no incinerator rally

we’re holding a rally in davidson park, beaudesert (the park beside the council chambers) on saturday 10 october at 11am.

make a sign, bring a friend or three, bring a chair or picnic rug, water and snacks, and join with other concerned community members to voice your concerns and show our council, state and federal members that we do not support this proposal and we don’t want the scenic rim to become the scenic bin for our urban neighbours' waste.

ACCC submissions round 2

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) issued their draft determination on 21 August which did not support the CoMSEQ application. The Council of Mayors South East Queensland (CoMSEQ) withdrew its original application for authorisation to the ACCC. 

The original CoMSEQ application, lodged in April on behalf of eleven South East Queensland councils, sought authorisation to jointly procure residual waste management services under a 35-year contractual arrangement, the kind of long-term commitment that would underpin industrial-scale waste incineration in the region.

The new revised application differs from the earlier application. In particular, CoMSEQ is now seeking authorisation for a three year period of preparatory and planning activities and have stated that the proposed conduct will not extend to binding agreements for waste supply, construction, financing, or facility operation. The application further indicates that no feedstock will be committed and no procurement decisions will be made during this interim period.

These limitations substantially reduce some of the immediate competition concerns raised by the previous application. However, the preparatory activities contemplated during this three-year period could still have a significant influence on the structure and outcomes of any subsequent regional procurement process.

It is still very important to make a submission on this new application suggesting that the ACCC ensure additional safeguards guarantee the planning process remains open and competitive, and doesn't inadvertently narrow the range of future options or constrain effective competition before a final procurement decision is made.

The ACCC is now inviting submissions in relation to this second application, by 2 October before making its final decision.

We have prepared sample responses to this second CoMSEQ application.

Please send your submission asap using the ACCC submissions webform.

For short submissions, you can provide a free text submission of up to 2,000 characters (a few paragraphs) for publication on the public register, or for longer submissions, please upload your submission in a document.

These sample submissions will open as google docs, which you can either download or copy and paste the content where you need it, like a word document.

ACCC short form submission 2A (free text submission)

ACCC short form submission 2B (free text submission)

ACCC long form submission  2A (to be sent as an attachment)

ACCC long form submission  2B (to be sent as an attachment)

ACCC long form submission  2C (to be sent as an attachment)

ACCC long form submission  2D (to be sent as an attachment)


If you can reword your submissions based on these samples to enable them to be counted as different individual responses, that would be great. Otherwise send as is.

It will only take about five or ten minutes. Your name will appear on the public register, your email and phone won't.

councils pull waste deal application but community remains on alert

No Incinerator for Scenic Rim responds to ACCC withdrawal of CoMSEQ authorisation application

The No Incinerator for Scenic Rim campaign has welcomed the withdrawal of a key regulatory application linked to the proposed Bromelton waste incinerator, while warning the community that the fight is far from over.

The Council of Mayors South East Queensland (CoMSEQ) yesterday withdrew its application for authorisation (AA1000721) to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). The application, lodged in April 2026 on behalf of eleven South East Queensland councils, sought authorisation to jointly procure residual waste management services under a 35-year contractual arrangement, the kind of long-term commitment that would underpin industrial-scale waste incineration in the region.

The ACCC issued a draft determination on 21 August. Following that, at least one interested party formally requested a pre-decision conference to challenge the determination. CoMSEQ withdrew the application on 15 September 2026.

However, CoMSEQ's legal representatives at Clayton Utz have confirmed the withdrawal is temporary. A new application is expected to be resubmitted, with additional detail on technology and sites.

This withdrawal tells us the original application had problems, problems serious enough that CoMSEQ couldn't defend it in a public conference. That's a direct result of the community speaking up through the submissions process. But we're not naive. They've told their lawyers to come back with a stronger case. So must we. When that new application lands, we need every Scenic Rim voice ready to respond.

What happens next
When CoMSEQ lodges a new application, there will be a fresh public consultation period. Community members will again have the opportunity to make submissions to the ACCC.

No Incinerator for Scenic Rim is calling on residents to stay informed and be ready to act.

Monitor the ACCC public register for updates.

Sign the petition.

cleanaway's own health report fails to assess scenic rim farming risk

Documents submitted with the Bromelton incinerator application reveal commercial agriculture was excluded from the food safety assessment

The community campaign opposing a proposed waste incinerator at Bromelton has found a critical gap at the heart of Cleanaway's own health assessment - the 310-page report does not assess what the facility's emissions could mean for the Scenic Rim's commercial farming industry.

