Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA) has fined Campbellfield company Oz Tyre Recyclers $7,773 for failing to comply with an EPA notice to monitor and manage its tyre stockpile.
EPA Metro Manager Daniel Hunt said that under its licence to store 7,000 waste tyres, Oz Tyre Recyclers is required to produce and implement a monitoring program to manage fire risk and ensure the safe storage of waste tyres.
“EPA issued a remedial notice after the company failed to meet this licence condition, and now the remedial notice hasn’t been complied with,” Mr Hunt said.
“The requirements of the notice were fairly easy to meet and we’re disappointed they haven’t been complied with. EPA takes compliance with its notices very seriously,” he said.
Mr Hunt said the company was the first in Victoria to be granted a licence to store waste tyres under new regulations which came into force in 2015. The regulations require premises that store more than 40 tonnes or 5,000 waste tyres to obtain a works approval and licence from EPA.
“EPA has put these regulations in place to ensure the Victorian public is better protected from the risk of tyre fires from unsafe stockpiles of waste tyres,” he said.
Mr Hunt said Oz Tyre Recyclers had also been issued with an official warning for not meeting a reporting requirement under the remedial notice.
“We strongly encourage compliance with EPA’s remedial notice and will consider further sanctions under the Environment Protection Act 1970 if required.”
If the community suspects someone is illegally stockpiling tyres or taking them to a place that cannot lawfully accept waste tyres, they are encouraged to contact EPA’s 24-hour pollution hotline on 1300 EPA VIC (1300 372 842).