A body that was set up to tackle waste crime will be disbanded by Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA).
The EPA’s Waste Crime Directorate was set up in February 2020 as part of a state government push to target rogue operators who amass stockpiles of chemicals and waste.
The directorate will be disbanded as part of the watchdog’s moves to reduce its workforce amid state budget cuts.
EPA chief executive Lee Miezis maintains that EPA will continue to deliver the work carried out by the directorate.
Broadmeadows Progress Association secretary Sonja Rutherford said the decision to disband the Waste Crime Directorate was “very worrying” for the community.
She said two fires in Hume last month had reinforced the community’s belief that more needed to be done to ensure waste and recycling plant operators are complying with EPA regulations.
“There’s no lessening of a need for the EPA to enforce these rules,” Ms Rutherford said.
Ms Rutherford said the community had been feeling a “sense of security” since the EPA was given more power to investigate waste operators.
“What we were seeing… was we now had our protector,” she said.
“Then we find the government… is now doing the very opposite.
“In other words we’re back to where we were.”
Hume councillor Naim Kurt said the Waste Crime Directorate needed to be stepped up, not cut back.
“There are concerns that having less enforcement and oversight of these facilities will have a serious and detrimental affect on our community locally,” he said.
“The last thing our community should be facing is cutbacks at the environmental watchdog tasked with keeping our community safe.”
Mr Miezis said: “I want to make it clear that preventing environmental crime related to pollution and waste will remain a priority focus for the organisation.”
“The work of the Waste Crime Directorate will be delivered but under an improved structure… [that] strengthens front line operations across Victoria to prevent harm to the environment and community.”
