NSW EPA has hit nine western Sydney waste operators with fines totalling $113,500 for a range of offences.
The penalties to the firms were announced on 1 November, as the authority emphasised its committing to taking action against companies without appropriate environmental controls in place and those operating illegally.
NSW EPA issued fines of $15,000 each to Veolia, Proactive Management Systems and Enviro Recycling for failing to meet the conditions of their environment protection licences.
Officers found Veolia’s Clyde Transfer Terminal in Auburn had not stored and transferred general household waste in a competent manner. Proactive Management Systems was penalised for failing to reduce the height of a 10- metre waste stockpile at its Chester Hill premises to the licensed limit of three metres. Enviro Recycling received its fine for tracking sediment from its Revesby construction and demolition recycling centre onto the adjoining public road for approximately 400 metres and for failure to control dust
Olathree and SBP Waste Management were fined $15,000 each for failing to comply with previously-issued Clean-up Notices. The former had not removed glass stockpiles from its Kemps Creek site by 2 October 2015, after it was found to be unlawfully receiving the material. SBP’s penalty came after it had failed to remove more than 200 tonnes of waste illegally stored at premises in Badgerys Creek.
H Hassarati & Co and Aussie Skips were fined $15,000 each for operating a waste facility without an Environment Protection Licence, as unlicensed facilities cannot process more than 6,000 tonnes of waste annually or store more than 1,000 tonnes of material at any one time.
NSW also fined Perfect Demo $8,000 for unlawfully transporting and depositing waste from a residential demolition at Beverly Hills. While Visy Recycling received a $500 on-the-spot litter fine on 15 September after EPA officers saw plastic bags and pieces of cardboard being blown over the boundary fence of its Smithfield premises.
Commenting on the penalties, NSW EPA Executive Director Waste and Resource Recovery Steve Beaman spoke about the potential risks to environmental and human health posed by the penalised waste firms.
“If waste is not managed properly there can be off-site impacts to the community. These fines are a reminder to all waste facilities to be good neighbours and take proactive steps to minimise dust, odours, polluted run-off and litter,” Mr Beaman said. “The EPA carries out regular inspections to enforce licence conditions and regulations.”
More information about NSW EPA’s regulatory tools is in its Compliance Policy.