Communities Against The Tarago Incinerator (CATTI) Inc
CATTI is a community-led organisation opposing Veolia's proposal to build a waste-to-energy (WTE) incinerator near Tarago, in the NSW Southern Tablelands.
CATTI stands for preserving the clean environment of Tarago and the Southern Tablelands and managing waste in a more sustainable manner through reuse, genuine recycling and transition to a truly circular economy.
We would like to show our respects and acknowledge the Ngunnawal, Gundungurra Pejar, and Ngambri people who are the Traditional Custodians of the Land which will be impacted by this project, and to their Elders past, present and emerging.
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The fight to stop Veolia's toxic waste incinerator continues.
The fight against Veolia’s proposal to burn Sydney’s waste in the Southern Tablelands is a long way from over. We are currently waiting for Veolia’s response to the resounding 619 objections (98.8% of all submissions) against the proposal during the public exhibition period late last year. While we in the community were given only 6 weeks to wade through and respond to the 3,000 of page complicated and technical Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), Veolia and their consultants appear to have as much time as they like to respond to our submissions in order to progress their application with the NSW Department of Planning.
The NSW Government can easily fix the situation.
The NSW Government can easily recognise the complete lack of social license for this proposal and the damage it would do to the region's health, environment and economy. A quick and easy amendment to existing regulations could see them ban incinerators in the Southern Tablelands in the same way they have been banned in Sydney and across most of the state.
Send new members of Goulburn and Monaro electorates emails or Facebook messages. If you see them out and about, raise it with them in person – push them for more than just a statement of their personal opposition.
Goulburn Electorate:
Wendy Tuckerman (Liberal) - ElectorateOffice.Goulburn@parliament.nsw.gov.au / goulburn@nswliberal.org.au
Monaro Electorate:
Steve Whan (Labor) - steve.whan@nswlabor.org.au
Submission to object to a toxic waste incinerator near Lake George closed on 13/12/22
Read our Communities Against The Tarago Incinerator (CATTI) EIS formal objection
What is Veolia proposing?
Veolia proposes to build a waste-to-energy incinerator at their existing Woodlawn Bioreactor landfill site in the Goulburn Mulwaree NSW council region near Tarago.
The incinerator would:
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Burn 380,000 tonnes per year of municipal, commercial, industrial, construction and demolition waste from Sydney containing plastic, metals and types;
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Dispose of toxic residual fly ash leftover from the incineration process at the site;
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Operate 24 hours a day, 365 days per year for a lifespan of 30 years;
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Produce 30MW of power (a coal-fired power plant with equivalent emissions produces 876,000MW of power.
Read and share our easy-to-understand factsheets
The predicted range of the incinerator's toxic plume
For more information on the predicted plume go to our Plume plotter page.
Why are CATTI opposing Veolia's WTE incinerator?
Because scientific research shows waste-to-energy (WTE) incinerators:
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pollute the surrounding air, waterways and land with dangerous toxins such as mercury, lead and persistent environmental pollutants such as dioxins (See source 1);
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pose serious health risks for nearby residents and anyone drinking water from the surrounding water catchment or food produced nearby (See source 2);
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put dangerous toxins into the human food chain (See source 3). Tarago and the surrounding region is a big agricultural producer of lamb, beef, chicken, wine, and other human food and livestock feed;
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contribute to global warming and climate change (See source 4);
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do not form part of a sustainable waste management plan for the future - they are more climate polluting per unit of energy than coal, oil and gas (See source 4) ;
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discourage the 3R's (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) of best-practice, sustainable waste management (See source 5);
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poses a commercial risk to local industry, businesses and livelihoods (especially agriculture) (See source 6);
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in rural areas encourages an "out-of-sight, out-of-mind" approach to the management of Sydney's waste problems (See source 7);
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are inefficient and ineffective energy producers and are not recognised as a sustainable energy resource (See source 8);
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do not form part of the circular economy model that Australia is shifting to (See source 12);
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create highly toxic fly ash that then needs to be transported and stored in containment cells for generations to come (See source 9);
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require a highly sorted and consistent waste stream to manage filtration of particulate emissions (See source 11);
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will increase the already dangerous numbers of trucks on Tarago's narrow and poorly maintained rural roads (See source 11);
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will increase the amount of garbage arriving in Tarago, and intensify odour problems the town experiences from the current Veolia operations (See source 11);
Veolia has misled the Goulburn Mulwaree community about previous developments, cannot manage the odour and emissions from its current operations, and has demonstrated a lack of concern for community wellbeing (See source 10);
NSW Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) fines and interventions have not effectively improved odour and emissions for Tarago and surrounding residents and EPA oversight of a WTE incinerator is likely to be similarly ineffective (See source 10);
We want to provide our much-loved future generations with a healthy life using safe, sustainable and best-practice waste management.
For a more in-depth look at the research on the health, safety and environmental risks of WTE incineration, take a look at our Research page.
For more information on the risks and health impacts of waste-to-energy incineration explore our Frequently Asked Questions page.
Our Aim
What is CATTI aiming to achieve?
We want Veolia to halt plans for an incinerator and focus on improving its current operations so that they no longer adversely affect the town. While residents still need to make regular reports to the EPA about issues with the Woodlawn Precinct operations, Veolia has no social licence to propose further development (See source 10). We want to see a sustainable and future-focussed waste management plan and a community-friendly alternative to a WTE incinerator.
We also want the EPA and NSW Government to deny Veolia's proposal for a waste incinerator at Tarago and thereby acknowledge that the health, homes and livelihoods of rural residents and their children matter just as much the health, homes and livelihoods of people living in Sydney's urban areas.
What is CATTI doing to stop the incinerator project?
We're working with other community organisations, councils and other local areas impacted by the government's WTE Infrastructure Plan to coordinate a community response to Veolia's proposal.
We are:
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providing the community with an open dialogue about the issue;
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providing the community with research, information and the resources to see and understand the risks associated with Veolia's proposed incinerator;
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providing a supportive place for people to ask questions about the development;
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encouraging the community to make their concerns known;
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helping the community formulate an effective and coordinated opposition to the development;
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providing resources and advice to help the community take action to oppose the development;
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supporting other communities also opposing WTE incinerator proposals and planning.
Join the fight
Does CATTI need your help?
Yes.
The more people who register their opposition to the development, the better chance we have that our community will be taken seriously and our concerns actioned. We need you to register your opposition to Veolia's proposal.
How can I help?
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Contact the upcoming NSW government members and put pressure on!
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Contribute money by visiting our Go Fund Me page to help us meet our operational costs and get the word out. All money goes towards fighting the incinerator.
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Fill out our contact form to join our email list to stay updated on the campaign and be notified of important deadlines and timeframes.
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Go to and join our Facebook group. Ask questions and support your community to fight the development.
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Email or write to your local and federal MP letting them know you oppose the incinerator development. Feel free to include some of the information and references available on this site. It's very important to ask that your correspondence also be forwarded to the Minister for an answer to your questions.
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Encourage your neighbours, friends and family to take action.
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Display a sign in your front yard or on your fenceline opposing the proposed incinerator.
Got any questions or ideas? Go to and fill out our contact form. Let's work together to stop this thing!
Read our newsletter!
Go to our newsletter page to see 'The Tarago Toxic Burner' - the best way to stay up to date with what's happening in our fight to save our community from Veolia's Toxic 'Waste-to-Energy' incinerator.