Newcastle is on the table as a potential dumping ground for Sydney’s toxic waste.
The NSW Government is considering plans which would see 12,000 cubic metres of hazardous material stored at Mayfield North.
The waste will be dug up during construction of the Northern Beaches Link through Middle Harbour, with the refuse containing lead, mercury, silver, zinc, poly-fluoroaklyl substances (PFAS) and dioxins.
These substances cannot be disposed of off-shore.
After a brief treatment in Sydney, it would be put on a barge and shipped to the Port of Newcastle, loaded on to trucks and transported to Mayfield North where it would be stored for about a month.
State Member for Newcastle Tim Crakanthorp said the Government was clearly trying to fly under the radar.
“There is little detail, no transparency and they’re trying to sneak it in,” he said.
Mr Crakanthorp said Novocastrians knew all too well the havoc PFAS can wreak, and said the the last thing the community wants is more of it around the city.
He’s also levied the accusation the plan is politically motivated, as the state government looks to improve its image in Sydney while sweeping the problem under the rug and up to Newcastle.
“Why does Sydney get all the infrastructure and we get all the toxic waste?”
Mr Crakanthorp will deliver a Notice of Motion in Parliament on Tuesday calling for the NSW Government to abandon the plan.