The NSW branch of the Environment Protection Authority has warned waste operators that their processes for tracking waste must be up to scratch to maintain their legal right to dispose of waste.
It comes after the EPA fined a Gunnedah man for transporting 2680 kilos of bonded asbestos waste to the local landfill, without providing notice or ensuring the waste was tracked in the Waste Locate compliance system. The man was unable to provide a consignment number for the load of material.
Those who transport, handle and dispose of large or commercial quantities of waste in NSW are required to use the system, and each load is allocated a consignment number.
The EPA has a wide range of educational material available, as well as assistance, and the dedicated Waste Locate App, all of which are available as ways to prevent the mismanagement or unsafe handling and disposal of asbestos waste and other hazardous materials.
The man in question had been directed to those resources and was only fined when he repeatedly failed to comply.
Regional Operations Manager for the EPA, Lindsay Fulloon has explained that the processes and disciplinary actions available to the EPA are important to ensure that all waste, particularly that which contains asbestos, is managed and disposed of safely and legally to minimise risk.
“To protect the community and the environment waste must end up at a licensed landfill and be tracked all the way from loading to disposal to ensure it is dealt with safely and legally,” Mr Fulloon said.