The Human Health Risk Assessment (HHRA), prepared by consultants engaged by Cleanaway and submitted as part of the Environmental Impact Statement for the Bromelton Energy and Resource Centre (BERC), explicitly limits its food safety modelling to "home grown produce wholly consumed by those living on a property where the produce is grown."

Commercial beef, dairy, egg and vegetable production, the industries that make the Scenic Rim Queensland's primary food production corridor , are not assessed.

"This isn't alarmism. It's in their own documents. Cleanaway's consultants assessed what happens to someone's backyard vegetable patch. They did not assess what dioxins and PFAS could do to the beef, dairy, eggs and vegetables this region produces at scale for Queensland and national markets", says Lizz Hills, member of the BERC stakeholder reference group.

The Scenic Rim's agricultural sector contributes more than $400 million annually to the regional economy and supports over 4,000 local jobs. Dioxins and PFAS, persistent pollutants emitted during waste incineration, are known to bioaccumulate in animal fat and persist in soil for decades.

The same document reveals a second significant gap which is there is no air quality baseline for Bromelton. Instead of measuring what pollutants are currently in the air at the proposed site, the report uses monitoring data from Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong, collected around the year 2000. Without a rural Scenic Rim baseline, it is not possible to determine the true incremental burden BERC would impose on local air quality.

The campaign has made three formal requests to the Coordinator-General: an extension of the public submission response period; mandatory independent baseline air quality monitoring that covers dioxins, PFAS, PAHs and heavy metals, and an independent traffic and road impact assessment for the Mount Lindesay Highway corridor. The findings from the assessments directly support each of these requests.

At an upcoming community stakeholder session, the campaign will put specific questions to Cleanaway, including asking why commercial agriculture was excluded from the food safety assessment, and whether the company has post-treatment PFAS emission measurements from any facility using the same technology proposed for BERC.

"The Scenic Rim's food security and the livelihoods of our farmers deserve a genuine answer not a reference to a document that doesn't cover them", says Erica Bates, Keep the Scenic Rim Scenic.



• The BERC Human Health Risk Assessment (CLEAN/25/BERC001-F, Final 15 July 2026) was prepared by Environmental Risk Sciences Pty Ltd (enRiskS) for Cleanaway Operations Pty Ltd

support the ACCC's draft determination

Earlier this year, the SEQCoM, (the SEQ Council of Mayors) applied to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) on behalf of eleven SEQ councils, seeking authorisation for regional solutions to treat residual waste instead of sending it to landfill, and therefore making it easier for the BERC application to go ahead.

In very positive news, the ACCC has released a draft determination proposing not to grant authorisation to CoMSEQ, on behalf of itself and its eleven member councils to establish a Special Purpose Vehicle to aggregate and acquire the councils’ residual waste, enter into waste supply agreements and procure the development of up to three regional waste facilities within SEQ.

The ACCC has not been able to be satisfied in relation to the claimed public benefits, and considers the magnitude of these benefits is uncertain, particularly because it is not satisfied that environmental benefits are likely to be material once transport emissions and other potential negative environmental impacts are taken into account.

The Applicants have also not established the likelihood and magnitude of the claimed greener energy or energy security benefits.

The ACCC also considers the proposal is likely to result in public detriment by materially reducing the contestability of a substantial volume of Residual Waste in SEQ for a long period, leading to increasing barriers to entry and reducing future competitive options.

On balance, the ACCC is not satisfied that the proposed conduct is likely to result in a public benefit that would outweigh the likely detriment, and therefore proposes not to grant authorisation.

The ACCC invites submissions in relation to this draft determination, by 4 September 2026, before making its final decision.

Please send your submission asap using the ACCC submissions webform.

We have prepared sample responses to this welcome draft determination, and the ACCC needs to hear from you in support. 

For short submissions, you can provide a free text submission of up to 2,000 characters (a few paragraphs) for publication on the public register, or for longer submissions, please upload your submission in a document.

These will open as google docs, which you can either download or copy and paste the content where you need it.

Short form sample submission (free text submission)

Long form sample submission (to be sent as an attachment) 

If you can reword your submissions based on these samples to enable them to be counted as different individual responses, that would be great. Otherwise send as is.

It will only take about five or ten minutes. Your name will appear on the public register, your email and phone won't.

If you wish to delve deeper, and see what our Scenic Rim Regional Council have submitted in support of the application, and what other councils, industry, community and environmental groups submitted to influence the ACCC decision you can read the entire application history on the ACCC website here.

incinerator bottom ash aggregate (IBAA) draft end of waste code

Queensland's Department of Environment is currently consulting on a Draft End of Waste Code (EOWC010004246) that would legally reclassify incinerator ash as a 'resource' rather than waste. Consultation closes at 5pm on Monday 31 August 2026.

