Concerned residents from the Scenic Rim and surrounds gathered on Sunday, November 9 to oppose a proposed waste-to-energy incinerator planned for Bromelton, just a few kilometres from Beaudesert.
More than 50 people attended the community forum, which heard from speakers across science, health, farming and waste-reduction sectors.
The proposal forms part of Cleanaway’s $300 million Bromelton Energy and Resource Centre (BERC), a project earmarked for a 62-hectare parcel within the Bromelton State Development Area.
If approved by the Queensland Government, the facility would process up to 760,000 tonnes of residual waste each year using energy-from-waste technology already operating in Europe, North America and parts of Asia.
Under the proposal, the plant would generate up to 73 megawatts of electricity – enough to power about 105,000 homes – and recover usable materials including metals and construction aggregate.
Cleanaway has said the project would deliver around 800 construction jobs, 50 ongoing operational positions and major supplier opportunities for local businesses.
Construction could begin in 2028 with operations expected by 2032, pending approvals.
However, residents at the forum said the scale, location and potential impacts of the project warranted far closer scrutiny.
Running Creek resident Lizz Hills told the audience she approached the company’s consultation sessions “with an open mind” but became uneasy with the information provided.
“I finally asked, in good faith, what emissions could be coming from the incinerator?” Mrs Hills said.
“And they looked me straight in the face and said, well, if we’re doing our job right, there will be zero emissions. And in that moment, they lost me.”
Boonah resident Julie Jackson, who leads Boonah Organisation for a Sustainable Shire’s (BOSS) community recycling initiatives, urged a shift toward waste reduction rather than combustion.
“I’m here to talk about a circular economy, a different way of dealing with waste,” she said.
“A circular economy values material recovery, not energy recovery.”
Mrs Jackson said incineration would undermine reuse and recycling efforts by locking the region into long-term waste supply contracts.
“Waste to energy incinerators are not the missing link in Australia’s waste management system,” she said.
“They are the most expensive and polluting way to manage waste. It is not ethical, economical, efficient nor visionary.”
Cleanaway representatives have previously spoken at local business forums, including a recent Beaudesert Chamber of Commerce event in October, where the company outlined how suppliers could register their interest ahead of a formal procurement phase expected to begin in 2027.
The company has said community consultation will continue into 2025 as part of the state assessment process.
Other speakers at the forum, including farmers, medical practitioners and community advocates, raised concerns about emissions, persistent pollutants, ash disposal, compliance histories in other regions and the facility’s proximity to agricultural land, national parks and the region’s tourism footprint.
Organisers from BOSS and Keep the Scenic Rim Scenic encouraged residents to monitor updates, continue public discussions and prepare for formal submissions once the state process opens.
“Our community is not a laboratory,” Mrs Hills said.
“Our children are not test subjects.”
