Cleanaway New Chum site to reopen despite Ipswich residents health complaints

A notorious Ipswich waste site is on track to reopen after a move from the Queensland Government that the Mayor has labelled a “slap in the face” to locals, who have already made thousands of odour complaints this year.

Cleanaway New Chum landfill at 100 Chum St. Photo: Steve Pohlner

An Ipswich waste site which has sparked thousands of complaints about toxic odours and significant health issues is on track to reopen after the State Government approved an amended “environmental authority’’.

Ipswich City Council will this week consider an operational works application from Cleanaway Landfill to install a liner and groundwater control system at the notorious site, Cell 3B at the New Chum and Swanbank industrial area.

Locals have long been calling for the government to “Stop the Stink” in the area since odour issues worsened after the 2022 floods.

Ipswich Major Teresa Harding said Council had been “incredibly vocal at the time” about the significant and negative impact the odour was having on nearby businesses and residents.

“I received reports from residents experiencing headaches, sore eyes and throats, nausea and vomiting, chest pains and respiratory irritation because of the stench,’’ she said.

“Families were living with their doors and windows shut for weeks on end.”

Cleanaway New Chum Solid Waste Landfill in June 2022. Picture: Nearmap

The Department of Environment and Science (DES) has received thousands of calls this year alone from Ipswich residents complaining they struggled to breathe or had experienced daily dry retching and vomiting.

But in June the DES amended an existing environmental authority allowing landfilling to restart at Cell 3B, on the condition that strict changes were made to the cell’s design to manage groundwater and minimise the potential for odour emissions.

A DES spokesperson said any potential recommencement of Cleanaway’s operations in Cell 3B are contingent on Council’s, not DES’, approval of the company’s proposed operational works application.

But Ms Harding said Council could not refuse the application on environmental grounds.

She said Council now had “no other viable option” than to approve the operational works application if Cleanaway made the necessary changes.

Ms Harding said the DES decision was a “slap in the face” for residents who made health complaints after enduring the stench for months following the 2022 floods.

“On one hand the Department of Environment and Science has charged Cleanaway with a number of offences in relation to this matter, on the other hand they have granted an environmental authority to allow Cell 3B to reopen,’’ she said.

Cleanaway was fined $33,000 earlier this year for contamination at their New Chum site.

It still has a number of outstanding charges progressing through the courts.

Ms Harding said DES’ decision to allow Cell 3B to reopen showed a “complete disregard for the Ipswich community, particularly for suburbs like Collingwood Park and Riverview that bore full brunt of that stench”.

“The Queensland Government set an expectation with the Ipswich community and now they are going back on that commitment. It’s just not good enough,” she said.

Mayor Teresa Harding. Picture: Cordell Richardson

A Cleanaway spokesman said their specialist team at New Chum had “worked tirelessly for the past 18 months to ensure the site meets best-practice standards”.

“An invitation remains open for elected officials to take a site tour and see for themselves,” he said.

“We continue to work with Ipswich City Council, the state environmental regulator and independent engineers around Cell 3B, which is the final cell to be filled on site before rehabilitation is planned to commence.

“There is no set date for it’s opening, while the entire site has been closed and has not received waste since March 2022.”

The DES spokesman said the Department would continue to monitor and respond to any reports or issues that arise in accordance with its role as the environmental regulator.

They recently told The Courier-Mail that it had been actively investigating odour nuisance reports received from community members in and around the Swanbank Industrial Area.

“Investigations in suburbs affected by odours along with information from community reports and weather monitoring technology, helped identify that composting facilities located in the Swanbank industrial area are most likely contributing to the odours,” a DES spokesman said.

“In recent months, our compliance officers have conducted detailed site inspections of composting facilities in the Swanbank industrial area to determine compliance with the requirements of their environmental licences.

“As the environmental regulator, DES takes environmental offences seriously and will continue to take strong enforcement action, including court action, in relation to contraventions of the Environmental Protection Act.”

Member for Bundamba Lance McCallum said every level of government had a role to play in protecting the community and the environment.

“Any company that is not doing the right thing by our local community and the environment should face serious consequences,” he said.

“Cleanaway still has matters before the courts thanks to strong action from the independent environmental regulator.

“Ipswich MPs advocated for and secured the landmark independent review of our environmental framework for odour, which was conducted by a retired Environment and Planning Court judge and former Senior Crown Prosecutor.

“We have also passed tough new environmental laws that include increased penalties, more powers for environmental officers and laws also hold company directors to account for environmental damage.”

“I will keep fighting to see companies who do the wrong thing by our local community and the environment are held to account.”