The consultation page can be found here, and the draft end of waste code can be found here. 

This is infrastructure for the incinerator industry. Without operating incinerators, there is no ash to reclassify. The draft code effectively pre-builds the regulatory pathway that makes incineration financially viable by giving operators a legal route to sell or use their toxic ash byproduct.

What the ash contains and what this code would permit spreading on Queensland roads and in construction works:

• Heavy metals: arsenic, lead, mercury, cadmium, nickel, zinc
• PFAS (forever chemicals)
• PCBs and PAHs (carcinogenic compounds)
• For 'bound applications' (e.g. non-structural concrete), many contaminants are listed as 'NS' - not specified - meaning no upper limit applies.

For unbound applications (road base, sub-base, engineered fill), the ash could be used within 50 metres of surface water and 20 metres of farm dams used for stock water. Buffer to drinking water bores is 250m.

What we need to do right now

Email a submission to the consultation before 5pm, 31 August 2026.
Email: RRS.Consultation@detsi.qld.gov.au

Summarise key arguments for your submission:

• The code presupposes operating incinerators exist, approving this code normalises incineration before community consent on the Bromelton facility
• 'Not specified' contaminant limits for bound applications is inadequate given the known toxicity of IBAA
• Buffer zones are insufficient for agricultural communities like the Scenic Rim
• No specific protections for koala habitat, waterways, or high conservation value land
• PFAS limits only apply 'if feedstocks are reasonably likely to contain PFAS' a loophole given mixed municipal waste streams

Please ensure your submission is valid. 

Please include your name and address. 

Business Queensland has specifically asked that submissions use these headings:
Section/page reference | Summary of issue | Comments

You may want to draft your own submission, or base it on one of ours. It is always best to personalise your submission, to enable them to be counted as individual separate responses. 

These will open as google docs, which you can either download or copy and paste the content where you need it.

IBAA submission sample A

IBAA submission sample B

IBAA submission sample C

IBAA submission sample D

IBAA submission sample E

kooralbyn community packs out forum in response to proposed incinerator

Residents hear evidence on scale, health impacts, and economic consequences of Cleanaway's Bromelton proposal

More than 50 Scenic Rim residents filled the Kooralbyn Community Hall on Sunday 12 July for our community forum in response to Cleanaway's proposed Bromelton Energy and Resource Centre (BERC).

The forum was the third of five scheduled community information sessions. It drew residents from across the Scenic Rim and beyond, reflecting growing community concern about a proposal that would see 760,000 tonnes of waste per year processed in the heart of Queensland's primary food production corridor.

Further forums will be held at Tamborine Mountain and Beaudesert.

An honest conversation based on evidence

The panel, comprising Erica Bates, Julie Jackson, Lizz Hills, and Dr Andy Grodecki was praised by attendees for the quality and integrity of their presentations.

"This was great information," one community member said afterwards. "We really appreciate an honest approach based on evidence and peer-reviewed research from a community that genuinely cares."

Panel members were complemented on both the substance of their speeches and their commitment to volunteering their time and expertise in the public interest.

The scale of the proposal and its reach beyond the Scenic Rim

A key theme of the afternoon was the sheer scale of the BERC and what it means not only for the Scenic Rim but for neighbouring communities including Ipswich.

BERC would process 760,000 tonnes of waste per year, more than 25 times the Scenic Rim's own annual waste generation of approximately 29,449 tonnes. The overwhelming majority of that waste would originate from metropolitan South East Queensland, and will require an additional 472 vehicle movements per day, with much of the additional traffic travelling along Mount Lindsay Highway carrying waste to and from the facility.

Significantly, the forum heard that Cleanaway confirmed at their own community information session in May that the hazardous ash produced by BERC, the toxic residue from burning 760,000 tonnes of waste, is destined for Ipswich, at the Ti Tree or Swanbank landfill. Ipswich residents have lodged more than 25,000 complaints about odour from Cleanaway's existing Swanbank facility since 2018. Lung cancer rates in suburbs surrounding the Swanbank site are up to 48% higher than the Australian average according to the Australian Cancer Atlas.

"This is not only a Scenic Rim issue," said Erica Bates. "The ash from burning our region's air goes to Ipswich. The trucks use our roads. The forever chemicals settle on our farms. And the profits go to Cleanaway. Our community carries the consequences and someone else takes the benefit."

