Mulch containing asbestos found at sites in Sydney’s inner west

A landscaping supplier who provided the mulch for multiple Sydney projects has been slapped with a prevention notice prohibiting sale of the product, after asbestos was discovered at more sites.

The landscaping supplier who provided the mulch for multiple projects across Sydney has been slapped with a prevention notice prohibiting the sale of the product after asbestos was discovered across a number of locations along the City & Southwest Metro line and Prospect Highway.

Under the prevention notice, mulch supplier Greenlife Resource Recovery will only be able to sell the product again once an investigation by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is concluded and it is deemed safe.

The toxic substance was found in the mulch at substations in Canterbury, Dulwich Hill and Campsie. The areas that have been affected are not open to the general public and are fenced off.

Contaminated mulch was also found at two landscaping sites near the Prospect Highway between Prospect and Blacktown.

So far, 31 samples have been taken at the landscaping sites with four coming back positive.

It comes after contaminated mulch was discovered at a playground in the Rozelle Parklands earlier this month.

Signage on fences close off Sydney's new Rozelle Parklands. Picture: NCA NewsWire

Transport for NSW said low levels of bonded asbestos were discovered in the mulch along the Metro and road projects, which are considered low risk compared to friable asbestos.

The EPA has issued a Clean Up Notice to TfNSW for the removal of all the mulch at the sites. EPA acting chief executive Nancy Chang said there were still multiple lines of inquiry into how the asbestos got into the mulch.

She said they were also considering the possibility the asbestos may have been present at the sites before the mulch was placed.

Further investigations are currently under way on mulch used in projects near the new Western Sydney Airport.

Transport Minster Jo Haylen addressed the mulch contamination on Wednesday for the first time since the asbestos was discovered at Rozelle Parklands earlier this month.

Ms Haylen confirmed taxpayers would not be made to pay for the extensive remediation works, saying the contractors would be made to pay.

“The contractors are responsible for rectifying any defects and as the EPA has clearly ­outlined, this is a defect,” she said.

A spokesperson for Greenlife Resource Recovery denied the contamination was from the delivered mulch, saying the product underwent rigorous testing and they were confident it was clean when it left the Greenlife site.

“The company has no visibility of how its products are used on sites and sites that are often known not to be pristine,” the spokesperson said. “As such, Greenlife cannot be held responsible for how its products are used once delivered, including if it is mixed with other materials or existing soil.”