Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA) is appealing for public assistance after a large amount of tyres were found dumped near Mildura on 23 March, 2016.
Up to 2000 tyres were found dumped on public land along Mercer Street, Koorlong.
EPA North West Acting Manager, Danny Childs, is encouraging anyone who may have seen a trailer or truck unloading the tyres around this area to come forward and contact the EPA.
“A clear act of illegal activity has taken place and this appalling behaviour shows a complete disregard by the offenders for the local community,” he said.
“Tyre stockpiles are a hazard to the Victorian community and environment mainly due to the toxic emissions if they were to catch on fire. The environmental impacts and costs of illegal dumping can be significant.”
Mr Childs said it was the third incident in the last month that illegal dumping of tyres had been reported to EPA’s North West office.
“EPA is receiving an increase in tyre dumping reports throughout the North West and in almost all cases there is no evidence left behind, resulting in costly clean-up costs for council and government agencies that have to remove the tyres from public land.”
Mildura City Council is in the process of conducting clean-up of the tyres.
“Illegal dumping of tyres is also unfair on businesses that are doing the right thing and disposing of them through the right channels. We need to send a strong message that penalties apply if you are caught doing the wrong thing.”
Anyone who is caught dumping industrial waste including tyres, or permits the inappropriate disposal of them at sites not permitted or licensed to accept them can face possible fines of more than $7,500 or up to $758,350 if prosecuted.
Mr Childs said it was also the responsibility of businesses and individuals wanting to dispose of unwanted or used tyres to ensure they were being collected or disposed of by legitimate operators or they too could face possible fines if the tyres were illegally dumped.
“EPA encourages anyone wishing to dispose of used or unwanted tyres to contact their local council or their regional waste management groups for options for legal disposal or appropriate companies able to collect them,” he said.
EPA has tightened regulations to ensure the Victorian public is better protected from the risk of tyre fires from unsafe storage of waste tyres.
The regulations, introduced in April last year, require premises that store more than 40 tonnes or 5,000 equivalent passenger units of waste tyres to obtain a works approval and licence from EPA.
EPA is inspecting waste tyre storage facilities across the state to enforce these new regulations around waste tyre stockpile sites. The inspections are also targeting businesses that have indicated they are storing less than 5,000 tyres.
“Large-scale, systemic illegal dumping is a growing problem in Victoria and EPA is committed to working with industry, government organisations and the community to reduce illegal dumping to ensure a safe and healthy environment for all,” Mr Childs said.
In August 2015, EPA fined an individual for illegal dumping in the Bendigo area and in December 2015, an EPA investigation led to two directors, a former general manager, a truck driver and a Gippsland-based business being convicted and fined a total of $100,000 for illegally dumping industrial waste.
Mr Childs urged anyone with any information about this incident to report it to EPA’s Pollution Hotline on 1300 372 842 (1300 EPA VIC).
