Man refuses to clean up after using asbestos in new driveway

A 70-YEAR-OLD man has received a hefty fine after council investigated the matter following complaints about noise and dust.

A 70-year-old Tregeagle man has been fined $4000 for constructing a driveway from crushed concrete containing traces of asbestos.

Lismore City Council investigated the matter following a public complaint in July 2015 about noise and dust issues that were generated during a concrete crushing process on the site at Tregeagle.

Council investigations revealed the waste material that was crushed came from demolition sites in Ballina and Lismore, and contained several pieces of bonded asbestos sheet material.

Mr Ken Allport of Tregeagle was issued with a Clean-up Notice to remove the dangerous waste material, but failed to comply with this order within a reasonable time, and has been issued with a $4000 fine under the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 Act, a spokesperson from council said.

"The investigation outcomes were considered with regard to Council's Enforcement Policy and accompanying Guidelines for an offence of this nature, which determine that this offence has a high level of significance," Manager of Development and Compliance Peter Jeuken said.

"An aggravating factor for this offence is that the offender has previously been issued with fines for waste offences at another site."

Council may also consider proceeding to the Land & Environment Court to have the waste removed from the subject property and also recover the cost of further enforcement action if the waste material is not properly disposed of in the near future.