By Oliver Lees
Hi-Quality Group’s Bulla site would need a new temporary facility built within the existing Sunbury Eco-Hub if it’s application to receive contaminated spoil is accepted.
The waste management company said upgrades to the Sunbury Road facility would take about 12 months to complete if it is selected to treat and dispose of spoil excavated from the West Gate Tunnel Project.
Hi-Quality regional manager Lance Ingrams said no spoil would be transported to the site until after at least seven months of construction.
“Construction of the site is still to be done and will take around seven months, we won’t be seeing any trucks moving spoil until after that,” Mr Ingrams said.
“We will employ approximately 250 to 300 people from the community to build the site and will double the work staff on the site.
“We will also focus on sourcing local materials for the construction work.”
Mr Ingrams said about 55 full-time staff would be employed to manage the site once it is operational.
Traffic lights will also be installed at the site’s entrance.
Hi-Quality has owned the 256 hectare property on Sunbury Road since 2003, operating as the second largest landfill service in Victoria.
The spoil relocation project has been under intense public scrutiny for months, with local residents and politicians concerned that the toxicity of the soil would bring harm to the local environment.
Increased congestion along Sunbury Road has also been raised as a concern, following a report presented to a Hume council meeting in September, 2020 which estimated there would be 36 truck movements per hour associated with the project.
Mr Ingrams said that Hi-Quality Group was solely responsible for the treatment and disposal of the spoil.
Soil testing is completed on the site of the West Gate Tunnel Project by construction company CPB-John Holland, while the West Gate Tunnel Project is also responsible for transport of the spoil.
Mr Ingrams said once the spoil is relocated, it is stored in containment bays where water is drained to an onsite water treatment facility.
“The soil is about 40 to 50 per cent moisture, and any traces of PFAS contaminants are in that moisture,” he said.
“The idea is to get as much moisture out of the soil as possible.”
Mr Ingrams said that all Hume councillors had been invited to attend a briefing at Hi-Quality but so far only one had accepted.
A decision on which site will be chosen to receive the spoil is expected later this year.
