Melbourne concrete company, Concrete Concepts Pty Ltd, has been charged by the Environmental Protection Authority in the Melbourne Magistrates court.
The company faced court last week to answer the charges which relate to land pollution and dumping, covering the dumping of more than 100 loads of asbestos-contaminated waste at an unlicensed site.
In 2015, the company was contracted to build a soccer pitch at Syndal South Primary School using clean materials.
Rather than abide by the brief, the company used fill that had been contaminated with asbestos and various other materials, including broken pipes, electrical cables and bricks.
Upon discovery of the contamination of the site, the Environmental Protection Authority launched an investigation into the site. The Victorian Government enlisted licensed asbestos removalists to remediate the site. The task took almost two years and cost more than $1.5 million. In total, more than 5,800 tonnes of asbestos-contaminated material was removed.
In court last week, the company was fined $285,000.
Victorian EPA CEO, Lee Miezis said the case should serve as a warning for those tempted not to use licensed asbestos waste facilities.
“In this case, it was the vigilance of a school community that had every right to see the job done properly, but it could just as easily have been any passing Victorian who saw suspicious activity and called it in,” he said.