility and therefore may potentially be the most affected. Secondly, it was identified in the community education phase of the engagement that these residents did not receive any regular formal communication. Thirdly, it was an opportunity to bridge the communication gap by inviting these residents to nominate for the Community Task Force. And lastly, it was important to determine if these residents had any issues with current operations at the landfill site.

A total of 118 residences were visited over a four week period with 25 interviews conducted. Nearly half of those residents interviewed stated that they did not believe the proposed facility would impact upon their lifestyle. Seven of those interviewed stated they were concerned there might be an impact and listed their concerns over possible emissions, pollution of rainwater, odours and property devaluation.

Waste to energy technologies forum

EMRC held a forum at Ascot Place on Friday 23 April 2010, with presentations on waste to energy technologies by Professor Nickolas Themelis and Robin Davidov, two eminent US practitioners in the area of waste to energy. This was an opportunity provided by their visit to Australia, hosted by the Waste Management Association of Australia. To find out more about this forum, and to download presentations from the speakers, please go to the Resources web page.

Other community engagement activities

A project display was also held at Belmont Forum shopping centre in March 2010. Periodic Resource Recovery Update columns were published in community newspapers and presentations were provided to various community groups including the Swan Valley Residents and Ratepayers Association, the Gidgegannup Progress Association and a Red Hill Community Liaison Group meeting. Past updates can also be viewed on the Resource Recovery Project Latest Update page.

EMRC undertook significant community engagement activities in 2009. EMRC contracted an external market research company to ascertain community views about the site and technology options under consideration for the Resource Recovery Project. The research involved telephone surveys and focus groups held between May and July 2009 with participants randomly drawn from across EMRC's six member Council areas.

Three focus groups were held: two from suburbs nearby the potential Hazelmere and Red Hill sites and a third group consisting of residents from across the region.

A recruitment survey encompassed 849 phone interviews across the six member Councils while 450 of these respondents were provided with an information pack and were then surveyed individually by phone.

Other activities undertaken throughout 2009 included:

Resource recovery updates
Updates were published approximately every two months in local community papers.

Brochure
A comprehensive project brochure was distributed to 42,500 residences in Perth's Eastern Region in September 2009. Another 42,000 were distributed throughout the region in November. The brochure was also delivered to businesses in selected areas. The brochure (titled "Resource Recovery Update") provided greater detail on general project information. This information included the project's need, objective, benefits, site location, technology options, and timeline and community engagement.

Community briefings
Briefings were provided to the Gidgegannup Progress Association, Eastern Hills Progress & Ratepayers Group, Hazelmere Ratepayers Association, Hills Climate Action Group and the Swan Valley Ratepayers and Residents Group.

Displays
A week-long display was held at Midland Gate Shopping centre during its special "Green Week" event from 16-21 November. A static display system was erected at Mundaring Shopping Centre  from December 16-19 and was manned each day for two hours.

Project advertisements
Advertisements were placed in local papers to publicise the displays at both Midland Gate and Mundaring Shopping Centres. The advertisements were placed a week before each display commenced in a bid to raise awareness in the community and to attract further visitors.

WMCRG meetings
The Waste Management Community Reference Group (WMCRG) met seven times in 2009. Much of the focus of these meetings was on the resource recovery project and waste education initiatives.

RHCLG meetings
Briefings on the resource recovery project were provided to the Red Hill Community Liaison Group (RHCLG) on six occasions during 2009.

Council briefings
EMRC's six member Councils were provided with two briefings during 2009. The first round of briefings was held in March, prior to the commencement of the Expression of Interest (EOI) process. The second round was conducted during November and December after the Council elections.

Special interest group meetings
A presentation was given to the Hills Climate Action Group in Parkerville on 26 November 2009. Invitations to provide presentations on the project by the project team have been extended to the region's business and commerce groups but there has been no response.

Media liaison
A media release was issued in November advising of the forthcoming display at Midland Gate Shopping Centre. It was published in local community newspapers.

Open day
A manned display was erected at The Red Hill Open Day on 7 November 2009.
 

EMRC undertook community engagement and research in 2005 and 2006 which involved community surveys, feedback sessions and workshops.The surveys involved conducting a baseline survey and a follow up survey.

Results from the survey:

• About 48% of respondents indicated a willingness to pay an extra $50 per year for better environmental outcomes.
• 93% of respondents felt that improved environmental performance in waste management was at least 'Quite Important.'
• Less greenhouse gases, more recycling, locating facilities away from houses and less tip volumes were cited as the most important features of new waste management systems.

In July and August 2005, EMRC conducted project information and feedback sessions in each member Council. These were followed by two regional workshops. The first held on 15 October 2005, was attended by over 100 participants. The regional workshop invited community stakeholders to participate by raising issues of concern; considering the criteria for assessing the proposed sites and technology options; and proposing additional criteria, sites and technologies.

The second regional workshop was held in February 2006 where participants assigned the weighted criteria they helped to develop, and recommended preferred resource recovery solutions that will feed into EMRC's decision making process.

Feedback from the workshops:

• The four sites of Red Hill, Bayswater, Lakes Rd (Hazelmere) and the Perth Airport were the preferred options based upon the community's criteria and weightings.
• Biological technology options (including anaerobic digestion) were preferred, followed by gasification and combustion.