A petition with more than 2000 signatures has been presented to Wyndham council, urging it to keep the Wests Road rubbish tip at ground level.
The petition, signed by residents of Werribee and Wyndham Vale, was presented to the council’s monthly meeting on September 23 by the Western Region Environment Centre (WREC).
The centre has been a vocal opponent of the council’s controversial plan to expand the landfill, labelling the development a “waste mountain”.
As reported by the Weekly, the council is in the process of seeking Environment Protection Authority approval to expand cell 4C at the tip to 24 metres above ground.
The EPA has granted approval for cells 4A and 4B to be built to the same height.
The decision has been heavily criticised in the community, with the council admitting failure to properly consult with residents and incorrectly granting itself permission to build the tip to 65 metres and 120 metres above the ground in 2010 and 2012.
WREC members wore dust masks to the council meeting as part of a silent protest.
Petition organiser and Browns Road resident Connie Menegazzo said she feared an expanded tip would lead to Werribee again being known as the waste capital of Melbourne.
“The stigma is one of my concerns. I’ve lived here all my life and I don’t want that stigma to be associated with Werribee again,’’ she said.
Before his resignation from council on Monday night, Shane Bourke joined deputy mayor Marie Brittan in declaring he would not support any proposal to expand the tip above its current height.
But mayor Heather Marcus has flagged the possibility of expanding the mound by another 21 metres.
In a statement, Cr Marcus said the council would consider a number of scenarios for the site, including lowering the cells, maintaining the current height or fixing the tip at 45 metres above ground.
The council did not respond to questions about why it was considering a further expansion of the tip.
