A rubbish removal business has been fined $15,000 for illegally accepting industrial waste at its Campbellfield site.
Speedie Waste pleaded guilty at the Broadmeadows Magistrates Court earlier this month to one charge of breaching a clean up notice issued by the Environment Protection Authority.
The company was ordered to publicise the details of their offence and to contribute $20,000 towards an environmental project.
The EPA said the company came to its attention following complaints in March 2014 that stockpiles of material were being stored at the Haley Crescent site.
The complaints raised concerns about the potential for the waste to contaminate adjoining wetlands.
Inspectors visited the site in April 2014 and found two large piles of industrial waste, such as timbers, bricks and concrete. The company was issued with a clean-up notice, requiring the waste to be removed by August 29, 2014.
The EPA said inspections throughout the year found the waste had not been removed and that the stockpile had grown. EPA metro manager Dan Hunt said it was disappointing.
“The fact that the company ignored the notice and continued to accept industrial waste to a point where it had more than doubled in size shows a complete disregard for the environment and the impacts upon the local community,” he said.
“If a site is not managed properly and does not have the relevant licences or permits, waste on the site has the potential to impact on the surrounding environment by contaminating wetlands and entering stormwater systems.”
