SWAN residents have until next Friday to appeal the approval of a proposal to construct and operate a toxic waste treatment plant in in the City of Swan.

The Eastern Metropolitan Regional Council (EMRC) is proposing to construct and operate an immobilisation plant at the Red Hill waste management facility to treat the residue generated from waste to energy plants that incinerate rubbish to create energy.

This residue produced from the waste to energy process is known as air pollution control residue (APCr)

As reported in, Red Hill to take incinerator residue EMRC is also proposing to construct a dedicated landfill for disposal of the treated toxic waste, at the same facility.

The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has recommended ministerial approval of the proposal with conditions in a report they published on November 21.

In order to go forward with the proposal, the EPA recommended the EMRC ensured the development did not exceed 201ha, and that the immobilisation plant could process a maximum of 50,000 tons of APCr.

The EMRC were also told to submit an environmental performance report to the EPA chief executive officer, who is currently Darren Walsh, every three years.

The reports had to contain information on regulatory approvals and permits that were in place for transport and disposal of waste, on air quality measurements and any exceedances, and how well the landfills were containing the materials.

The EMRC is also being requested to report on and monitor the toxic residue’s ability to spread through contact with liquid in the landfill once it’s been processed into a less harmful form designed to encapsulate it.

This process is known as immobilisation and is the purpose of the plant being proposed to be developed at the Red Hill facility while the specialised landfill that is to be used for the processed waste is simultaneously constructed.

According to the document, it’s expected the immobilisation plant would be completed before the monocell, which is a special type of landfill that only contains one type of waste.

In the interim, the treated residue will be disposed in a Class IV stage 2 cell and as part of the conditions, the EMRC are required to undertake annual audits to assess how effectively the toxic waste was being contained.

These assessments include looking at the placement and potential mixing of waste within the cell, how much liquid was being contaminated with the material and to what extent, and also the integrity of the lining system.