Dial-a-Dump fined $28k over foul smelling Eastern Creek landfill

A waste company has been ordered to pay a hefty fine over a ‘very traumatising, rotten egg’ stench coming from their landfill in Sydney’s west. See resident’s complaints here.

The landfill in Eastern Creek as pictured in 2017. Picture: SafeWork NSW

A waste management company is facing a hefty fine over foul odours from their landfill in Sydney’s west – which a court found resulted in ‘very real psychological and physical harm’ to neighbouring suburbs.

Waste disposal service Dial-A-Dump, which was acquired as a subsidiary of Bingo Industries in 2019, has been court-ordered to pay a $280,000 fine over “offensive rotten egg gas odours” coming from their Eastern Creek landfill across four months in 2021.

The order was made by the Land and Environment Court on March 20, after Dial-a-Dump pleaded guilty to causing or permitting the offensive odour emitting from their tip at Honeycomb Dr over March and June 2021.

According to a spokesman from the NSW Environmental Protection Authority around 750 complaints were lodged from residents living in Minchinbury, Eastern Creek and Horsley Park over the “very traumatising” smell, caused by “inadequate gas extraction” at the site.

“The court handed down the penalties after noting many residents affected by the odour suffered very real psychological and physical harm, as well as considerable harm to their amenity for several months.”

The landfill is operated by Bingo in Eastern Creek. Picture: Bingo

The spokesman also said since the court proceedings begun EPA had received a “limited amount of complaints”.

According to a publicly available written judgment, the odours caused residents to suffer “throat and eye irritation, coughing, breathing difficulties, headaches, nausea, loss of appetite, insomnia, stress and anxiety, all caused by the presence of the odour”.

Specific examples of the stench’s effects on residents were submitted to the court, including a woman who claimed on one occasion she “was forced to stay indoors, could not hang out her laundry, or have friends and family visit”.

In other examples tendered to the court, at least four people claimed they were “unable to sleep” due to the stench, which on one occasion was described as “faecal” and like “an egg fart”.

It was accepted the odour was “inadvertent” and Dial-a-Dump had taken steps to prevent “future offensive odours” including employing a full-time landfill manager to demonstrate the company’s “likelihood of reoffending is low”.

In a statement, Blacktown Mayor Tony Bleasdale OAM said the penalties “underscored the severity of the odour situation for our local residents”.

On behalf of the Blacktown community and the people of Western Sydney, I will continue to be clear, we have had enough of our community being exposed to air and water pollution without consequence to the perpetrators,” Cr Bleasdale said.

“The well-being of our residents and the preservation of our local environmental amenity is paramount, and it is unacceptable for any organisation to neglect their responsibilities to their local community.”

In addition to the fine Dial-a-Dump was ordered to pay the EPA’s investigation and legal costs which was noted in the Court’s judgment to be “approximately $365,000”.

It was also ordered that Dial-a-Dump was to pay half of the $280,000 penalty to Blacktown City Council for an environmental restoration project in Minchinbury as well as undertaking a letterbox drop publicising the conviction and penalty to 66 neighbouring streets.