Tara Murray
The Environmental Protection Authority’s investigation of soft plastics storage continues, with officers monitoring sites during the festive period to ensure compliance with notices to reduce fire risk.
The EPA continues to visit and inspect sites and officers have said that action is underway at various sites to meet their requirements to reduce fire risk and other measures.
EPA chief executive Lee Miezis said the focus remains on ensuring any risk to the community is managed in a prompt and effective way.
“Our first priority at these sites, and any other sites storing material such as soft plastics, is to protect the community and the environment from the risk of fire,” he said.
“This includes measures such as built-in fire suppression systems, storage size limits and minimum separation distances.”
In December, the EPA discovered a number of warehouses, including warehouses in Tottenham, Williamstown North, Truganina, West Footscray, Campbellfield and Tullamarine, housing about 3000 tonnes of soft plastic as part of ongoing investigations into the REDcycle recycling scheme.
The EPA issued an information gathering notice to the operators of REDcycle, uncovering the warehouses managed by logistics companies in Melbourne’s western and northern suburbs, with the soft plastics believed to have come from interstate.
Some sites have improved their practices under guidance from EPA and are compliant with EPA requirements.
Others continue to make progress and are monitored with regular EPA inspections.
The EPA asks all warehouse companies with stores of soft plastics in their control to call the EPA hotline on 1300 372 842.
The EPA also encourages members of the community to call in with details about soft plastics storage in their area.
