Suburban landfill set to close six years after it caught fire

A tip in Melbourne's western suburbs that's been battling underground spot fires for nearly seven years will close permanently, after ongoing opposition from the local community.Barro Group has operated the Sunshine Landfill on the banks of the Maribyrnong River at Kealba since 2015, just across the road from homes.Four underground fires were detected in 2019, and residents have lodged thousands of pollution reports, reporting smells that varied from burning waste, chemical fertiliser, rotten eggs or old socks.The company has not been accepting rubbish at the site since it started work to put out the fires, and it has failed to meet several clean-up notices from the Environment Protection Authority (EPA).Four underground fires were detected in 2019 at the Kealba landfill site in Melbourne's west. (Facebook: Sunshine Landfill)This week, the EPA told a community meeting it has revoked the company's operating licence, and "landfill operations at the site will now permanently cease"."Last December, EPA took strong regulatory action and notified the duty holder of its intention to suspend the licence because it believed Barro Group was unable to effectively manage risks to the community arising from landfill operations at the site," the EPA said in a statement.But, in a statement to the ABC, Barro Group said it told the EPA in April 2026 that it had made the decision to voluntarily surrender its operating licence for the landfill."This is an important decision for us, and we hope the community see it for what it is — a show of good faith in rebuilding our relationship with our neighbours, the community and stakeholders," Barro Group managing director, Raymond Barro, said.The company will continue to work on remediating the final hotspot, which is expected to take another five years.The EPA has told the community it's likely the fires started when oxygen got into the landfill, possibly through the side walls, resulting in the combustion of decomposing waste.Community is 'elated'Nicole Power lives about 300 metres from the tip and has been leading the push to close the landfill, attending regular meetings as well as court hearings.Nearby resident Nicole Power (right), pictured alongside fellow community campaigner Noeline Wattie, has welcomed the confirmation of the tip closure. (ABC News: Simon Tucci)She said when the EPA told the community the tip would permanently close, "I didn't know whether to laugh or cry"."I was just so relieved," she said."It's really, really welcome news after such a frustrating and exhausting fight."At times I felt like our community wasn't being heard, and we were just annoying, irrelevant collateral damage."She said the decision to permanently close the tip is a credit to the hard work of the community."Every single share on social media, every single community person that's vocalised their dismay and done anything deserves to be recognised," she said."It's been a David and Goliath effort — and David has won.""We will have clear air eventually."Hotspot to take another five years to put outThe EPA has also issued a fresh notice to Barro Group to extinguish the final hotspot and remediate the site."We look forward to the day the hotspot is out, and the landfill is remediated," EPA chief executive Joss Crawford said.In a statement, Barro said it is working with a Canadian expert in landfill fire suppression to put out the fire by starving it of oxygen.This is expected to take as long as another five years, but be less disruptive to the community than the alternative, which involves digging up the waste to get to the hotspot.Barro Group intends to continue operating its concrete batching plant on the site, which it owns.Brimbank City Council mayor Virginia Tachos welcomed the EPA's decision and said the council looked forward to discussing alternative plans for the site with the Barro Group."This is a significant win for our residents and the local environment, but it's come at a significant cost," she said."For seven years, council and the community have been working hard to hold this irresponsible and dangerous operator to account."It's taken a strong and sustained grassroots community effort get to this point and we're pleased that the EPA have now acted decisively."