Economic impacts: 50 jobs versus 4,000

The forum heard detailed evidence on the economic consequences of BERC for the Scenic Rim's agri-tourism and food production economy.

Agriculture and tourism in the Scenic Rim contribute more than $400 million annually to the local economy and employ more than 4,000 locals, according to the Scenic Rim Regional Council's own Agribusiness and Agritourism 10-Year Roadmap 2022–2032. Australian agritourism demand is projected to reach $18.6 billion by 2030.

Cleanaway's proposal offers approximately 50 operational jobs

"The Scenic Rim's economy is built entirely on trust - the trust of consumers and visitors that our air is clean, our soil is healthy, and our food is safe," said Lizz Hills. "Dioxins and PFAS accumulate in beef, dairy, and eggs. They settle in soil and stay for decades. You cannot unfarm a contaminated paddock. We are being asked to trade a proven, growing, 4,000-person economy for 50 positions and a company's profit margin. That is not a good deal."

Questions from the floor: what about alternatives?

One of the most significant questions raised from the floor concerned alternatives to incineration. The panel's response was clear: the solutions exist, but have not yet been implemented at the scale required.

Australia's national Circular Economy Framework sets ambitious targets for reducing waste and increasing resource recovery. National mandates support composting, resource recovery, extended producer responsibility, and circular economy infrastructure. However, these frameworks have not yet translated into adequate state-level investment or policy leaving a gap that proposals like BERC seek to fill with incineration.

"The answer to waste is not to burn it," said Dr Andy Grodecki. "It is to stop generating it, to recover what can be recovered, and to invest in the infrastructure that makes that possible. The national policy direction is clear. The problem is it has not yet reached state level in a meaningful way. That is what needs to change."

What happens next

The campaign's formal intervention point is the Environmental Authority (EA) application, which Cleanaway must lodge with the Department of Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation (DETSI). Because there is no standard Environmentally Relevant Activity category for a facility of this type, the application will trigger a mandatory public notification period during which every community member has a legal right to lodge a formal submission.

Keep the Scenic Rim Scenic has engaged the Environmental Defenders Office Queensland for support navigating the submission process.

The community is urged to sign the petition and attend one of the upcoming forums. Come early for refreshments. 

MOUNT TAMBORINE COMMUNITY FORUM
📍 Saturday 18 July 2pm
Vonda Youngman Centre, Mount Tamborine

Beaudesert Community Forum
📍 Saturday 25 July 2pm
CWA Hall 1 Selwyn Street West, Beaudesert

community forums announced in response to cleanaway's information sessions

Scenic Rim residents left with more questions than answers and seeking real conversation.

Community members across the Scenic Rim have organised more public forums in direct response to Cleanaway's recent community information sessions for the proposed Bromelton Energy and Resource Centre (BERC) a 760,000 tonne per year waste incinerator proposed for the Bromelton State Development Area.

Details of the forums are 

2.30pm Sunday 12 July  Kooralbyn Community Centre, 79 Ogilvie Place, Kooralbyn

2pm Saturday 18 July  Vonda Youngman Community Centre 2-4 Knoll Road, Tamborine Mountain

2pm Saturday 25 July  Beaudesert CWA Hall, Selwyn Street, Beaudesert


Forums are free and open to all community members. No RSVPs required. Come early for refreshments.

Community response "A big marketing exercise"
Residents who attended Cleanaway's information sessions described coming away unsatisfied. One community member called it "a big marketing gimmick," saying staff inside could not answer basic questions about emissions monitoring, hazardous waste disposal, and the long-term impacts on the region's agricultural land and water supply.

That experience was shared by Rowan, a 14-year-old student from The Kooralbyn International School who attended the Cleanaway session with a prepared list of technical questions. When a staff member explained that burning waste at 850 degrees converts harmful compounds into water, Rowan was unconvinced.

"What they're describing requires magical demons in the incinerator," he said. "I don't think chemistry works the way they are claiming."

He also noted a direct contradiction: one Cleanaway staff member told him real-time monitoring of dioxins and furans was not possible. The same staff member later said everything was being monitored continuously. When he asked who would independently audit the monitoring, no one in the room could answer.

An expert panel with insider knowledge
The forums will be hosted by Keep the Scenic Rim Scenic, a subcommittee of BOSS (Boonah Organisation for a Sustainable Shire Inc) and will feature a panel including community members who have participated directly in the BERC Stakeholder Reference Group, the formal community consultation body established by Cleanaway.


