A burning pile of farm waste at Woolsthorpe has cost a dairy company a fine of more than $8,000.
Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA) South West Region Manager Carolyn Francis said EPA authorised officers found the pile, containing plastic, wire, soil and hay, was still burning when they arrived.
“The pile also included a 20 litre plastic chemical drum, fence posts, ash and bailing twine. It was industrial waste and should have been taken for proper disposal,” Ms Francis said.
EPA issued Australasian Global Dairies Pty Ltd with a fine of $8,060 for permitting the discard of industrial waste through burning, a breach of Section 27 of the Environment Protection Act, over the fire at Slatterys Road, Woolsthorpe.
The burning pile was approximately four metres square and 1.8 metres high, with grey smoke and flames visible when EPA’s authorised officers arrived. They were told the fire had started through spontaneous combustion several days before.
A company representative told EPA the local CFA brigade had been called to fight a similar spontaneous fire in a pile of waste at the farm 12 months earlier.
“Getting rid of mixed piles of farm waste by burning them may have been the practice of previous generations, but it is now recognised that it creates a significant risk to the environment and can impact people’s health,” Ms Francis said.
“Materials like these should go to recycling or an appropriate landfill. The company has now introduced a waste management process to ensure that such incidents do not happen in the future,” she said.
“Discarding industrial waste in such a way can cause land pollution and groundwater contamination that affect future generations.”
EPA issued a legally enforceable Clean Up Notice requiring the company to remove the remaining waste for proper disposal.
“This is another case where a report from a member of the public made all the difference. EPA officers were able to respond while the fire was still burning and ensure it was extinguished promptly, helping to reduce the amount of damage done to the environment,” Ms Francis said.
Under the Environment Protection Act 1970 and the Infringements Act 2008, the company has the right to have the decision to issue the infringement notice reviewed or alternatively to have the matter heard and determined by a court.
EPA is now preparing for new legislation to take effect in 2020, that will give it a stronger focus on prevention and substantially increase potential penalties.
The legislation introduces a criminally enforceable General Environmental Duty, a responsibility for anyone whose activities may involve pollution to take reasonable steps to eliminate risk to human health and the environment.
Members of the public can report all types of pollution to the EPA 24 hour hotline on 1300 EPA VIC (1300 372 842) or at the EPA website www.epa.vic.gov.au