JULY 10, 2018 \ STARWEEKLY.COM.AU
NEWS + SPORT + PROPERTY GUIDE
Soccer kids strike out More than 200 children have been turned away from a Caroline Springs soccer club in the past two years because requests for upgraded training grounds have been knocked back by Melton council, the club says. Westside Strikers Football Club has been training at the Brookside Recreation Reserve for the past four years, sharing the grounds with the nearby primary school, Australian Rules football clubs, cricket clubs and another soccer club. With the club’s number of players growing to 400, president Sam Raniolo says it has outgrown the facilities and grounds, which are dotted with potholes, patchy grass and synthetic turf. The club was advised Melton council would resurface the grounds, Mr Raniolo said, but it was later decided council’s maintenance officers would patch up the potholes weekly. Melton community services acting manager Matthew Wilson said the council spent about $500,000 three years ago to extend the original building at the reserve, which included providing female-friendly “amenities”. Mr Wilson said the council was investigating the possibility of using change facilities at the adjacent secondary school for sporting use. Sumeyya Ilanbey
Sam Raniolo at the Westside Strikers ground at Brookside Recreation Reserve. (Marco De Luca)
Landfill faces big switch By Sumeyya Ilanbey Plans to divert more than 150,000 tonnes of waste a year from a Bacchus Marsh landfill and generate enough renewable energy to power up to 15,000 homes have been unveiled. A waste-to-energy facility is being planned for Maddingley Brown Coal’s landfill. It will be a joint venture between iGas and Maddingley Brown Coal, which are in the process of applying to Moorabool council and the Environment Protection Authority for approval. Once built, the facility will extract methane from the landfill site, convert it to electricity, and then send it to the grid.
H A L F
The state government last month awarded $500,000 for the project from its Resource Recovery Infrastructure Fund. Once approval is obtained, construction is expected to start early next year and the facility to be operational be mid-2020. Maddingley Brown Coal has been operating as a commercial landfill since 1978, accepting waste such as timber and plastic film. iGas commercial manager Dylan Nichols is confident approval will be granted, saying the project was being designed to meet EPA standards and emission targets. “From a sustainability point-of-view, it’s a very good news story,” Mr Nichols told Star Weekly. “We’re not only diverting waste from
Y E A R L Y
landfill, [we’re] also reducing the reliance on fossil fuel. Electricity is [currently] produced by burnt coal, which isn’t great for the environment. And we’re bringing in new jobs, and energy generation to a region that will have issues with dedicated, reliable energy going forward.” Fifteen permanent jobs will be created once the facility is built, according to Mr Nichols. Maddingley Brown Coal waste strategist David Maltby said it was an exciting project. “[iGas] has technology and experience in the waste sector that aligns with the goals that MBC has to divert more waste from landfill and reduce the environmental impact of waste disposal,” he said.
ED LINES,
U DISCONTIN
CK & O T S S S E C S! EX R’S MODEL LAST YEA
% 0 20 - 5
Plus
AVAILABLE IN-STORE ONLY! LIMITED STOCK, STOCK VARIES BETWEEN STORES
EPA assessments director Tim Eaton said the authority had not yet received an application. “Depending on the specifics of the project it may require a works approval from EPA for the construction of the plant and an EPA licence for its operation,” Mr Eaton said. The state government recently commissioned a report that discussed the merits of waste-to-energy facilities following community backlash about the approved expansion of the Ravenhall landfill. The report found there was “broad support” for waste-to-energy as an alternative to landfill, but the public had concerns about the technology and the risks it might pose.
OF ASSIVE RANGE
AM
OFF LS! SELECTED TOO
SALE STARTS: Monday 9th While stocks last
TT0793
MELTON
169 High Street Ph: 9971 8888 own it now, pay later