Panel members include:

• Erica Bates - President, BOSS (Boonah Organisation for a Sustainable Shire)

• Julie Jackson - Secretary, BOSS (Boonah Organisation for a Sustainable Shire)

• Lizz Hills - Keep the Scenic Rim Scenic, Scenic Rim Citizen of the Year 2024

• Dr Andy Grodecki – President, Consilience Queensland Inc, President, The Royal Society of Queensland


Panel members say they are shocked by what they have learned through the reference group process and what is being proposed for the region.

"This is not a small local issue," said Erica Bates. "This is a 760,000 tonne per year industrial waste processing facility proposed for Queensland's primary food production corridor, with hazardous waste potentially destined for Ipswich, and no independent baseline air quality monitoring required before approval. Our community deserves a genuine conversation about what that means, not a room full of posters."


What the forums will cover:

• What BERC actually proposes: its scale, emissions, waste volumes, and traffic impacts
• History of the campaign so far.
• The approval process and how community members can have their say
• How to make an effective submission when the formal public notification window opens
• What happened at the Cleanaway information sessions and what questions went unanswered
• The health and food safety evidence including international biomonitoring research
• The effects on roads and local agritourism
• How the Scenic Rim campaign connects to a growing national movement opposing waste-to-energy incineration

All welcome. All questions welcome. Come early for refreshments.

Keep the Scenic Rim Scenic and BOSS are committed to the kind of open, evidence-based conversation the community deserves. Everyone is welcome, including those who attended the Cleanaway sessions and want to understand more, those who couldn't attend, and those who are hearing about the proposal for the first time.

tamborine mountain public forum

An enormous waste to energy incinerator is currently proposed for Bromelton, where Cleanaway plan to burn 760,000 tonnes of ‘waste’ per annum. This facility will include a 30-story high smokestack right on the doorstep of Beaudesert and on the gateway to Boonah and the western Scenic Rim.

The company estimates hundreds of large vehicle movements to and from the facility daily, 365 days a year, to bring waste to the incinerator from outside the Scenic Rim on our country roads and highways.

Can we afford to have one of the largest incinerators in Australia operating here?

The Scenic Rim brand is well known for its clean and healthy produce and tourism experiences, which has enabled the region to become a must-visit destination for visitors from Brisbane, the Gold Coast and in fact from all around the world.

The Lonely Planet named the Scenic Rim one of the top ten global regions to visit in 2022, and last year achieved ECO Destination Certification with Ecotourism Australia.

Community, business, and local government have worked hard together over many years to build the reputation of our thriving region to keep the Scenic Rim spectacular, but now there are growing grave concerns about protecting these values and the health and well being of our local community.

As members of community group Keep the Scenic Rim Scenic have been engaging with the community across the region about the proposed incinerator, it’s become clear that many living here are unaware of this planned development and its potential impacts, and need further information to enable them to make informed decisions on this major project when submissions are called later this year.

Keep the Scenic Rim Scenic are holding a series of public information forums and presentations across the region. We have already presented to around 80 people at Beaudesert late last year, and 130 at Boonah in February.

Potential damages to agriculture, human and livestock health cannot be underestimated.

The NSW Independent Planning Commission rejected a similar application for Western Sydney, citing "uncertainty in relation to the human health risks and site suitability", which resulted in the then state government passing legislation prohibiting incinerators from being built in Greater Sydney.

Communities living near these facilities in other parts of the world report impacts to health and agriculture. Should regional families, agriculture and tourism businesses bear the brunt of this toxic industry rather than our urban neighbors?

Waste incinerators release toxic air pollutants, including forever chemicals, produce toxic ash, and are the dirtiest form of energy production. Because there is no sorting prior to incineration, a high percentage of materials burnt will be plastics.

They are a polluting, expensive and unsustainable technology that undermines zero waste circular economy strategies, by competing for the same materials as recycling and composting operations and destroying valuable resources and their embedded energy.

Regional communities around Australia are being faced with the threat of incinerators and are vehemently campaigning against these facilities. Keep the Scenic Rim Scenic is linking with these communities to share their stories, and information from scientists and medical professionals.

Our online petition is heading towards 3,000 signatures. Please add your name.

To find out more about the potential impacts on you, your children, your business, and your community, the next Keep the Scenic Rim Scenic public forum will be held at the Vonda Youngman Community Centre, Tamborine Mountain at 2pm on Saturday 18 July. All are welcome to attend and are encouraged to arrive early for tea, coffee and refreshments.

cleanaway's compliance record

Cleanaway's Compliance Record

One of the requirements for this proposal to be accepted is for Cleanaway to be a proper person to build and operate this incinerator. The threshold for this licence, which will lock the Scenic Rim into decades of operation, with potentially shocking outcomes from breaches of operating practice, needs to be much higher than for a general and specific waste collection and transportation.

