The Southern Metropolitan Regional Council is to fight a directive from the state government ordering it to shut down its waste treatment operations at Canning Vale.
The government’s Department of Environment and Conservation last week gave the council 10 weeks to stop treating waste at the Regional Resource Recovery Centre amid continued complaints from residents about odour.
Department director Keiran McNarmara said the centre was put on notice six months ago because of the complaints but it had failed to improve the situation.
“Monitoring by DEC has confirmed that odour intensity levels increased in February and March this year,” Mr McNarmara said in a statement.
He said he had no confidence that the council had done enough to control the odour because the problem was still affecting the public.
Consequently, the council was given two weeks to find an alternative site for waste and eight weeks to complete composting operations that had already begun.
Acting council chief executive Tim Youe said it would appeal the decision because of the significant impact ceasing operations would have on the local economy and the state’s waste strategy.
“The closure … means the loss of 40 jobs, the loss of work for 100 small businesses and the loss of $12 million injected into the local economy each year,” he said.
“Environmentally, this decision will result in more than 60,000 tonnes of waste going to land fill, releasing 70,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.”
The department said the council could recommence operations if it made measures to reduce odours and improve the local air quality; a new licence would be considered if the centre installed new odour treatment equipment.
But WA Local Government Association president, Troy Pickard, said the council had no guarantee it would be given the all clear, even if it did install the new equipment.
“The facility is already carrying more than $30 million of debt and the four councils involved should not be expected to invest further in the facility without having a guaranteed outcome and clear support from the State Government,” Mr Pickard said.
The council had also begun building a new materials recovery facility at the centre with construction expected to be completed by June this year.
It was not affected by the state government directive as it operated under a different licence.
Opposition environment spokesperson Sally Talbot criticised environment minister Bill Marmion for failing to help the council find a solution.