EPA busts Moolap business over recyclables fire

BURNING industrial waste blamed on a discarded cigarette has cost a Moolap company nearly $8,000 in fines.

Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA) fined VTA Pty Ltd, trading as Brett’s Min Bins, after a member of the public reported smoke coming from the company’s premises.

EPA South West Region Manager Carolyn Francis said authorised officers were dispatched to the premises in Buckley Grove and confirmed there was a fire.

“The EPA officers saw a plume of smoke coming from the rear of the premises, and found a stockpile of burning industrial waste eight metres long, four metres wide and the height of a tall adult,” Ms Francis said.

“The stockpile appeared to consist of unsorted waste materials and included steel, aluminium, green waste, soil and plastics,” she said.

The site is a recycling facility where material is normally hand sorted on arrival. Representatives of the company told EPA the materials had been stockpiled at the rear of the premises because the company’s bobcat had broken down and that a discarded cigarette butt landing in a green waste bin was the likely cause of the fire, which then spread to the stockpile of unsorted materials.

“A skip bin operator should be aware that burning off industrial waste at their premises is not permitted, and failing to have a no smoking policy in the workplace, or allowing someone to ignore it, shows poor operational standards,” Ms Francis said.

EPA fined the company for discarding industrial waste in contravention of Section 27 of the Environment Protection Act 1970.

“The fine is a warning to all businesses that they cannot afford to be careless with pollution, and must do the right thing by their customers and the community,” Ms Francis said.

Irresponsible and illegal disposal of skip bin waste is a significant problem across the state, and EPA urges anyone who books a skip to ask the right questions to make sure their waste will go to the right place.

For more information, head to epa.vic.gov.au/your-environment/waste/hiring-skip-bins.