A DOCUMENTED HISTORY OF NON-COMPLIANCE WITH

REPEATED ISSUES MANAGING LANDFILL SITES,
WORKPLACE BULLYING AND DEATHS

Eight workers have died on Cleanaway’s premises since mid-2022

Significant Cleanaway fires increased from one in FY24 to three in FY25

Received the highest penalty ever handed down under the QLD EPA
for an environmental odour nuisance offence

Received the highest penalty ever of $1.1M imposed

under federal work health and safety laws

MAY 2026 The SA Supreme Court has ordered Cleanaway to pay a $1.1M fine for workplace failure that led to a double fatal crash in Adelaide in August 2014. The accident also left the driver with life-changing injuries. The penalty is the largest ever imposed under federal work health and safety laws.

MAY 2026 The Victorian Supreme Court has ruled in favour of the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) over a $6.9M landfill levy underpayment claim for FY18. Additional EPA audits have highlighted further alleged underpayments of $4.7M for FY19 and $7.2M for FY22. These additional years are not yet subject to court proceedings and figures exclude costs and interest.

DEC 2025 The number of fatalities, as well as increases in other serious and reportable injuries, led to a board decision to cut executive bonuses by 30% in the previous financial year. This included chief executive, Mark Schubert, who lost around $500K, however, he was still paid some $4.2 million for the year, including cash bonuses and equity rights.

NOV 2024 Cleanaway fined over $600K, the highest penalty ever handed down under the QLD EPA for an environmental odour nuisance offence. Also committed other offences at the Ipswich site, including unlawfully pumping contaminated water around its site and unlawfully using that water for dust suppression.

MAR 2026 The NSW EPA opens investigation on similar odour issues at Cleanaway’s Sydney landfill site (as seen on ACA).

FEB 2025 Convicted and fined $300K for breaching Commonwealth work health and safety laws over a Sydney fire in April 2022 that left a worker with serious injuries.

FEB 2024 The TWU awarded Cleanaway the ‘Worst Employer of 2023’ at its Delegates Conference. Not only had they made outrageous attempts to undermine the pay and conditions of workers, but their stalling of negotiations resulted in over 10 Protected Industrial Actions which occurred across NSW, as well as a significant number of safety risks and severe worker shortages.

JUNE 2023 Cleanaway charged with breaching federal work health and safety laws over an incident that injured a Canberra worker in a waste and recycling depot in Hume. (Category 2 criminal offence under the WHS Act. A worker’s hand was caught in a machine that compresses cardboard and plastics into bales while performing routine maintenance. He was treated in hospital for multiple fractures and lacerations to fingers.

FEB 2023 Workplace death at Cleanaway's Badgery Creek depot is under investigation by a NSW safety regulator after a worker was discovered ‘wedged between machinery’.

SEP 2023 EPA Victoria issue three fines to Cleanaway totalling nearly $30K for transporting waste hand sanitizer without properly logging its movement. A further $9K fine was issued to one of its transport contractors, DSS Investments (Aust) Pty Ltd, for the same offence.

APRIL 2023 'Treated horrifically', Cleanaway waste workers stage fifth protest in four months over working conditions and pay dispute. Waste workers have held their fifth protest in the space of four months as they continue their dispute against major waste management company Cleanaway over working conditions and wages.

DEC 2022 A Boxing Day fire at the Hume ACT facility, caused by thermal runaway from lithium-ion battery contamination, swept through the site, rendering the Cleanaway facility no longer suitable for processing recycled material.

APRIL 2022 NSW EPA fined Cleanaway $617K after it twice leaked kerosene solvent into the stormwater system and the Molonglo River in Queenbeyan in 2020, and failed to notify. Also ordered to pay the EPA’s investigation and legal costs of $110,778.

JAN 2021 Bullying allegations against Cleanaway CEO Vik Bansal highlighted a culture of harassment and intimidation within the company. The whistleblower complaint in May 2020 revealed that Bansal made unsubstantiated accusations over emails and repeatedly told workers they had "no f–king idea" during company meetings. He was also accused of telling employees they had to "just do your f–king job" and making threats of employment. These actions have led to significant backlash from employees and investors, resulting in a significant number of shares being dumped. 

The situation has been exacerbated by the company's response to employee complaints, which included locking workers out and standing them down without pay, despite the action being legal and protected. This has further strained the company's industrial relations and contributed to the ongoing bullying allegations.

