{"id":623101,"date":"2026-02-28T21:05:31","date_gmt":"2026-02-28T21:05:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/623101\/"},"modified":"2026-02-28T21:05:31","modified_gmt":"2026-02-28T21:05:31","slug":"tensions-run-high-as-wanneroo-council-pushes-ahead-with-neerabup-resource-recovery-precinct","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/623101\/","title":{"rendered":"Tensions run high as Wanneroo council pushes ahead with Neerabup Resource Recovery Precinct"},"content":{"rendered":"

A member of the public was ejected and rangers called to restore order at a heated City of Wanneroo council meeting which backed stage one of the $75 million Neerabup Resource Recovery Precinct.<\/p>\n

The decision comes after a seven-week community engagement last year and authorises the city to start the detailed design process and formally adopt the precinct\u2019s business plan.<\/p>\n

The first stage of the precinct will have a waste transfer station, community recycling centre and materials recovery facility built at the site along Wattle Avenue, north of Banksia Grove.<\/p>\n

However, the inclusion of provisions for a waste-to-energy incinerator in stage two of the precinct\u2019s master plan has raised strong concerns among local residents.<\/p>\n

Tempers flared during the marathon five-and-a-half-hour meeting, during which mayor Linda Aitken ejected a member of the public from the chamber and called for ranger intervention after sustained interjections from the public gallery.<\/p>\n

One speaker wanted more time to question the council but Ms Aitken repeatedly asked him to sit down.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, can someone remove (him) from the room if he will not sit down?,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"CityCamera IconCity of Wanneroo mayor Linda Aitken. Credit: Carwyn Monck\/The West Australian<\/p>\n

This prompted an outburst and cries of \u201cdisgraceful\u201d from another member of the public gallery.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease be quiet. Please be quiet or leave the council chamber,\u201d Ms Aitken said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI ask the council meeting is closed until that man leaves the council chamber.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe council meeting is now closed until you leave the meeting. Thank you, sir. Sir, leave the room now. Leave the room immediately. Leave the room now.<\/p>\n

\n

Can we get the rangers, please, to take him from the room? Please remove him from the room.<\/p>\n

Mayor Linda Aitken<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

People speaking against the potential incinerator raised concerns about the precinct\u2019s proximity to residential areas and possible health and environmental effects.<\/p>\n

The precinct will be 1.8km from the nearest residential property.<\/p>\n

The council\u2019s vote applies only to stage one of the project.<\/p>\n

The Tamala Park landfill, which currently receives most of the city\u2019s waste, is predicted to reach capacity in 2028\u201329 and is in the early stages of planning for its closure.<\/p>\n

The city also expects the Wangara Waste Transfer Station to reach capacity by 2029\u201330, by which time around 90,000 tonnes of waste are predicted to be generated annually.<\/p>\n

Cr Helen Berry said it was essential to proceed with planning for the Neerabup Resource Recovery Precinct, given the approaching capacity limits.<\/p>\n

\"ConceptCamera IconConcept plans for the Neerabup Resource Recovery Precinct. Credit: Talis Consultants<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are not considering an open tip, and we are not considering an incinerator,\u201d Cr Berry said.<\/p>\n

\u201cGiven the time now required to build these facilities and the processes required, knowing the closure of Tamala Park is getting closer day by day, I support administration\u2019s recommendation to progress the detailed design for stage one only, and I will repeat, stage one only.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat would happen if we don\u2019t go through with this plan? If we don\u2019t build this, what is the city going to do? Are we just going to leave the waste on people\u2019s verges? No, we can\u2019t. So we need to be bold. We need to be brave… we need to approve this.\u201d<\/p>\n

An attempt by Cr Hugh Nguyen to defer the decision until next month was not supported and the council ultimately voted 11\u20133 to proceed with the detailed design and 12\u20132 to adopt the precinct\u2019s business plan.<\/p>\n

\"CrCamera IconCr Hugh Nguyen voted against proceeding with the plan at this stage. Credit: City of Wanneroo<\/p>\n

Cr Nguyen said he believed the community consultation process was not as thorough as it should have been.<\/p>\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t seen such a passionate reaction from the community, from residents and the wider community alike, on a matter like this before the council,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is clear from the AGM and the council briefing that I attended recently that there are grave concerns from a large section of the community and from a large number of residents.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis project is a significant and important one which will have a long-lasting and intergenerational effect on the local community and the residents especially those living within the buffer zone and nearby.\u201d<\/p>\n

A report from the city said a proposed waste-to-energy facility was not expected to be considered for another 10\u201315 years due to the volume of waste required for it to be commercially viable.<\/p>\n

The city expects construction of the Neerabup Resource Recovery Precinct to begin this June, with the waste transfer station to be completed by May 2027, the community recycling centre by February 2028, and the materials recovery facility by late 2028.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A member of the public was ejected and rangers called to restore order at a heated City of…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":623102,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2],"tags":[4740,50,17354,14737,8632,232795],"class_list":["post-623101","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","tag-australia","tag-news","tag-north","tag-perth","tag-wa-news","tag-wanneroo"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116150293531065221","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/623101","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=623101"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/623101\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/623102"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=623101"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=623101"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=623101"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}