Hopley Recycling Pty Ltd (Hopely) of White Hills, Bendigo, and its three directors, past and present, each pleaded guilty to an offence under the Environment Protection Act 1970 in the Bendigo Magistrates’ Court on 18 March 2019.
The offence in this matter concerns Hopley dumping construction and demolition waste from its business on a neighbouring site, which is not licenced to accept that type of industrial waste.
The company was fined $1000 with no conviction and its three past and present directors were given six to nine-month good behaviour bonds. The court also ordered the company to publicise the decision in major metro newspapers and pay the EPA’s costs.
The company is also currently the subject of an Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA) notice that requires it to stop accepting combustible recycling materials as it has not met the requirements of the Victoria Waste Management Policy (Combustible Recyclable and Waste Materials).
In a previous EPA prosecution, concluded in August 2017, Hopley was fined $7,500, ordered to pay costs of $17,000; two of its directors were placed on 12-month good behaviour bonds.
In the 2017 case, Hopley and two of its directors pleaded guilty to 17 charges each for illegally dumping industrial waste at a site not licensed or permitted to receive it, failing to comply with an EPA clean up notice and failing to comply with a notice to produce documents required by an EPA authorised officer.