Off the back of a successful year, EPA’s Illegal Dumping Strike Force (IDSF),
the team tasked to stamp out illegal waste dumping, will continue the momentum
with a clamp down on generators, receivers and transporters of construction and
demolition (C&D) waste for 2013-14.
IDSF has begun a program of on-the-ground-inspections across the industry and
EPA Victoria CEO John Merritt will be meeting with highly influential industry
groups and specific generators of C&D waste to discuss their responsibilities
around managing these wastes.
“I’ll be meeting with the top generators to explain how waste soil and
demolition material can be managed to better protect Victoria’s environment,’
Mr Merritt said.
“IDSF will be looking at the life cycle of industrial waste in the C&D Sector
which generates large volumes of industrial waste. An unknown portion of this
waste is being diverted from landfill/recycling and dumped on industrial or
rural land in illegal landfills.
“By using education and awareness, and knowledge and intelligence activities we
can work towards the best outcome.
“Further to this in September, IDSF finalised a formal intelligence development
project with the Department of Environment and Primary Industries (DEPI)
allowing IDSF to input pieces of intelligence to DEPI's Compliance Support
Group and use their analytical capabilities to identify links and trends and
key operators who undertake illegal dumping activities.
“This will enable better intelligence-led decision-making and a more strategic
approach to allocating our enforcement resources as well as provide a clearer
picture of illegal dumping in Victoria.”
IDSF exceeded its Annual Compliance Plan goals in 2012-13, conducting 235
inspections and issuing 68 notices to address illegal dumping of waste. There
were also three successful illegal dumping prosecutions resulting in $105,000
in fines and $36,253 in costs awarded.
These were:
· Earthmoving company, Lantrak Projects (Vic) Pty Ltd, pleaded guilty to
allowing industrial waste to be dumped at a site being prepared for a cemetery
and misleading EPA.
· Drum Brokers Australia Pty Ltd was convicted and found guilty of multiple
contraventions of their licence, dumping industrial waste and not obeying a
clean up notice, and ordered to pay over $100,000.
· Adam Parkin was successfully prosecuted for depositing industrial waste at an
unlicensed site. He was fined $1000 and ordered to pay EPA’s costs of $2500.
Those with information related to large-scale illegal dumping can make an
anonymous report to EPA’s Pollution Hotline 1300 EPA VIC (1300 372 842).