Plans to build a plastics factory in Moss Vale that threatens to contaminate Sydney’s drinking water are one step closer to being approved after the company appealed a rejection by the NSW Independent Planning Commission.
RePoly (formerly Plasrefine) wants to build one of Australia’s largest plastic processing plants on the edge of Moss Vale, just ten metres from the Wingecarribee River that feeds into Warragamba Dam – Sydney’s main drinking supply.
Beaconsfield Road resident Jean McKern, 89, has lived near the proposed site since 1994 and said the proximity to the river is concerning.
“The catchment area should be sacrosanct. The water should not go into the Sydney water catchment area,”
“Anything with toxic particles going into the river is going to worsen the situation because with a plastic waste recycling facility you cannot take out the toxins,” Mrs McKern said.
The local community tallied 2,900 written submissions in 45 days opposing the proposal.
The NSW Independent Planning Commission rejected the initial proposal in January 2025, but RePoly lodged an appeal to the Land and Environment Court. A November 2025 conciliation conference failed to resolve the dispute, with a hearing expected in October 2026.
In a media statement RePoly said the facility would safely process plastic waste in full compliance with environmental regulations.
Residents’ submissions to the NSW Independent Planning Commission warned that wastewater runoff and airborne nanoparticles from a factory of this scale could enter the Wingecarribee River during rainfall, carrying toxins into a catchment that water filtering systems cannot fully clean.
If approved, the facility would operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, processing 120,000 tonnes of plastic waste annually.
Southern Highlands local, Caitlyn Morris, 18, said water ecosystems could be permanently damaged.
“I think that a lot of water ecosystems will be harmfully damaged to the point of no return,” Ms Morris said.
The Wingecarribee Shire Council has formally objected to the proposal.
NSW Planning Policy requires all developments within the Sydney Drinking Water Catchment to have a neutral or beneficial effect on water quality.
Mrs McKern said Sydney residents remained unaware of the threat to their water supply.
“Absolutely – and they don’t even know about it yet,” Mrs McKern said.
The Land and Environment Court’s decision, expected later in 2026, will determine whether one of Australia’s largest plastic factories is built in the Southern Highlands – 10 metres away from the waterways supplying drinking water to more than five million people.
