Plans by a waste magnate to build the world's largest waste incinerator in Western Sydney have been dealt a blow by the Environment Protection Authority, which has declared its opposition over concerns about air quality and human health impacts.
Ian Malouf, the chief executive of Dial a Dump, is behind an application to build a large electricity generation plant in Eastern Creek, hundreds of metres from homes, which would burnwaste that would otherwise go to landfill.
But the plan for the "energy-from-waste plant" faces opposition from residents, Blacktown and Penrith councils, Western Sydney's Local Health District, Labor and the Greens - and now the EPA.
The EPA said in its submission to the Planning Department, released on Wednesday, that the proponent had not provided enough information about the "feedstock" waste the plant would burn, making it "difficult to properly and robustly assess the potential impacts".
About 20 per cent of the proposed fuel mix was described as "other" or "other combustibles", which the EPA said was "insufficient detail".
It comes a week after NSW Health declared its opposition to the plant, noting it was double the size of similar plants in operation overseas.
"The proposal to build and operate an incinerator within city limits is not consistent with over 100 years of environmental regulation to improve urban air quality," the Western Sydney Local Health District submission said.
NSW Health also pointed out that the calculation of final ground-level concentrations in the proponent's application was 10 times lower than its original 2015 application, despite using the same input parameters.
"An explanation of the difference in the final ground level concentrations should be provided," NSW Health said.
Despite a flood of submissions to the Planning Department opposing the $700 million project, Mr Malouf has been bullish about its prospects, telling local media last week he was confident the state government would support it.
On Wednesday he told Fairfax Media he would need time to review the submissions, but remained confident "that the project represents a positive environmental outcome".
"The facility will process only residue building, commercial and demolition waste that is currently being landfilled, to generate electricity for 200,000 homes across Sydney, providing a secure, long-term supplement to western Sydney's energy demands," he said in a statement.
Mr Malouf said the project, which would sit alongside his existing Genesis Xero waste facility, was modelled on more than 400 facilities in 35 countries "using the same thermal technology, which is tried and proven to be a safe and efficient way to generate power".
NSW Greens energy spokesman Jeremy Buckingham said the Greens would introduce a bill on Thursday to prohibit energy from waste incinerators within 15 kilometres of a residential zone, which would effectively ban such operations in the Sydney basin.
"This incinerator will reduce recycling rates, spew out air pollution and impact on the health of residents in Western Sydney," Mr Buckingham said.
"With thousands of trucks delivering over a million tonnes of waste to be burnt each year, there is no certainty about what chemicals and particles will come out of the exhaust stacks - which is why the EPA and NSW Health object to this proposal."
The local member Tanya Davies, who won the previously safe Labor seat for the Liberals in 2011, responded to increasing community concerns about the project last week, saying Planning Minister Anthony Roberts had agreed to an "internationally renowned scientific expert" undertaking an independent assessment of the emissions projections being presented, before the project proceeds to the Planning Assessment Commission.
Labor has proposed an upper house inquiry into waste-to-energy incinerators.
Waste has been a good business for Mr Malouf, who famously bought a $40 million, 53-metre megayacht "Mischief" in 2015 a few years after enlisting pop singer Vanessa Amorosi to sing at the launch of a rubbish dump, along with jugglers, a magician and lion cubs.
Mr Malouf's Dial a Dump business is also suing the state government in the Land and Environment Court for $400 million compensation over its compulsory acquisition of properties in Alexandria for the WestConnex project.
