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14 JUNE, 2022
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Caring for the planet
Students Isaiah, Harris, Amelia, Jasper, Astrid, Jemimah and Sullivan, with deputy principal Rob Huntington and head of synergy Sasha Koomen.
Anxiety about the future, concerns about litter and two years of a global pandemic combined to set Overnewton Anglican Community College on the path to sustainability. The Keilor school’s hard work over the past two years, which has resulted in it achieving 1 Star status – meaning it has taken its first steps towards becoming a sustainable school – culminated in it being named Emerging School of the Year at the recent ResourceSmart Schools’ Awards. As part of its sustainability efforts, the school has developed an environmental management plan, formed teacher and parent sustainability groups and introduced new bins. Overnewton head of synergy Sasha Koomen said the school was incredibly proud of its award. “It feels great to be acknowledged for the hard work that began during those really tough years in lockdown,” she said. “As students and teachers, we thought it was pretty obvious that society as whole had not been looking after our environment. Overnewton Anglican Community College now officially acknowledges the current climate emergency we are facing as a community and are committed to taking action to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.”
Landfill future uncertain The Barro Group has not decided whether it will reopen the Kealba landfill, as the last of the hot spot fires inch closer to being extinguished. Barro stopped accepting waste in December 2020 after the hot spot fires were identified, with the Environment Protection Authority suspending Barro’s license in September 2021. At a recent community meeting, Kealba landfill manager Nino Frasca said it was
unclear what would happen once the fires are out. “My honest answer, the family have not decided that at this stage [whether to reopen],” he said. “The main focus is getting the fire out. “A decision has not been made.” It comes as the EPA set a new deadline for extinguishing the last hot spot – the end of August. Having burned for more than two and half years, the fires have had a massive impact on the lives of residents living nearby.
With remediation work occurring near the bottom of the last hot spot, odours are expected to increase in the coming weeks. The EPA had previously set a deadline of May 2021. Barro missed that deadline and said last year it wasn’t expecting to be able to extinguish the hot spot before May 2022. An EPA spokesperson said the organisation had assessed updated information and evidence to determine a new date, which it believed Barro should be able to meet. “The EPA conducts regular monitoring of
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this process,” the spokesperson said. “If there is a failure to comply, EPA will consider what actions are appropriate under its Compliance and Enforcement Policy.” Cr Virginia Tachos, who is a resident affected by the hot spots, said lack of information from the EPA about the hot spots had been disappointing. She said residents were sceptical about the new deadline. The EPA spokesperson said the organisation was committed to keep the community informed.
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By Tara Murray