Cleanaway's leadership has faced criticism for not addressing these issues adequately, leading to a loss of trust and confidence among employees and investors. The company's commitment to a values-driven culture is under scrutiny, and the actions of CEO Vik Bansal have been seen as a mockery of these values.

After four formal complaints, Vik Bansal stepped down in Jan 2021.

NOV 2020 Cleanaway subsidiary companies have previously been subject to EPA action with a $15K fine for alleged waste storage offences at Rutherford and a $1,500 fine for alleged poor record keeping at a South Windsor premises.

OCT 2020 Cleanaway safety claims blasted by NSW EPA Across an array of sites, Cleanaway was found by the EPA to be storing waste in damaged containers, incorrectly labelling waste and stacking it in precarious positions, while allowing liquid waste to form ponds and potentially pollute waters.

APR 2017 Cleanaway issued a fine of $650K for a 2013 fire at their Port Adelaide chemical waste processing facility in which a worker was seriously burned. The sentencing judge accused Cleanaway of initiating a trial process despite giving workers limited information about the trial and the new chemical involved. Largest fine ever handed out at a Comcare-initiated prosecution. Cleanaway pleaded guilty to a single charge of failing in its duty to ensure the health and safety of workers under the Commonwealth WHS Act.

MAY 2015 Cleanaway (then Transpacific) fined $363K for negligent behaviour and breaching federal WHS laws following a fatal accident in Perth where a company truck crashed into a 71-year-old driver in 2011. Comcare’s investigations revealed systematic failures in maintenance practices. 

AUG 2014 Cleanaway sewage tanker truck collided with many cars at the lower part of the South Eastern Freeway, killing two people. Following the accident the company pulled 2,800 trucks from service for inspections, disrupting waste collections for days.



Key References:

[1] Decision regarding historical MRL landfill levies

[2] Cleanaway safety record: Executive bonuses cut after multiple deaths at waste facilities

[3] Record waste odour fine sees $190k flow to Ipswich council - Inside Local Government

[4] Company fined over Sydney fire, injuries | Comcare

[5] PROFITS OVER PEOPLE: CLEANAWAY'S GAINS COME AT THE COST OF WORKERS - Transport Workers’ Union NSW

[6] Cleanaway charged over Canberra WHS incident | Comcare

[7] WASTE WORKER STRIKES LOOM ACROSS AUSTRALIA OVER CLEANAWAY’S ATTACKS TO PAY AND CONDITIONS - Transport Workers’ Union

[8] Cleanaway fined 30k over waste hand sanitizer movement - Inside Waste

[9] 'Treated horrifically': Cleanaway waste workers stage fifth protest in four months over working conditions and pay dispute | Sky News Australia

[10] Comcare investigation brings charge against Cleanaway after incident at Hume facility | Region Canberra

[11] https://citynews.com.au/2022/cleanaway-cops-fine-for-polluting-river/

Cleanaway ordered to pay $600,000 in fines | Mirage News

[12] https://www.afr.com/companies/manufacturing/cleanaway-safety-claims-blasted-by-nsw-epa-20201010-p563wy

[13] Cleanaway - Wikipedia

[14] BIG FINE FOR CLEANAWAY AFTER WORKER INJURED BECAUSE OF CHEMICAL FIRE

Cleanaway cops $650k fine over Adelaide chemical fire | Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions


[15] Waste company gets record $363,000 fine over fatal Perth truck crash - ABC News

+++ many references cited from Cleanaway's wikipedia page

impacts on climate and environment

Incinerator Impacts on Climate and Environment

1. Toxins accumulate in the soil, pollute our water, and get absorbed by plants and vegetation. Animals, birds and insects absorb these toxins.

2. POPs, like the dioxins in incinerator ash, cause death, reduced reproduction, cancer, and compromised immunity in mammals, birds and fish.

3. Incineration transforms garbage into more toxic forms of waste. Landfill with methane-gas capture (currently at Bromelton) is a safer option for us and the environment.

4. Incinerators contribute to climate change. They emit more CO2 per megawatt-hour than coal-fired, natural-gas fired, or oil-fired power plants.

5. Cleanaway’s incinerator is not renewable energy. It consumes finite resources (eg plastics and diesel) as fuel, and will discourage recycling.

6. Waste incinerators consume more energy than they produce. Any object incinerated required more energy to make than the heat released when it is burned. Recycling and composting conserves 3 to 5 times more energy than incineration.

7. Waste incinerators are incompatible with a circular economy. They replace one waste stream (residual/commercial/industrial waste) with contaminated ash.

