Environment Protection Authority Victoria has issued Boral with a fine in excess of $7000 after a significant amount of waste blew beyond its landfill boundaries earlier this year.
Strong wind gusts and insecure perimeter fencing caused the litter to escape from the south east corner of its Ravenhall site on 31 July, littering paddocks, a nearby property and prompting community reports to EPA.
EPA officers visited the site the following day and again on 4 August to investigate the incident. It found Boral had taken appropriate measures to clean up the area and secure the site within days of the incident occurring.
EPA Metro Manager, Richard Marks said while the company took some pre-emptive measures to minimise wind-blown litter, including shutting down operations and completing clean-up, the incident could have been avoided.
“In this instance, the extreme winds were forecasted but the mitigation actions by Boral were inadequate,” he said.
“The company has since upgraded its infrastructure and improved its maintenance to prevent this happening again.”
Mr Marks encouraged locals to report pollution to EPA on 1300 372 842 or by visiting www.epa.vic.gov.au