It feels like time has been slipping through their fingers, but the Orchard Hills residents opposed to the dump have scraped together for one final mammoth effort to stop the proposal.
With more than 11,500 submissions made to the Land and Environment Court in opposition to the proposed waste management facility, Orchard Hills resident, Jackie Wells, is quietly confident and hopeful that this is the last time she will don her red ‘No Dump’ shirt.
“We have handed in 6,000 submissions to the department already and have another 5,500 to hand in and we still have a few collection days to go,” Mrs Wells said.
The action group is also well on their way to receiving 10,000 signatures for a parliamentary debate about the dump proposal and actions taken by the land and Environment Court in allowing the proponent, Dellara, to change the proposal several times.
“Once the submissions for the proposal have closed we will be focusing on obtaining the last signatures required for the petition,” Mrs Wells said.
“There are a lot of people getting together for our cause – it has been very successful and with so many submissions we have worked out a good systems with the red shirts.”
Mrs Wells said despite the ordeal being stressful for the residents of Orchard Hills, the battle has brought together people in the community and developed a sense of belonging.
“People understand that we don’t want any more dumps here in our suburb and all that extra support I think will push us over the line,” she said.
The Orchard Hills residents will be at McDonald’s in Werrington, Flower Power in Penrith and at Nepean River over the weekend collecting submissions and signatures.
Public submissions to the Land and Environment Court close on Wednesday, November 16.