8. Cleanaway say it’s ‘safe’. Cleanaway endangers the health and safety of our environment and communities. Cleanaway breaches licence conditions. Can we trust Cleanaway?



Key References:

Hidden emissions of dioxins from waste incinerators, Arkenbout, ToxicoWatch, 2020

After Incineration: The Toxic Ash Problem, IPEN 2005

The health impacts of waste incineration: a systematic review, Tait et al. Australian & NZ Journal of Public Health, 2020.

An Overview of the Effects of Dioxins and Dioxin-like Compounds on Vertebrates, as Documented in Human and Ecological Epidemiology, White, Birnbaum, Journal of Environmental Science and Health,

Facts about “waste-to-energy” incinerators. Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives, 2018.

Greenhouse Gas and Air Quality Impacts of Incineration and Landfill, Eunomia, 2022.

no social license to operate

No Social License to Operate

1. The Coordinator-General must decide whether public consultation policy is required for applications in State Development Areas.

2. There has not been open public consultation. Cleanaway have conducted targeted meetings and have selectively accepted requests to participate in their in-person and online reference group meetings.

3. Cleanaway cannot demonstrate that they have community acceptance to operate the proposed incinerator.

4. Social License is the acceptance granted to a company by the community. It’s made up of three components:

• Legitimacy - do they play by the rules?

• Credibility - do they provide honest information?

• Trust - can the community be confident they will do what they say?

5. Cleanaway does not play by the rules. It has a long record of breaching license conditions at their facilities and received a precedent-setting fine of >$600K by the QLD EPA for offences at their Ipswich landfill facility, being environmental odour nuisance offences, including unlawfully pumping contaminated water around its site and unlawfully using that water for dust suppression
The VIC Supreme Court has recently ruled in favour of the VIC EPA declaring an underpaid landfill levy for FY18 of $6.9M. Additional EPA audits have highlighted further alleged underpayments of $4.7M for FY19 and $7.2M for FY22. These additional years are not yet subject to court proceedings and figures exclude costs and interest.

Cleanaway in May 2026 has been ordered to pay a $1.1M fine for workplace failures, the largest ever imposed under federal work health and safety laws

6. Cleanaway does not provide honest information. They label their proposal as energy and resource recovery when it is overwhelmingly plastic incineration.

7. Cleanaway cannot be trusted to do what they say. They say the waste to be burnt is not recyclable, yet there are no sorting processes involved to extract recyclables, and the most desirable calorific materials are plastic and textiles.

8. Cleanaway has not disclosed information on the many toxic releases occurring overseas at modern waste incinerators, yet claims they are safe.

CLEANAWAY HAS RECEIVED

NUMEROUS FINES,

WARNINGS & CAUTIONS

FOR LICENCE INFRINGEMENTS

Key References:

1. Ethics Explainer: social license to operate, The Ethics Centre, 2022

economic impact of an incinerator

Economic Impact of an Incinerator 

1. Cleanaway’s Incinerator will provide up to 50 full-time jobs. This compares with the over 4,000 locals employed in the agriculture and tourism sectors, and the associated $400M of the region’s GRP. Agriculture, Tourism and Agri-tourism are the backbone of the eco-certified Scenic Rim. These jobs will be put in jeopardy by this incinerator and the hard won Clean and Green brand will be lost forever.

2. Incinerator contamination puts our agricultural industry at risk. From paddock to plate, contamination of local farmlands puts farm jobs, suppliers and local businesses at risk.

3. Incinerators reduce recycling rates by destroying discarded products and materials, and is incompatible with a circular waste economy.

4. The Bromelton Incinerator will heavily influence real estate values in the region, and property devaluations will inevitably devastate the finances of affected residents.

5. Incinerators burden local economies. Local governments overseas have gone bankrupt trying to fulfil waste contacts and operating needs.

6. The vision outlined in the Scenic Rim Regional Council’s own Community Plan, 2011-20263, ideals such as protecting the environment and sustaining rural industry, is at stark odds with the proposal to locate the largest waste incinerator in the Southern Hemisphere on the doorstep of Beaudesert township.

7. Cleanaway says the Incinerator will benefit our region. Scenic Rim produces less than 30,000 tonnes of waste annually and the remaining 730,000+ tonnes will be trucked in. Where these vehicles travel on local roads, the ratepayer will bear the cost of this extra road maintenance. How does this benefit the Scenic Rim?



Key References:

1. The health impacts of waste incineration; a systematic review. Tait et al. Australian & NZ Journal of Public Health, 2020

2. Facts about waste to energy incinerators, GAIA (Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives), 2018

3. Scenic Rim Community Plan, 2011-2026