News
24 April, 2026
Reject Repoly co-chair slams big business
Co-chair of Reject Repoly John Hopkins has slammed big business for failing to support the fight against a proposed plastics recycling facility in Moss Vale.
Co-chair of Reject Repoly John Hopkins has slammed big business for failing to support the fight against a proposed plastics recycling facility in Moss Vale.
Mr Hopkins was full of praise for those people – including small businesses – who had contributed financially to the campaign to date.
But he said some big businesses – including major employers – had refused to support Reject Repoly’s fundraising efforts.
One Reject Repoly source told The Southern Wire that one of the region’s largest employers had been ‘aggressive’ in its rejection to a request for a donation and had claimed the proposed facility had nothing to do with them.
Mr Hopkins said 90 per cent of the community was opposed to the proposed plastics recycling facility but Reject Repoly had been knocked back “time and time again” by big business when asked for financial support.
He accused them of “burying their heads” and refusing to acknowledge the damage Repoly would inflict on the community.
Reject Repoly is the fundraising and promotions arm of Southern Highland Matters (SHM) – the group fighting Repoly’s appeal in the Land and Environment Court.
It has raised $250,000 since December alone – primarily through an auction and gala dinner at Hopewood House and a charity golf day at the Moss Vale Golf Day today (Friday).
The golf day exceeded all expectations and added $55,000 to the Reject Repoly kitty.
Organisers had been hoping to raise $40,000 from the day.
Mr Hopkins described it as the most successful charity golf event ever held in the Southern Highlands.
But he said there was no time to rest.
“We still sadly have more to do.”
Mr Hopkins said Repoly obviously had more money than SHM and simply refused to acknowledge the “sheer madness” of building a plastics recycling facility in the Southern Highlands.
He said Repoly would now use its ‘legal might’ in an attempt to push the proposal through – despite vehement community opposition.
As previously reported by The Southern Wire, the Reject Repoly campaign is in desperate need of financial support and has said that “highly specialised lawyers and barristers” – coming at a
significant cost – will be the only way to defeat the controversial Repoly proposal.
The original Plasrefine project was rebranded ‘Repoly’ after the project was rejected by the Independent Planning Commission last year and the applicant lodged an appeal in the Land and Environment Court.
SHM chairperson Sam Wood has been recognised as one of only a few legal respondents with standing in the Land and Environment Court to challenge the appeal.
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