Hannah Hammoud
Across the road from the AkzoNobel site in Sunshine North, windows remain shut and blinds are drawn as residents attempt to stifle the noise and odour emanating from the factory.
The robotic hum from across the road can still be heard inside the home of Gary Muir.
Mr Muir’s parents bought the house on Barwon Avenue circa 1932.
“I was born and bred here, before the factory even came to exist,” Mr Muir said.
Surrounded by an impressive pile of documents, images, newspaper clippings and stacks of complaints sent to the EPA, Mr Muir said he has been living on the ‘front-line’ of the fallout from the company’s day to day operations.
Since late 2019, residents have been complaining about excessive noise and odour coming from the site, with the EPA issuing several remedial notices since.
“I am 78 and I have lived in this house for 78 years, and since 2019 it has been absolute shit,” Mr Muir said.
Last month, AkzoNobel announced that it had made the ‘difficult’ decision to permanently close the resin plant operations at its Sunshine North facility.
The company said the resin plant will cease operating within the next nine months, however Mr Muir said the plant needs to be closed immediately.
“The noise from 10pm daily to 5am the next day upsets my sleeping pattern. It is a high-pitched, constant tone affecting my ears and I am awake for several hours nightly,” he said.
Mr Muir has raised concerns that the remaining powder and paint manufacturing operations will continue to frustrate residents with the same problems.
“They operate at the inconvenience of the people. I could be sitting in my house and the odour will just hit me,” he said,
“People tell me that I have to accept that I live across the road from a factory but I was here first, this is not a case of ‘buyer beware’.”
The EPA began its investigations into the site in 2019 after a spike in community reports of noise and odour and said it has issued a series of notices focused on fully understanding and managing all noise and odour from the site.
EPA west metropolitan regional manager Steve Lansdell said the EPA will continue to proactively check compliance and make sure the community gets the improvements “they deserve”.
“Our officers and specialist scientists have been very focussed on preventing impacts and improving the amenity for the local Sunshine North community. This has included visiting and monitoring at people’s homes and making sure AkzoNobel has regularly and genuinely engaged with their neighbours and community,” he said.
Armed with a pile of hundreds of complaints sent to the EPA, Mr Muir said he feels his concerns have fallen on deaf ears.
“Since 2020 I would have been complaining four to five times a week, and what have I got for it?
“I would get up out of my bed in the middle of winter to complain at 1am. I got to know the people who were manning the complaints line during the night shift, they recognised my voice whenever I would call.
“I don’t complain anymore, why should I bother sending these messages? It is a waste of time.”
In a statement from AkzoNobel, the company said it has made significant investments in upgrades and site improvements to address issues raised by residents, and acknowledged that there is more work to be done.
“… We have put in place numerous mechanisms for community members to report concerns, including a phone hotline, email address and an online form. We encourage community members to make use of these, as reports in real time give us the best opportunity to identify potential issues affecting the community, so they can be addressed,” it said.
“Not all community members have chosen to engage with us, and we respect that. But if community members do have feedback or questions about our actions to address noise and odour, we encourage them to get in touch.”
