Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA) has fined Landfill Operations, a subsidiary of Cleanaway Waste Management Ltd, more than $7,900 for breaching a condition of its EPA licence at its Ravenhall landfill in July 2017.
EPA Metro Manager Peter Kerr said that during a recent licence compliance assessment of the landfill, EPA officers found extensive areas of exposed waste that should have been covered after daily operations.
“A requirement of the company’s EPA licence is that a layer of soil at least 15 centimetres thick must be placed over solid inert waste and a layer of soil at least 30cm thick placed over all other wastes except waste being deposited and compacted at the working face of the landfill. At the end of operations for the day, all waste must be covered,” Mr Kerr said.
“This requirement of the company’s EPA licence is to prevent any waste or odour from leaving the property and impacting on the local environment.”
Mr Kerr said EPA officers inspected the daily cover condition of the licence monthly and was discussed frequently with the operator of the site.
“This licence breach was very avoidable. Put simply, if the operator of the landfill had managed and monitored its exposed waste in accordance with its EPA licence it would have avoided this fine of almost $8000,” Mr Kerr said.
Mr Kerr said that covering waste at the landfill reduced possible impacts on the environment such as litter being blown off site and odour.
“EPA will continue to hold the landfill operator to account with its regulatory requirements through further and ongoing inspections of the site,” Mr Kerr said.
Mr Kerr said the fine of over $7,900 followed two fines issued to the company in July 2016.
“One of the fines was issued when elevated landfill gas concentrations were detected at the boundary of the Ravenhall landfill premises and the other because the company failed to notify EPA of an ongoing licence breach,” Mr Kerr said.
EPA urges members of the public to report suspected pollution to the EPA on 1300 372 842 (1300 EPA VIC) or at www.epa.vic.gov.au