EPA hits Coolaroo’s Glass Recovery Services with 14 charges
The EPA has cracked down on a fire-prone Coolaroo glass recycling plant, installing a drone, 24-hour security and slapping the operators with more than a dozen charges.
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A Coolaroo recycling facility has been hit with more than a dozen charges by Victoria’s environment watchdog after it failed to remove combustible materials.
Glass Recovery Services will also be under constant surveillance after the EPA installed 24-hour security at the Maffra St site.
The authority will use a drone to conduct thermal imaging of the site’s stockpiles to make sure the firm takes action to reduce fire risk.
It comes after steam billowing from one of the stockpiles resulted in fire crews being called last week.
The EPA has laid 14 charges against the company and its sole director for notice contraventions and breaches of the Victorian Waste Management Policy.
They have also been ordered to stop accepting waste, take action to comply with the state’s waste policy and monitor hotspots within stockpiles to reduce their fire risk.
The authority alleged the company breached their licence by allowing waste to be discharged, emitted or deposited outside the property on October 12, 2018 and February 21, March 28 and 29 and April 1 this year.
It’s also alleged Glass Recovery Services failed to prevent waste from burning on March 29, 2019.
The company and the director were each additionally charged with two counts of failing to comply with a notice requiring the removal of combustible and recyclable waste material stored outdoors, most recently on September 6.
The company will face Broadmeadows Magistrates’ Court on October 31.
The maximum penalty for a licence contravention is $386,856.
The Leader has contacted Glass Recovery Services for comment.
A black substance that was found in Merlynston Creek behind the site and flowed into Jack Roper Reserve about 5km away on Monday was also traced back to the company.
The EPA has confirmed the substance was leachate and has put up signs warning people to stay away from the waterways due to health concerns from the spill.
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An investigation into the spill is continuing and the authority expects to take compliance and enforcement action within weeks.
EPA chief executive Cathy Wilkinson said those responsible for causing an environmental hazard would be responsible for cleaning it up.
“If the EPA has to step in to clean up, it becomes a cost to the community when it should be a cost to the duty holder,” Dr Wilkinson said.
“The EPA will use all its regulatory powers and continue to work closely with other agencies to reduce any risk to community safety and the environment.”
The company must also undertake daily temperature monitoring, odour surveillance and visual inspections of its stockpiles.